Posts Tagged ‘abuse’

Huffington Post—Adderall: The Most Abused Prescription Drug in America; can cause lasting mental defects & death

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

The Huffington Post
By Dr. Ronald Ricker and Dr. Venus Nicolino
June 21, 2010

Adderall is abused mostly by college students and young adults. Estimates are that somewhere between 20-30 percent of college students regularly abuse Adderall.

Adderall has the dubious distinction of being the latest addition to the rogue’s gallery of lawful drugs that have made the transition to the black market. In recent years, abuse of Adderall and its imitators has increased by nearly 200 percent. Calling it an “upper” is like calling a hydrogen bomb a grenade. It is made of pure amphetamine, it’s already picked up its share of street monikers: Speed, Beans, Black Beauties, Christmas Trees, and Double Trouble, amongst others.

What are the pluses in this wonder-drug? In ordinary people it often but not always offers increased concentration. It also keeps people awake for more studying and lots more partying. It often offers a sense of euphoria and happiness and a lot better and more frequent sex, all fun at parties.

Between the glut of pop-psychology theories (often fraudulent) and the never-ending blitz of promotion by Big Pharma, people now believe they can diagnose themselves with something like ADHD as easily as ascertaining if they have a head cold and believe they have the ability to determine the correct medication for their condition. Sometimes they’re grandiosely right. Most of the time, however, they’re wrong on both counts. Even more of the time, diagnosis is irrelevant. The relevant question is where’s the “connection?” Sadly, that’s where many of us physicians fit in. We certainly don’t intend to, but often serve as the ‘connection’. Then, of course, there are those ‘patients’ and doctors that inhabit the bottom of the barrel: lying ‘patients’ and immoral doctors. Scripts can and are sold, for lots of money. Never mind the human cost, there’s money to be made and drugs to be copped. Take that prescription to the pharmacy. Or, take your money to a nearby local University. You’ll pay $30 to $40 dollars per pill for a very small amount of Adderall, usually sold to you by a student. Sales are usually student to student although the numbers of genuine drug dealers are growing rapidly in numbers, bringing with them all the problems of low-life, criminal drug dealers. Dealers recognize good business opportunities. Imagining little Johnny, having just finished Geography 1A, dealing with a real dealer chills the mind.

Illicit Adderall is taken in many ways. Most obviously, a pill can be swallowed. Pills can also be chewed, ground up and snorted, and ground up and injected (the most dangerous way of administration, by far). And then there’s ‘Stuffing’. This is accomplished by ‘stuffing’ Adderall in any orifice with a mucous membrane (anus, vagina, penis, mouth, etc.). Shooting gets the most immediate and strongest effect. Snorting is second, chewing third, and stuffing fourth. What ‘stuffing’ lacks in immediate ‘oomph’ and the loss of whatever dignity the person may retain, is made up by the length of effect and allows for the greatest amount of Adderall to be used at one time. The anus and vagina are big places and can hold a great deal of Adderall.

Sadly, there’s no free lunch.

1) Side effects are numerous. Some are minor, some serious, and some very serious. Most users have no clue as to negative side effects and usually don’t care. Ignorance, we suppose, is bliss. The most important and most negative side-effect is the Overdose. Overdose with Adderall is nasty. Results include Cardiac and/or pulmonary arrest, death, severe and lasting mental effects/defects. Which one happens to you is a matter of chance. If you’re in an Emergency Room and still alive your chances are relatively good. If you overdose at your apartment and are alone, the chance of your living is slim. If you Over Dose at a party, maybe a Frat Party, you’ve probably bought it. Drunken, high Frat boys are not known for their medical skills or even a modicum of clear thinking. Minor side effects include anxiety, and transient depression. More serious effects include heart palpitations, elevation of blood pressure, Tourette’s syndrome, seizures, stroke, and psychotic episodes or plain old psychosis.

Read entire article:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-ronald-ricker-and-dr-venus-nicolino/adderall-the-most-abused_b_619549.html

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Pill popping: “The misconception is that prescription drugs aren’t dangerous because a doctor gives them out”

Monday, April 12th, 2010

The Purdue University Calumet Chronicle
By Andrea Drac
April 12, 2010

According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA)’s survey the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2008 15.2 million Americans age 12 and older had taken a prescription pain reliever, tranquilizer, stimulant, or sedative for nonmedical purposes at least once in the year.

Addiction to and the abuse of prescription drugs, also known as “pill popping,” has become a national trend. According to Ivan Budisin, a psychologist at the PUC Counseling Center, pill popping has become a trend due to the fact that prescription drugs are becoming more available.

“In 1991, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse there were 40 million orders for prescription drugs sent out,” said Budisin. “In 2001, 180 million orders were sent out. It’s a huge increase.”

According to an article on the NIDA web site entitled, “Prescription Drug Abuse – Topics in Brief,” the three most commonly abused classes of prescription drugs are Opioids such as Vicodin, which are often prescribed to treat pain; Central Nervous System (CNS) depressants such as Valium, which are used to treat anxiety and sleep disorders; and stimulants such as Ritalin, which are prescribed to treat certain sleep disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Budisin said that prescription drug addiction is most popular among high school and college students due to easy access, either by taking their own prescription drugs for non-medicinal purposes, or taking someone else’s prescription drugs for non-medicinal purposes. Another reason for addiction has to do with cost; prescription drugs do not cost a lot of money, so it is easy to afford.

There is also a huge misconception involved in prescription drug abuse and addiction, which makes it such a huge trend.

“The misconception is that prescription drugs aren’t dangerous because a doctor gives them out,” said Budisin.

Read entire article:  http://media.www.pucchronicle.com/media/storage/paper1082/news/2010/04/12/News/Pill-Popping-3903522.shtml

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“Lap Dance Therapy” & other psychobabble used for “Special Ed” – practices called harmful & damaging to kids

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Maia Szalavitz
The Huffington Post
November 4, 2009

Are lap dances an effective therapy for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or drug addiction? It doesn’t seem like a question that should require a serious answer — but a state investigation of Oregon’s Mount Bachelor Academy (MBA) has substantiated allegations made by students and staff that such “therapy” was part of the school’s “emotional growth” curriculum and forced an emergency shutdown of the campus.

Just this June, the Supreme Court had decided in favor of a couple who sued for payment of MBA’s tuition to treat their son’s ADHD and marijuana problem. The Court determined that parents of disabled children do have the right to seek such taxpayer support from a school district, even if they haven’t tried public special education first.

While the decision didn’t specify whether MBA itself was appropriate, some districts across the country are already reimbursing parents for its current $76,000 annual tuition, despite decades of allegations of similarly inappropriate and unproven practices.

Read entire article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maia-szalavitz/school-using-lap-dances-t_b_345477.html

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