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Although more treatment providers and health care organizations have begun to view addiction as a chronic and progressive disorder, many admitted patients leave early after the detoxification process. In order to match theory with practice, two modern studies have demonstrated that continued treatment after detox is correlated with more successful recoveries.

Addiction and recovery can be viewed as opposing cyclical systems. There are a number of parallels between these transformative experiences, but the two are also in constant conflict. Whereas addictive behavior spirals a person’s life into distress and turmoil, beginning a recovery program gradually rebuilds a needed sense of stability. Understanding how these mirrored processes are related can help people reduce destructive behaviors and transform them into productive ones.

Canada isn’t crossing any T’s or dotting any I’s on legalizing marijuana quite yet. According to CBC News, the government recently deployed a task force to investigate best way to plan and execute legalization of marijuana. Legalization was one of the liberal promises made by the young and popular Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Right now the legalization movement is in nothing more than a preliminary research phase. However, legislation is expected any moment. The task force has been working and creating a plan since November of last year. They recently stated legislation would be announced April 20. In the article on CBC News, many questions are answered. Some of the questions missing from CBC include concerns regarding addiction, increased substance abuse, and mental health. Canada has led the way on the medical use of marijuana and progressive treatments for illnesses. Currently, Canada is struggling to keep up with addiction and alcoholism issues. Marijuana has many medical properties, but it is still a psychoactive drug which produces mind altering effects. Though research has found that alcohol is more of a “gateway” drug than marijuana is, the use of marijuana can inspire experimentation. Problematically, legalized marijuana will mean it is available in investment-backed and government regulated strengths, which can be incredibly potent. Abuse and misuse of marijuana is a concern. The Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders added “marijuana use disorder” to the category of substance use disorders, which is the list of diagnosable addictions. Previously, marijuana wasn’t thought to be dependency forming or addictive. Despite a growing medicalization and legalization movement, there is a growing amount of people becoming dependent upon the drug. Marijuana can cause an intense physical and psychological dependency in which people are unable to function, eat, or sleep, without use of the drug. Without it, they experience symptoms of withdrawal which includes obsessive thinking, compulsive cravings, and many effects similar to withdrawal of other more “serious” drugs.

Personality disorders are more common than you might think. When someone develops an issue with substance abuse, they are likely living with an undiagnosed personality disorder, mood disorder, or psychiatric disorder. Living with a mental illness increases the chances of developing a substance use problem. Prone to thrill seeking, maladaptive behaviors, and a skewed sense of reward, there is a heightened vulnerability to the powerful effects of substances.

Canada is going to legalize marijuana, most feel. The federal government is on its way to pushing and officiating legalized marijuana throughout the country. Attention around the world is turning toward Canada as the country prepares to lead the way with innovative production, distribution, and regulation. Yet, not every province of Canada is looking forward to the progressive move. Drug addiction and substance abuse riddle Canada in certain areas making lawmakers nervous about the federal legalization of the psychoactive drug. CBC News reports that Manitoba’s new laws are being called “short-sighted” and “unnecessary”. Problematically, the article reports, Manitoba officials didn’t consult medical cannabis users or cannabis-prescribing doctors to make their decision. “The legislation would bring in restrictions for marijuana similar to those for alcohol, banning people from consuming it in a vehicle and giving police the right to suspend a driver’s license for 24 hours if they thought the person was under the influence of the drug.” Driving under the influence of marijuana is becoming a concern in many areas throughout North America as marijuana continues to see legalization. One source contributing to the article claims that the Manitoba laws increase the stigma and shame faced by clinical patients who depend on medical cannabis for healing. However, the Manitoba authorities may not be far off in their measures. Manitoba is one of the areas of Canada being heavily hit by the opioid crisis. CBC News has also reported that 1 in 10 drivers in Manitoba are tested positive for marijuana, meth, and other drugs.

Heroin today is regarded as a deadly drug which is contributing to the growing number of opioid overdose deaths happening every day in Canada, the US, and other countries around the world. Most people understand that heroin is an illegal drug bought on the black market and primarily comes from either China or Mexico. However, few are aware of the curious history of heroin, like when it was an over the counter drug.

Fentanyl is a prescription opioid medication without any morphine. Some people have a natural inability to metabolize morphine. For such patients, typically those in need of treatment for chronic pain, pharmaceutical companies created fentanyl. Instead of being based in morphine, it is a synthetic opioid. In order for the drug to work, however, it has to be stronger than morphine. Fentanyl is reported to be up to 100 times stronger than morphine. In recent years, overseas manufacturers found the public files which contained information on the formulas for producing fentanyl and other synthetic opioid types like W-18, carfentanil, and U-47700. Once drug producers found a way to make fentanyl for cheap, they started selling it on the black market. Discovering the intense addiction and effect of the drug, they also started putting it into other illegal medications including heroin, cocaine, and pills meant to mimic benzodiazepines. Fentanyl is considered highly dangerous because of how strong the drug is. Most frighteningly, in its powder form, fentanyl is undetectable. Translucent and almost invisible, as well as tasteless, the presence of fentanyl in any drug is impossible to predict without laboratory testing. In March of 2017, the United Nations declared fentanyl as one of the most dangerous drugs in the world, according to The Daily Mail. Two of the ingredients used to create fentanyl were put on the UN controlled substances list. “Overtime, fentanyl can increase your risk for anoxic injury (damage due to significantly decreased oxygen in the body tissues) and multiple organ system damage,” the article writes. “It can also initiate or worsen pre-existing mental health conditions, including depression and/or frequently changing moods.” Fentanyl can also cause an addiction, which some have described like playing russian roulette using a ticking time bomb on the wheel. Overdose on fentanyl is possible at any moment, whether or not a tolerance has developed. Abuse of fentanyl happens through intravenous use, pill form, and through the use of medicated patches.

Individual therapy sessions are an important part of the treatment process for substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders. Working with an individual therapist helps a treatment team understand where a client is in their treatment process. Each session helps a therapist unpeel the ubiquitous onion of their client as they discover more layers of underlying issues. With each discovery, a therapist can better report to the treatment team what needs to be worked on. As a result, each modality of healing and treatment will be specifically catered to helping the client work through what they are currently processing. How does this come to be? For starters, a conversation. Therapists can employ different therapy techniques including cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy. Motivational interviewing, meta therapy, narrative therapy, and many other modalities can be used as well. Typically, specific therapy types are reserved for group therapy sessions where all clients can learn how to apply the tools of the therapy type to their everyday lives in recovery. Individual therapy sessions are for talking and discovering. A therapist might ask to hear about a client’s past, more about their addiction, or how they are doing in treatment. Withdrawing from drugs and alcohol, being on new medications, and a change in environment can also cause dreams. During treatment, dreams can be especially useful in helping a therapist identify what is coming up for their client, even though their client might not be able to identify it themselves. Generally, individual therapy during treatment is for helping clients begin to process their emotions and seek the source of their drinking and using or their co-occurring mental health disorders. More often than not, substance abuse and even conditions like depression or anxiety happen in reaction to a significant life event. Therapy helps the client work through the layers covering up their sources of suffering to find a way to heal.

Cocaine is highly mentally and physically addictive, and crack cocaine is an especially menacing form of cocaine. Smoking crack brings on an intense feeling of exhilaration because it causes the release of excess dopamine that is picked up by neurotransmitters. The high becomes so desirable to the pleasure centers, it is believed the brain begins rewiring itself even after the very first hit. Someone using crack will typically have an elevated heart rate, dilated pupils, dry mouth, rapid breathing and tense muscles. They may sweat a lot. Someone experiencing crack addiction will be hyperactive and overconfident, talking a lot and not sleeping. The effects of crack are not as long lasting as with powder cocaine, and therefore the need for another hit, and then another, will mean the user is often disappearing, going off to get high. The intensity of the addiction will make the person uncharacteristically irresponsible, and sometimes paranoid or aggressive. Little bags with off-white rocks or residue may be found in places the crack addict frequents. There may be crack pipes of metal or glass found around. Crack addiction may lead to burns on fingertips from holding onto the pipe as it heats up, and smoking from a hot pipe can lead to cracked or blistered lips. Work performance suffers from the restlessness of the crack addict, and because work tasks cannot compete with the allure of the high. Driving under the influence of crack is very dangerous as crack addiction may make a person feel invincible, or they may experience paranoia and hallucinations. A crack user may think there are bugs crawling on or under their skin. The contents in crack are not always the same, which adds to the danger for users. Stroke, seizures, heart failure and severe breathing problems can result from crack use. Funding the extreme pull of crack addiction can lead some to theft or prostitution. Over the long term crack addiction will typically lead to depression. Damage to the body’s vital organs such as the liver, kidney and heart lead to signs of premature aging, and possibly a compromised immune system. Crack addiction is a dramatic example of life out of balance. The elation and agitation the drug causes are far outside of the more normal range of human ups and downs. While a body and a life are severely impacted by crack addiction, compassionate treatment is available and recovery is possible.

Gambling addiction is listed in the Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders. When gambling becomes a problem wellness is on the line mentally, physically, and spiritually. Gambling addiction is often co-occurring with alcoholism and drug addiction.

New Year’s is a time to reflect on the past year and have hope for the future. It’s a time to celebrate with friends and loved ones, converse with those you haven’t seen in awhile, and have fun. Many people have been choosing to throw “sober parties”, an event where the host can control the temptations of alcohol to help their own and others’ recovery, or to create a welcoming environment for a sober loved one. Hosting a sober party is a fantastic way to connect with others in a safe and clean environment. The following are steps you can take to host your own sober party for NYE:

Perhaps you have just received a call from your loved one, and they are scared. They may have taken many drugs or aren’t feeling too well after consuming a lot of alcohol. Substance abuse can bring about a lot of unpleasant side effects such as mood swings, anxiety, depression, irritability, euphoria, hyperactivity, blackouts, and more. There is a fine line between drug misuse and drug overdose, and knowing when to call for help is important. Understanding the signs of an overdose could save you or your loved one’s life. Symptoms of overdose include: