Substance Abuse Treatment Center

The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment is a part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment is responsible for supporting treatment services through a block grant program, as well as for disseminating findings to the field and promoting the adoption of new research. The Center operates the 24-hour National Treatment Referral Hotline (1-800-662- HELP), which offers information and referral services to people seeking treatment programs and other assistance.

Methadone

Doctors conduct methadone maintenance treatment in specialized settings like methadone maintenance clinics. These specialized treatment programs distribute a synthetic opioid medication known as methadone at a dosage that prevents opioid withdrawal, block the effects of illicit opioid use and decrease opioid craving. The most effective methadone maintenance programs include individual and or group counseling, as well as provision of or referral to other needed medical, psychological and social services. Results from a study that compared individuals addicted to opioids that received only methadone to those receiving methadone and counseling, showed that individuals who received only methadone exhibited some reduction in opioid use. However, users who received counseling showed significantly more improvement with the addition of onsite medical, psychiatric, employment and family services.

Gambling Addiction Methadone, buprenorphine and, for some individuals, naltrexone are effective medications for treating opiate addictions. Acting on the same targets in the brain as heroin and morphine, methadone and buprenorphine suppress withdrawal symptoms and relieve cravings. Naltrexone works by blocking the effects of heroin or other opioids at their receptor sites and doctors only prescribe these drugs for certain patients who underwent detoxification. Because of compliance issues, naltrexone is not as widely used as other medications. All medication helps patients disengage from seeking out drugs and other criminal behavior, and aid addicts in being more receptive to behavioral treatments. Gambling Rehab Multidimensional family therapy, which targets adolescents with drug abuse problems as well as their families, addresses a range of drug abuse influences like patterns of abuse, and therapists seek to improve overall family functioning. Motivational interviewing, which capitalizes on the readiness of individuals to change their behavior and enter treatment, and motivational incentives use positive reinforcement to encourage abstinence from drugs. Addiction Rehab Sex Outpatient behavioral treatment encompasses a wide variety of programs for patients who regularly visit a clinic. Most of these programs involve individual or group drug counseling. Some programs also offer other forms of behavioral treatment such as cognitive behavioral therapy, which seeks to help patients recognize, avoid and cope with the situations wherein the patients are most likely to abuse drugs. Treatment Residential treatment programs can also be very effective treatment methods for recovering addicts, especially for those with more severe problems. For example, therapeutic communities offer highly structured programs in which patients remain at a residence, typically for 6 to 12 months. Therapeutic communities differ from other treatment approaches principally in their use of the community treatment staff and those in recovery as a key agent of change to influence patient attitudes, perceptions and behaviors associated with drug use. Patients in therapeutic communities may include those with relatively long histories of drug addiction, involvement in serious criminal activities and seriously impaired social functioning. Experts are now designing certain therapeutic communities to accommodate the needs of women who are pregnant or have children. The focus of the therapeutic is re-socialization. The patient will learn to live without drugs and crime. Rehab

Driving Stoned

While no one contests the implications of drinking and driving, there is public policy debate concerning driving while stoned. Studies indicate that acute marijuana use can mildly impair psychomotor skills, but it is usually not severe or long lasting. Minor impairments in tracking, eye movement control and reaction time appear in close course and driving simulator studies. These studies also indicate that marijuana users tend to increase the distance between the vehicle ahead and to decrease overall driving speed. Overall the impairments exhibited by marijuana users are much less severe than those who consume alcohol. Unlike impaired alcoholic drivers, marijuana users are often aware of the impairment and adjust some driving habits accordingly, like by driving with more caution or putting off driving altogether until the driver feels competent to do so.

Not a High Level of Accidents

The impairment resulting from low level marijuana use does not indicate a high level of on-road traffic accidents. A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study reported there was no indication that cannabis use was a cause of fatal crashes among drivers who tested positive for the drug. A study published by the Canadian Journal of Public Health that reviewed 10 years of United States auto fatalities found that drivers with a blood alcohol levels of 0.05 (a level below the legal limit of 0.08), were three times more likely to engage in unsafe driving practices that preceded a fatal crash than people who tested positive for marijuana use. A study in France revealed a similar conclusion, finding that drivers with blood alcohol levels not exceeding 0.05 had four times the risk of having a fatal accident than marijuana users who tested positive for high levels of cannabis, above 5 ng/ml. Both studies indicate that overall few traffic accidents were due to a driver operating a vehicle while impaired by marijuana use.
Driving while consuming marijuana is not a recommended activity. Since the psychomotor impairment from marijuana use is relatively minor and transitory it is advisable that users wait a few hours before operating their vehicles.
Source: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7459