Testing It Up

Just how far would a drug addict go to feed an addiction?

For a New York woman, it’s as far as telling everyone she has bone and brain cancer so she could solicit thousands of dollars for her heroin addiction.

Brittany Ozarowski, from Long Island, is now in bigger trouble after she was charged in Suffolk County with 24 counts including grand larceny in the third degree.

According to the prosecutors, Ozarowski fabricated her inoperable cancer illness so she could seek donations from people at Nassau and Suffolk counties. Fox News reports that Ozarowski also scammed her father, as well as her grandmother who ended up selling her house to give the 21-year-old more than $100,000.

“This defendant perpetrated a despicable scam. … There was no cancer, no chemotherapy or radiation. All there was was heroin and more heroin,” said District Attorney Thomas Spota.

Spota added that small business owners also donated over $600 in gift certificates. Ozarowski even created a website with a banner pleading “Help Save My Life,” and set up a Paypal account where donations could be made.

Spota said Ozarowski was eventually caught when one of the people she asked money for became suspicious after asking the woman for her physician’s name, which she couldn’t provide.

Ozarowski’s lawyer refused to issue further comment, saying he has yet to review the charges.

Thank you to Klean Treatment Center for this guest post!

A group of mothers have taken it into their own hands to spread the word about a lesser known kind of drug abuse among teens; over-the-counter medicine abuse.

Tammy Walsh, who has a son in recovery from OTC medicine abuse, has come forward to use her experiences to help others. Welsh hopes to be an inspiration so people stand up and speak out about OTC abuse. A group called, The Five Moms, is the group that Welsh advocates for. They travel the country making people and parents aware of the risks and dangers of OTC drug abuse. They teach entire communities about abusing cough medicine, how parents should approach their teens, how to monitor medications, and the true scope of the problem.

Welsh says the most important things for parents to remember is never to lecture teens as they will tune you out. Rather help them make healthy decisions. Start talking to kids early on and don’t be afraid to bring the subject up. Teach your kids how to say no and give them every tool needed to do so. Be clear about the health risks associated with drug abuse.

Welsh says that parents must know how to spot the signs of abuse. They need to know what to look for, some of the slang, and a change in habits or patterns.

Teens call the act of abusing over the counter drugs “robotripping” or “skittling” and some teens actively look for substances they can use to get high in the medicine cabinets of their homes where adults just see medicine that is virtually harmless. Many teens today are abusing these very drugs. They can be addictive and dangerous if abused.

A study from 2012, out of the University of Cincinnati indicated that ten percent of middle and high school students had said that they have abused over-the-counter drugs. The most commonly abused OTC drugs included Dextromethorphan, which is found in cough syrups and decongestants.

When children are taught about substance abuse dangers the conversation must include a lot more than just discussing illicit drugs, prescription drugs, and alcohol. Children really need to know that a plethora of trouble lurks right in their medicine cabinet at home. In fact, while parents are putting a lock on the liquor cabinet they should also be putting one on the medicine cabinet too.

Drugfree.org says that when parents teach their children about the risks of OTC drugs they are half as likely to use them.

http://www.kleantreatmentcenter.com

The world we live in today presents so many distractions and influences that contribute to an imbalanced brain. Stress is everywhere, and so are junk foods. What’s more, addictive substances are proliferating and existing in some new, legal forms which when taken can cause certain changes in brain chemistry.

According to Lee Gerdes, founder and CEO of Brain State Technologies, alcohol consumption and drug use can be severely life compromising and ultimately impact the potential of the brain to function.

“Substance abuse comes in many forms – drugs, alcohol, medication, food, etc – and all of these have a chemical effect in the brain,” Gerdes explains. He added that alcohol and drugs  can either deaden or change the user’s brain function, and ultimately compromise wellbeing in one or many ways.

Gerdes’ Brain State Technologies has helped over 4,000 people with substance abuse problems. It espouses a holistic and non-invasive approach in achieving greater brain balance and harmony.

“A balanced brain – one which is not ‘stuck’ in an unbalanced pattern – is one which can move readily to higher activation levels when the task at hand demands, and one that can also relax fully to regenerate when regeneration is needed,” Gerdes said.

To read the full text of the interview, visit Exclusive Interview With Lee Gerdes.

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and six other health centers across the United States found that adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) histories were more likely to have substance abuse problems and engage in cigarette smoking, compared to teens without the disorder.

Nearly 600 children were studied over the course of eight years — from childhood through adolescence. When the children reached 15 years of age, 35 percent of those with ADHD histories reported using one or more substances, compared to only 20 percent of teens without ADHD histories. Ten percent of the ADHD group met criteria for substance abuse or dependence disorder versus three percent of the non-ADHD group.

When adolescents were an average of 17 years old, 13 percent of those with childhood ADHD reported marijuana use compared to the 7 percent of teens without childhood ADHD.

“This study underscores the significance of the substance abuse risk for both boys and girls with childhood ADHD,” Brooke Molina, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and lead author of the report, said in a news release. “These findings also are the strongest test to date of the association between medication for ADHD and teenage substance abuse.”

The study also found that daily cigarette smoking was very high at 17 percent of the ADHD group versus the 8 percent smoking rate of non-ADHD teens.

The authors noted that substance abuse rates were the same in teenagers still taking medication and in those no longer on medication.

The study, which was published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, is the first to examine teenage substance abuse and treatment for ADHD in a large multi-site sample.

Ritalin and Adderall can be effective treatment for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when used as directed. But when misused, these ADHD stimulant medications can cause adverse symptoms, such as nervousness, insomnia, dizziness, and cardiovascular or psychiatric problems.

According to The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the number of emergency room visits involving attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) stimulant medications between 2005 and 2010 increased from 13,379 to 31,244. In 2010, non-medical use of ADHD medications accounted for half of all emergency department visits involving ADHD medications.

From 5,212 in 2005, emergency room visits related to non-medical use of ADHD medications nearly tripled at 15,585 in 2010. The rate of increase occurred among those aged 18 and older.

The report also showed the differences in the rates of emergency room visits related to the non-medical use of ADHD medications between males and females. In 2005, 3,770 of these emergency department visits involved males compared to 1,439 involving females. By 2011, 8,650 of these visits involved men while 6,932 involved females.

“ADHD medications, when properly prescribed and used, can be of enormous benefit to those suffering from ADHD, but like any other medication they can pose serious risks – particularly when they are misused,” SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde said in a news release. “This study indicates that a better job has to be done alerting all segments of society – not just the young – that misuse of these medications is extremely dangerous.”

A recent investigation by a group of researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) confirmed that drug overdose has outranked HIV as the leading cause of death among homeless adults in Boston from 2003 to 2008.

The study, which will appear in the Feb. 11 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine (formerly Archives of Internal Medicine), examined available data of more than 28,000 adults who received care from BHCHP from 2003 through 2008.  Drug overdose accounted for almost 17 percent of all deaths among the homeless patients studied, and 81 percent of those overdoses involved opioid drugs, the ScienceDaily reports.

“Our findings are an unfortunate reminder of the high mortality rate of homeless people and a clarion call for the need to address the epidemic of drug overdose deaths in this vulnerable population,” says lead author Travis Baggett, MD, MPH, of the MGH Department of Medicine and BHCHP. “Overall, young homeless people died at a nine times higher rate and middle-aged homeless people at a four-and-a-half times higher rate than comparably aged adults in Massachusetts.”

The study also showed that while cancer and heart diseases remain as principal causes of death among older homeless individuals, health issues associated with substance abuse — such as alcoholism-associated heart disease, pneumonia and withdrawal — accounted for 8 percent of deaths.

Normal people often get treatments for various addictions privately which translates to a process involving the afflicted person and his choice of therapist only. Then again, Hollywood isn’t really for normal people, as everything is sensationalized and glamorized even when a celebrity is in an addiction: enter Dr. Drew Pinsky’s Celebrity Rehab.

For the information of those who aren’t familiar with the show, it’s now on its fourth season. In the program, troubled celebrities check into the Pasadena Recovery Center with Dr. Drew Pinsky as their resident therapist. In a span of 21 days, all the celebs battle out their addictions, with the help of the doctor and his staff, in front of national television. Instead of the one-on-one counseling that patients and therapists have in normal settings, they undergo group counseling which takes away their privacy in the treatment facility.

Viewers begin to question if Celebrity Rehab really helps those in the show as well as the people watching. There are always two sides of the coin. On one side, the audience gets to see how each participant go thru all the detoxification and rehab process. This may be good especially for teens and young adults as they can see how uncool it is to be hooked on drugs and alcohol. It will somehow make them think twice when they become vulnerable or even completely deter them from getting addicted.

The other side of the coin involves the participants in the program. While most of them come out clean and sober after the process, there are quite a few who go into relapse and sadly go back to their addictions. This can be attributed to the fact that Dr. Drew can’t be with his patients forever, and so the choice will have to come from the person himself if he’d stay away from drugs and alcohol, or let temptation set in again. After all, as soon as they’re out of rehab, they’re all back in control of their lives.

At the center of several news reports is the son of Hollywood star Michael Douglas, Cameron Douglas. The 31-year old will be sentenced next week on charges of dealing methamphetamine.

His mother Diandra and stepmother Catherine Zeta-Jones have both expressed support for Cameron during these rather challenging times.

A feature on the Huffington Post shares some information regarding the life of Cameron Douglas, considered as part of Hollywood royalty, with Hollywood blue-blood running through his veins. Both his father Michael and grandfather Kirk are considered legends in the biz, and his stepmother Catherine is revered by many. But most people probably notice by now that such a privileged pedigree does not necessarily translate to personal satisfaction and success.

The young Douglas reportedly grew up with nannies as his father focused on his acting career and his mother worked on wildlife preservation. At 13 Cameron went to boarding school – and started smoking marijuana. When his parents’ marriage started having problems, Cameron eventually started using cocaine.

Douglas later dropped out of school and worked as a DJ in clubs in New York. By 2004, he was hooked on heroin and mixing in the wrong circles. His friend Jen Gatien shared: “His new ‘family,’ as he called them, was a group of fellow addicts who took over his life. No one had jobs or responsibilities. … Cameron was the sole provider.”

It was this need to provide – and the fact that he has been cut off from the family fortune after refusing to get help – that led the younger Douglas to deal meth.

New York Health Screening

New regs will require private group health insurance plans to offer benefits for treatment of substance abuse disorders which are comparable to benefits for other health conditions making substance abuse treatment possible for many who couldn’t afford it without insurance. Issued January 29th by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury, these regs are expected to take effect for plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2010. These rules prevent group health insurance plans (those typically offered by employers) from put a ceiling on access to care for mental health or substance abuse disorders and requiring higher patient costs than with typical medical or surgical benefits.

The new regs come with the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 which applies to employers with 50 or more workers whose group health plans offer mental health or substance use disorder benefits.

“These regulations build on the excellent work of the Congress and will make critically needed services available to the millions of Americans who are struggling with addiction,” said Director Kerlikowske. “The new law should help close the treatment gap. In 2008, 23.1 million Americans age 12 and older met the diagnostic criteria for substance abuse problems or dependence. However, only 2.3 million received treatment at a specialty treatment center. One reason for the gap is that insurance coverage for such care is often minimal.”

According to studies those receiving treatment for abuse incur lower  medical costs than those who abuse substances without treatment. This cost difference also affect members of that person’s  immediate family. This change of policy looks as if it could help a great deal.

Annual drug tests in the workplace, while necessary, can have an impact on a company’s productivity level – at least in some industries. Having employees skip work for half a day to go in for testing at a separate facility is a costly proposition for some establishments.

A firm for drug and alcohol testing solutions, Guardian Testing Services, is offering an option to address this concern, at least in the Cincinnati area: on-site specimen collection. According to a press release on PRUrgent, the company can provide “a team of certified specimen collectors throughout the Cincinnati area.”

Joe Vroman, founder of Guardian Testing Services, shares: “By providing on-site specimen collections, we completely eliminate the need to have employees leave their place of business in order to travel to a drug specimen collection facility. This service results in much less time away from the job site and a huge financial savings by not having to pay employees while they travel to and from the collection site.”