New Drug Use Trend Showing Up in Emergency Rooms

The number of narcotic pain medications implicated in drug-abuse related ER visits rose 20 percent from 2001 to 2002, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s (SAMHSA) Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). The two-year increase was even more dramatic at 45 percent between 2000 and 2002, totaling nearly 120,000 incidents for the latest year.
Though these staggering numbers are indeed tragic, the substances are currently legal with a prescription. The nerve-deadening effects of narcotics and the abuse of these substances is nothing new.
Dating back to the end of the 17th century, opium and its derivatives have been plaguing society, but recorded history of this painkilling poppy goes thousands of years earlier. The addictive qualities are no secret, yet newer forms of opiates have been continually introduced throughout the ages.
Coming closer to modern medicine, morphine was introduced as a new drug, then heroin and then methadone and many other synthetic opiates. All of these drugs were packaged and sold by pharmaceutical companies and so far many have become illegal because of their abuse potential and destruction to individuals and families.
The trend in popping a pill for any malady has continued to increase and the accessibility and variety of drugs now used by millions of Americans is higher than ever as new pharmaceuticals become available and are advertised, regardless of the damage caused in exchange for their marketed value or intended use.
In Clear Body, Clear Mind, a book about the effective detoxification program L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “Too often the attitude is ‘If I can’t find the cause of the pain, at least I’ll deaden it.’” This includes physical and mental discomfort, depression or anxiety.
Hubbard’s decades of research in the field of substance abuse and rehabilitation helped form the basis for what is now called the Narconon® Drug Rehabilitation and Education Program, a secular network of treatment and prevention centers in 35 countries that is rapidly growing due to the fact that it works.
In a new book published by the largest center in the network, Narconon Arrowhead, called Helping Someone Overcome Addiction, the reason why people begin to take drugs and how many become dependant on them is clearly depicted based on the many years of results obtained through the non-traditional, drug-free approach.
“Having a clear understanding of the cycle of addiction is vital to anyone dealing with it personally or trying to help a family member,” says Luke Catton, president of the organization. “The amount of misinformation associated with drug use and supposed remedies runs rampant through our culture today. People need to know the truth about what all drugs really are and what they can do to an individual.”

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