Comment

Comment by Keith McAdam on November 11, 2012 at 10:05am

Thanks for the post Angel. Sounds nasty. All these new under-the-counter designer drugs are frightening.

Comment by Angel Ofire on November 9, 2012 at 1:50pm

Mephedrone is also called Miaow, Meow and MCAT. It's a stimulant made by humans. It's short-acting, and sometimes sold over the internet as “plant-food”. It's not plant-food. It comes as a powder, crystals or pills.

Drugs will always affect people differently. After taking mephedrone , someone might:

• feel more energetic or “rushy”
• feel alert and talkative, and have trouble sleeping
• feel more connected to music and the people around them
• lose their short-term memory and find it hard to concentrate
• have increased heart rate and blood pressure, and temperateure
• sweat more
• have nosebleeds if they've snorted
• feel like taking more mephedrone.

These effects last no more than about an hour. People who take mephedrone will often want to take it again straight away. Mephedrone has a comedown afterwards like other stimulants.

We don't know heaps about the long-term effects of mephedrone because people haven't been using it for that long. It definitely puts strain on your heart in the short and long term, and people have said it gives them chest pains and messes with their heartbeat. Some people have died after using mephedrone.  

Comment by Keith McAdam on November 9, 2012 at 11:07am

Geneva - best place to start is SAMHSA website -they have a ton of free resources.

Comment by Geneva A. Giles on November 6, 2012 at 12:44am

Greetings Everyone! I am new to the professional field of Addictions. I understand general concepts, however many are not from a professional nature. I have held this mentoring or encouraging nature for others to take hold of windows to seek help. Many of these individuals that seek me out have been suffering from addiction.

I have received an offer as an Addiction Counselor and in need of resources ( didatic modules, terminology, DSM-IV-TR related to detoxification and substance abuse treatment, etc.). I also will need to become CADC within 9 months in Michigan. Although this is not my professional area I want to grasp as much knowledge as I can. I thank you in advance for any assistance. 

Comment by Keith McAdam on September 14, 2012 at 10:58am

I don't know if it will "notify" anyone, but I posted in the forum.

Comment by Treva Gail on September 13, 2012 at 7:06pm

I am new to the technology on this page. i just noticed that there is a discussion forum link. I am going to post the question under that link so we can follow the comments better.

Comment by Treva Gail on September 13, 2012 at 7:05pm

Angel, 

Thank you for your comments!! I was puzzled when I read this article as it goes against almost everything I learned in school. For instance, I learned that Marijuana permanently damages brain cells but does not necessarily "kill" them off. I do agree, however, that addiction occurs partly due to genes and environment. I do believe that recovery from addiction has to do with abstinence and an ongoing sober lifestyle. Like diabetes, it can go into "remission", but there has to be a change in lifestyle to maintain health.

Keith,

Thanks for breaking down your opinion of this article! I agree that every addict has their own bottom, and that marijuana is not the first drug of choice for most people. There is so much to learn about the addicted brain. But, what we do know for sure is that the brain is resilient and that recovery is possible for everyone!!!

If you ever find an interesting article or have a question to pose to the group feel free to do so. I think its important to have an ongoing discussion about addiction and current events because there is so much to learn!!

Thanks again! :)

Comment by Angel Ofire on September 13, 2012 at 6:42pm

Well said and summed up Keith, I agree with you whole heartedly on this one, his statements on their own are somewhat inaccurate, to say the least, however each to their own.  

When it comes to the road of recovery should an addict make it to this road, then this road is not an easy one, more often than not many if not most addicts will relapse, and often its more than once that this falling off the wagon cliche so to speak occurs, I believe that there is no such thing as a RECOVERED addict as you are always recovering from the addiction that pulled you into the darkness that you once thought was a high,

However in making this statement this does not mean that there is no hope for those battling with addiction to lead what society deem as normal lives, however the pull of that substance is still always there in the back of ones mind.

Comment by Keith McAdam on September 13, 2012 at 6:00pm

Like Dr. Phil, it's easy to sum things up but harder to tell the complete story. He makes some good points, but I have a few issues with some of his ideas. 1) Unless he knows something about the human genome that he's not telling, I think it's a stretch to proclaim absolutely that there is no addiction gene. 2) Spot on - nicotine and alcohol are more often used before marijuana. 3) The blanket statement that "this simply isn't true" is another stretch; it is more of a struggle to control for some; others recover organically, some die in their active addiction. 4) Yes, but look at studies of long-term meth users, and do some basic research on "wet brain."  Again, it's not as simple as he puts it. 5) the 3rd sentence is key -Everyone has their own bottom. I don't think the statement itself can be classified as a Myth...

Comment by Angel Ofire on September 13, 2012 at 5:55pm

After reading the article by Treva Gail, I have come to the conclusion that although I found it interesting, his misconception's are not entirely accurate about drugs and how they react to ones brain,

drugs DO leave long term lasting damage to the brain,

Pot is also a gateway drug, despite the fact he states alcohol is more addictive, and I do not agree when he says there is no such thing as an addictive gene.  

I did and do however find it disgusting that when an addict tries to gain help to recover they face worse consequences than the death penalty and that  social stigma has enabled people to face recovery or what is deemed to be recovery alone, and doing it cold turkey.  

I am also quite shocked that people seem to think that drugs do  not fry the brain so to speak, when the damage that long term drug use and abuse shows clearly what damage chemical drugs can and do actually cause, when a person chooses to use and abuse these substances.

Not all drugs come in their pure form, many are tampered with, cut and laced by dealers to ensure return business, this is where a lot of the problem with the addiction and substance abuse lies, in the need for greed and money.

At any point in a user's life time, you can not seriously tell me that they do not lie, or cheat to get that cash to get their fix? come on? which was another statement that Mr Gail made in his article that I found to be not quite on the mark.

However without a shadow of a doubt, to find the balance within the recovery process, I think that if a person is willing and strong enough to make this commitment to want to seek assistance, there should in no way be these ground rules that they face and possibilities of loosing their children, or being charged by the police including the further degradation of facing 3 years of ongoing drug testing to ensure the person is clean (so to speak)

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