Can you answer bobby_s_420’s question about Addiction?:

I’m a recovering alchy & attend drug/alchol classes 4 nites a week, but I’m told as well as the meth heads attending we suffer from a disease of addiction. Why say it’s a disease? NOBODY forced the bottle down my throat nor the crack pipe in anyones face either.
See problem is I attend meetings & recovery groups 4 days a week, The facilitators & counselors all say addiction is a disease. I belive it’s a choice like I said nobody forced anybody to use. Is it just an excuse not too take responsibility for your actions? And by the wikipedia isn’t a reliable source.

Teen Drug Recovery

The Department Of Transportation (DOT) has issued new rules for drug and alcohol testing, for all the transportation employers and safety-sensitive transportation employees. This new regulation was designed to prevent accidents and property damage that are caused by the misuse of drug and alcohol by the drivers. DOT has provided certain rules on how to conduct these tests, what is the process of testing and who to conduct these tests. These rules cover the employees of State and Local government who are required to have a Commercial driving License (CDL).

Education and Training of Drug Testing

Every company has to provide the educational materials for their drivers, which explains the requirements and policies for testing drug and alcohol ingestion regulations. According to the Sec.382.601 (b), the educational materials should include the following discussions.

· Personal identity of the drivers designated by the employer to answer the questions regarding the material.

· Requirements of the drivers, subject to the misuse of alcohol and controlled substance requirements.

· Explanation of safety-sensitive function to understand the period of workday that is required for the drivers to be in compliance.

· Specific information regarding the conduct of the driver that is prohibited.

· The circumstances under which the driver will be tested for drug, alcohol or any other substances.

· The test procedure of DOT conducted for the presence of drug or alcohol substances.

· The list of requirements for submitting the alcohol or drug tests by the driver.

· Explanation of what constitutes the refusal to submit the drug or alcohol testing.

· The consequences for drivers found to be dishonored the rules of prohibition of alcohol or other substances. This includes, immediate removal of driver safety-sensitive functions.

· The information about the affects of drugs, alcohol, or any such substances on the health and work of the people.

Drugs That DOT Test

As specified by the DOT, the companies should test for alcohol and the following five drugs:

· Marijuana, Cocaine, Opiates, Amphetamines and Phencyclidine (PCP).

Different Tests That DOT Require

According to the rules of DOT, drivers have to perform the following drug and alcohol tests: Pre-Employment Testing, Reasonable Suspicion Testing, Post-Accident Testing and Random Testing.

Apart from these four tests, the “Return-to-duty” and “Follow-up tests” are linked to the employer’s consequences policy, which are to be performed under the DOT rule.

This information makes you aware about the DOT drug and alcohol tests and educational measures that every company provides for their employees.



Thanks to Drug Alcohol Test for contributing this article to our Addiction blog:

Teen Drug Recovery

The alcohol addiction treatment program in New Jersey is an elaborately planned program. The alcohol addiction is mainly treated with the rehab program. The rehab programs provide complete rehabilitation program for the alcohol addicts and help them to quit their addiction and live a normal life.

The alcohol rehab in New Jersey also works towards these two things. Firstly, to help the patient quit addiction and secondly, to make them well adjust to the society after they quit the addiction. Here the alcohol rehab program in New Jersey is explained briefly.

The alcohol addiction is the most common kind of addiction seen all over the world. It is quite a task for a person to leave the habit of consuming alcohol. Even though the alcohol addict manages to come out of this habit, the alcohol that he or she consumed when they were in addiction gets accumulated in their body. This accumulated alcohol can create major health troubles in their future life. The main task in the alcohol rehab program in New Jersey is to remove every trace of alcohol from the patient’s body.

The procedure in which the patient’s body is cleansed internally is known as the detoxification process. The patient will not be allowed to consume alcohol when he or she is undergoing detox treatment. The patient will be given various medications that will cleanse their body. Due to the abstinence, the body of the patient starts protesting and the patient might show some withdrawal symptoms. In some patients, who are into addiction from a longer time, these withdrawal symptoms can become quite serious. The detoxification program can last up to three weeks for such patients. For those whose addiction is not quite drastic, the withdrawal will be over within three to four days.

The detox program during the alcohol rehab in New Jersey focuses on cleaning the patient’s body so that no future risk is present to the patient once they quit their addiction. If a patient doesn’t get detoxified at the right time, then even after leaving the alcohol addiction they might get liver diseases and other kinds of diseases caused by alcohol in their later life. After the removal of the alcohol from the body and after the discharge from the treatment center, the patient can be sure that they will not get into any major health troubles due to their past addiction.

The alcohol rehab in New Jersey is quite a comprehensive treatment program and detoxification is just a part of it. The patient will be given proper counseling at every stage of their treatment and even after finishing the treatment. Here, the patients and their families will be educated about the addiction and their effects on the addict’s body. The patients will also be told various methods and therapies to stay out of addiction and fight the urge to consume alcohol.

After the treatment is over and the patient goes back to his or her home, they have to fight with the temptations for the substance. Fighting with these temptations will also be a major task for the patient and their family. The various therapies like Yoga, breathing exercises, and other such relaxation therapies will surely help them to come out of this phase. The patients may have a relapse. That’s why the counseling given to the family of the patients tries to educate the family how they should handle if at all such thing happens.

The family of the patient will also be given proper guidance on how they should motivate the patient to stay focused and away from alcohol. Family members will be told how they should react to what the patient says and behaves. In order to help the patient kill the urge to consume alcohol, the family can play a major role. If the patient will get proper emotional support from the family, then there are high chances that the patient will overcome this difficult phase in his or her life.

Hence the program on alcohol rehab in New Jersey takes care of its patients in each and every possible way. There are various other programs conducted by the rehab centers in order to create awareness among the masses about the bad effects of the alcohol addiction. There are various seminars and workshops organized in places like schools and colleges to make the young generation aware about the alcohol addiction.



Thanks to Todd Lange for contributing this article to our Addiction blog:

Teen Drug Recovery

Addiction Intervention is a phase that enters a person’s life prior to a recovery program. This is a kind of a loving get together. This makes the person feel good about the fact that all his loved ones & dear ones have gathered with a single purpose of making her recover. As soon as he realizes that all of his loved ones care for him & are getting together for his betterment. The addict should be able to recognize the fact that he is lucky & loved by all.

The main goal of an addiction intervention is to make the person agree to get admitted to an addiction treatment program or a rehab center. The main purpose of this program is to make the person understand that he must give up addiction. The will power in the individual will do the trick. It will make him understand that he has visited a rehab center to give up an unhealthy habit that has been affecting his health, his relationships & life as a whole.

Addiction intervention creates a kind of support system that lets the individual grow & chard positively.

Everyone around must also communicate the consequence do the person because these types of decisions are life altering & difficult to take. Hence, there is a need of professional intervention in this case.

Under the program of addiction intervention the individual gets admitted to a drug rehab & gets attention & treatment for his problem.

Addiction intervention can be divided in to two categories namely, informal & formal:

- Informal intervention

It is a kind of conversation that you may have with the person you are concerned. Here, you need to share some of your observations, asking different questions & even suggesting that the patient requires a professional addiction treatment. These types of intervention are a great way to discuss the med of professional help for addition in private. This intervention can ultimately have positive effects on the person in case, it is planned out in advance & gets conducted in a comfortable place as soon as the addict is calm & sober.

When getting an informal intervention, you need to make sure that you get the real facts about alcoholism & addiction. Try to take to someone close about your concerns before the intervention. It is very important to pick the right time & place for the intervention. Plan way before the intervention about what you will be saying & then mentally prepare yourself for the discussion.

You should take special care about conveying your affection & respecting the addict. Don’t forget to express your concern. You need to quote specific examples of how addiction has affected the life of addict. Try to offer assistance. You need to put across several options where the treatment is available. Don’t expect a miracle to happen overnight. It takes time. Keep providing your support & assistance to the addict & improvement will definitely follow.

- Formal intervention

This is quite different from an informal one. Here, a trained professional is required to act as a mediator. The professional helps in developing a well structural & preplanned conversation between the addict & support group during the intervention.

In this type of intervention, a group of people & the addict try to explore the way the addiction has affected his or her life. This type of intervention is required where the addict has refused to avail help many times together. The formal intervention is structured in a fashion to help the addict take important steps & address their addiction issues & then getting in to an agreement for a treatment program on an immediate basis.

Make sure that an addiction intervention program does a lot of good to the addict.



Thanks to Bertil Hjert for contributing this article to our Addiction blog:

Addiction Tips