Drug treatment centers are something of a taboo in polite society: everyone knows they exist, but no one wants to talk about them. The result, unfortunately, is a preponderance of misinformation; they less people say, the more the facts get obscured—and the more concerns potential patients have about entering sobriety programs. In that sense, clearing the air around treatment centers—telling the truth, and setting the record straight—is an essential precursor to the recovery process.

First, let’s be clear about what a drug treatment centers are not. They are not, importantly, the squalid horror shows depicted on television and in popular movies. They are not run by callous nurses, or sadistic doctors. They are not filled with dank rooms and ill-lit hallways; their walls do not echo with the plaintive moans of anguished patients. That sort of fantastic imagery makes for good entertainment, but—thankfully—it’s a far cry from reality. As is so often the case, Hollywood has it all wrong.

Drug treatment centers—real drug treatment centers—are places of healing. Places of growth. Places where recovering patients can lose the scars of their old addictions, and take the first steps on the road to a new life. The treatment center taboo is anything but a sound one; there’s nothing to hide, nothing not to talk about. Recovery is by no means an easy process, but it is—can be, in the right environment—a joyous one. Drug treatment centers, more than anything, are bastions of hope: hope hard and unrelenting; hope challenged and defiant; hope honest, most of all, and resilient, no matter how difficult the course or how rocky the way.

In practical terms, that hope finds its structure in a handful of distinct treatment center models. The unique organizational formats correspond to specific phases of the recovery process, so that an individual patient may spend time in a number of different “types” of center—detox, primary care, extended care, halfway house, 3/4-way house, sober house—en route to his or her final state of health. Understanding each type in turn is important for anyone determined to overcome addiction.

Detox centers, as their name suggests, are designed to see patients through the detox process. Staffed by expert medical professionals, detox centers provide the essential services for addicts in withdrawal: therapeutic medicine, psychological counseling, and intensive supervision. Patients can expect to stay in detox centers as long as their withdrawal symptoms persist, usually for anywhere from three days to two weeks.

Primary care centers are at the core of the recovery process. A person said to be in “rehab” is generally in a primary care center—a place where he or she begins to develop the skills required for sober living. Primary care centers, which often contain in-house detox centers, continue to provide the medical and psychological support needed by the recovering addict. They also help patients embark upon the road to emotional and spiritual healing, mostly through the careful maintenance of a nurturing group dynamic. Primary care programs generally last for a minimum of thirty days.

Extended care centers offer continuing treatment after a patient’s first month of recovery. They build upon the gains made in primary care centers, with a particular emphasis on advanced group interactions and personal introspection. Lasting anywhere from three to six months, extended care helps to reinforce the values and lessons developed during early recovery, with the ultimate goal of helping a patient commit to lasting sobriety.

Halfway houses are the first step back into the “real world,” and aim to gradually reintroduce a patient to the rigors of independent living in a safe, structured environment. Staffed by expert counselors and characterized by the tight restrictions they impose upon their residents, halfway houses allow the patient to test the waters of functional sobriety—by holding a steady job, for example—without losing the support network of a formal recovery institution. Patients usually stay in halfway houses for up to six months.

3/4-way houses are like advanced halfway houses: they continue to provide a safe and structured environment for a patient’s reintroduction to sober living, but they’re designed to develop personal accountability by loosening the restrictions imposed upon residents. They amount to a sort of stepping-off point for recovered addicts, the last staging area before they strike out “on their own” in a sober world.

Sober houses, finally, reintroduce patients to fully independent living. At a sober house, a patient is surrounded and supported by other recovered addicts—by other people who’ve “been there,” and know how it feels; by other people who can help to ensure that the final transition to sober living is a smooth one. The simple triumphs achieved at sober houses might not make for the stuff of big-budget movies, but at the very least they give addicts—all addicts—reason for hope. Hollywood should be so lucky.

In the desperate urge to help addicted and alcoholic individuals regain their lives, rehabilitation centers were first created. They are as varied as the alcoholics and addicts themselves, but break down into basically two types.

1. Long-term Residential Centers-this type of treatment offers a 24 hour structure, support, and drug-free environment in a community made up of both fellow recovering addicts/alcoholics and counselors. Alcoholics and addicts stay in these programs from 30 days up to a year or more. These are also referred to as therapeutic communities. However, this does present problems to the alcoholic or addict who is also intent on continuing their job and supporting or raising a family.

2. Short-term Inpatient Centers-This type of treatment offers a 24 hour structure, with a focus on medical stabilization, abstinence and sobriety, and lifestyle changes. Staff consists primarily of medical professionals and trained counselors, and patients generally only stay a period of a few days up to one month. This was primarily for alcohol abuse treatment, until these programs expanded into drug abuse treatment as well in the 1980’s. This treatment offers most of the benefits of the Long-term Inpatient Program, while only keeping the addict or alcoholic from working or raising a family for up to a month, which makes it a good compromise between long-term inpatient programs and outpatient programs, especially when medical supervision and structure is needed for only a short time. It can easily be combined (and this is optimal for those in short-term inpatient programs) with the outpatient drug-free program for additional support, education, and maintenance of a drug and alcohol free lifestyle, in order to start recovery.

Each of these centers has a lot to offer the alcoholic or addict. Each has it’s own particular shortcomings. They may find it difficult to move on from the long-term residential center back into mainstream life. Or they may find that the short-term residential center doesn’t offer sufficient time and structure to prepare them for the move from the center to their prior lives.

The most important thing when choosing a rehab center is to find one that will work with a focus on the patient’s well-being, rather than a scripted treatment plan. Not every plan works with every patient, and the rehab center that realizes this will tailor the treatment plan, focusing on bringing as many aspects of the addict or alcoholics lost skills and abilities and mental and physical health back as possible.

Once known as “poor man’s cocaine,” the crystalline white powder known
as speed or meth, quickly seduces those who snort, smoke or inject it
with a euphoric rush of confidence, hyperalertness and sexual arousal
that can last for hours, even days on end, and then the destruction
begins.

Meth initially became popular in rural areas in the midwest, and on the
West Coast. With alarming rapidity the epidemic of meth has found it’s
way into the mainstream on its steady march across the country. Cheaper
than most other hard drugs, the highly addictive stimulant is spreading
to people across the socioeconomic spectrum, from soccer moms in
Illinois, and computer geeks in Silicon Valley to factory workers in
Detroit and gay professionals in New York and Los Angeles.

Recently, the White House drug policy office, realizing the potential
disaster on the horizon, has set a goal to cut meth use by 15 percent
over the next three years and increase seizures of meth labs by 25
percent. The abuse of meth, mistakenly thought to only be a minor
problem, has now become an issue on a national level.

With more than 12 million Americans having tried methamphetamine, and
1.5 million admitting to being regular users (according to federal
estimates) meth abuse is quickly spreading. The production of meth is at
an all time high as well. Meth labs have been uncovered in all 50
states, with Missouri topping the list, with more than 8,000 labs seized
between 2002 and 2004. Law enforcement officials across the United
States rank methamphetamine as the No. 1 drug problem they face today.
In a survey of 500 law-enforcement agencies in 45 states by the National
Association of Counties, 58 percent said meth is by far the biggest drug
problem they face, compared with only 19 percent for cocaine, 17 percent
for pot and 3 percent for heroin.

Meth addicts are pouring into prisons and meth rehabilitation centers at an
ever-increasing rate, and a new generation of “meth babies” is choking
the foster-care system in many states. About half the counties reported
that one in five inmates are jailed because of meth-related crimes like
robberies and burglaries. Another 17 percent of counties reported that
one in two inmates are incarcerated for meth-related activity. About
1,000 of the 2,800 inmates in the Oklahoma County jail are incarcerated
for meth-related crimes, he said. Even Mormon Utah has a meth problem,
with nearly half the women in Salt Lake City’s jail testing positive for
the drug in one study.

One thing is for sure, meth abuse is America’s biggest problem, making
it Public Enemy No. 1.

In order to achieve marijuana rehabilitation one must first understand marijuana. Marijuana is a green or gray mixture of dried, shredded flowers and leaves of the hemp plant Cannabis Sativa. There are over 200 slang terms for marijuana including “pot,” “herb,” “weed,” “boom,” “Mary Jane,” “gangster,” and “chronic.” It is usually smoked as a cigarette (called a joint or a nail) or in a pipe or bong. In recent years, it has appeared in blunts. These are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and re-filled with marijuana, often in combination with another drug, such as crack. Some users also mix marijuana into foods or use it to brew tea. A series of cellular reactions ultimately lead to the high that users experience when they smoke marijuana. The short-term effects of marijuana use include problems with memory and learning; distorted perception; difficulty in thinking and problem solving; loss of coordination; and increased heart rate, anxiety, and panic attacks.

Drug treatment programs based on marijuana rehabilitation are rare, partly because many who use marijuana do so in combination with other drugs. Nowadays, with more people seeking help to control marijuana abuse, research has focused on ways to overcome this disease.

One study of adult pot users found that 14 session cognitive behavioral group treatments and 2 session individual treatments that included motivational interviewing and advice on ways to reduce use were helpful in marijuana rehabilitation.

No medications are available to treat marijuana abuse. Recent discoveries about the workings of THC receptors have raised the possibility that scientists may eventually develop a successful medication for marijuana rehabilitation. Such a medication might be used to prevent marijuana abuse relapses by reducing or eliminating its appeal to the user.

Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is both the most abused and the most rapidly acting of the opiates. Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed or pod of certain varieties of poppy plants. It is typically sold as a white or brownish powder or as the black sticky substance known on the streets as “black tar heroin.” Although purer heroin is becoming more common, most street heroin is “cut” with other drugs or with substances such as sugar, starch, powdered milk, or quinine. Street heroin can also be cut with strychnine or other poisons. Because heroin abusers do not know the actual strength of the drug or its true contents, they are at risk of overdose or death. Heroin also poses special problems because of the transmission of HIV and other diseases that can occur from sharing needles or other injection equipment.

Heroin is usually injected, sniffed/snorted, or smoked. Typically, a heroin abuser may inject up to four times a day. Intravenous injection provides the greatest intensity and most rapid onset of euphoria, while intra-muscular injection produces a relatively slow onset of euphoria. When heroin is sniffed or smoked, peak effects are usually felt within 10 to 15 minutes. Although smoking and sniffing heroin do not produce a “rush” as quickly or as intensely as intravenous injection, researchers have confirmed that all three forms of heroin administration are addictive.

Injection continues to be the predominant method of heroin use among addicted users seeking treatment; however, researchers have observed a shift in heroin use patterns, from injection to sniffing and smoking. In fact, sniffing/snorting heroin is now a widely reported means of taking heroin among users admitted for drug treatment. Heroin addicts often name kicking this habit as the hardest thing to do in life. Many experience extreme symptoms of withdrawal that take an extreme physical toll on them making it seemingly impossible to break the cycle of abuse.

A detox program is a program set up to help individuals who are addicted to drugs rehabilitate themselves. The basic definition of a detox program is a program established to detoxify one’s body and rid it of all harmful chemicals and/or toxins. Often times in the holistic world, a detox program can be used to boost the immune system, to lose weight, or as a fasting aid. These can be found in the form of herbal cleanses, colon cleanses, or detox teas.

In the drug rehabilitation world, a detox program is used to help drug addicts kick their destructive drug habits. There are several types of detox programs in the world as we know it. Some deal with the inclusion of legal drugs to counteract the patient’s dependence on the illicit drug they were abusing. One example of this would be the methadone treatment of an opiate addiction. Methadone, also known as Dolophine, is a misunderstood remedy for chronic pain. Even doctors do not understand its potential for improving pain relief methods. Methadone is a narcotic pain reliever for medium to severe pain, and is mostly used for the treatment of dependence on opiates such as Vicodin, Percocet, Morphine, and Heroin.

Unfortunately, it is an arduous task for one to find an effective drug rehabilitation/ detox program because many available methods offer little to no recovery. The success rate of most detox programs is so low because these programs and the people who created them neglect to actually heal the underlying causes of addiction. Alcohol and drugs are never the problem, but the solutions chosen by some to cope with their underlying conditions are.

Many drug-dependent clients enter treatment in a revolving door manner; from one program to the next, only to find themselves unable to break out of the vicious cycle of relapse. Chronic exposure to drug abuse and to alcohol changes the way that the brain functions. It is only by effective medications combined with counseling and support, that the individual can interrupt the vicious self-destructive cycle of abuse and dependence.

Alcoholics Anonymous was founded by William Griffith Wilson (William W.) and Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith (Dr. Bob) in 1935. In 1939 the fledgling organization published its basic textbook, Alcoholics Anonymous. This book, affectionately known as the Big Book, remains the primary text of the group today.

Through their travels, William W. and Dr. Bob, both former alcoholics, learned to treat alcoholism as a disease. They realized the necessity to counteract the hopelessness of the affliction. The conversion of AA lies in the transition from drunkenness to sobriety more than a state of not drinking. The two found that the conversion must move the alcoholic into a life that has no need for drinking. Bill W. and Dr. Bob went to work at the Akron City Hospital in Ohio and converted another drunk to sobriety. These three converts formed the first fellowship that would follow the parameters now followed by present day AA members.

These days AA boasts 2,000,000 recovered alcoholics worldwide. Many say such success lies in the famous AA 12 step program. The parameters of the program lie as follows:

1.One must admit to be powerless over alcohol — that their lives had become unmanageable.
2.Believe that a Power greater than themselves could restore them to sanity.
3.Make a decision to turn your will and your life over to the care of God
4.Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of yourself
5.Admit to God, to yourself and to another human being the exact nature of your wrongs.
6.Be entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7.Humbly ask Him to remove your shortcomings.
8.Make a list of all persons you have harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9.Make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10.Continue to take personal inventory and when you are wrong promptly admit it.
11.Seek to improve your conscious contact with God as you understand Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for you and the power to carry that out.
12.Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, try to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all affairs