Blue Haven Hospitalities

Archive for the ‘Drug Rehab’ Category

Until the turn of the 20th century, opium was a legal drug and because of its extensive use as drug of abuse it was declared as illegal. The opium indeed has a very long and interesting history. It was started to consume as far as the Neolithic age of man as a medicinal drug. Nations even fought over this precious drug and there even had been the famous “Opium war”. It is legendary that the Victorian age poets used this drug to get into their romantic stance and belt out their beautiful verses. The opium is basically a narcotic drug and it is extracted from the opium seeds in the liquid form and, when the liquid is exposed into the air it turns dark, and then it is either smoked or swallowed. Opium is a powerful pain reliever and it is very easily available in all the medical stores. It is indeed known as the “poor man’s heroin”. It has the usual effects of all the drugs but in addition it has the blinding effect, if it is consumed in overdose. The “high” of opium will give a relaxed, fearless and confident state. The after effects are loss of body weight, dehydration due to excessive urination, nerve damage, memory loss, vision impairment, decreased sexual desire and increased anxiety. Like all its peers the intake of this drug will increase the dependence of the body, and thus the next time you take this drug more amounts has to be used in order to achieve the same effect. The drug is more vicious than heroin because the withdrawal effects are very strong for opium when compared to the heroin. So for the quitters it might be a tough job as the drug is just present everywhere and because the body becomes more dependent just after every use. But all they just need is professional help and rehabilitation centers can always provide them.

Portugal’s has now come up with a new way to treat the problem of drug addiction. The Portugal’s new policy may surprise you but it in the end it had provided a fruitful result. The new policy of Portugal is to treat the drug addict and not to punish them. You may be asking how it was very effective in reducing the drug usage among the youngster. The answer for all your question comes in the following few lines. When Portugal found that the news report carried news about the person who was found sprawled in the streets of Lisbon Slum. This made the government of Portugal to take not just an initiative but also to reduce the usage of drugs such as heroin and cocaine among people. So what’s that step? Portugal government decriminalized the act of using drugs. Many political parties argued that this is a great lunacy and also an ultra liberalization of drugs. What they said is people from all over the Europe will come to Portugal to take heroin and other type of drugs because the usage of drugs is not a criminal act in Portugal. They feared that the hotels and the resorts will be occupied by the drug tourists and the Portugal would serve as a dumping-ground for them.

Nicotine is an extremely addictive drug. It is the reason behind the “high” of every smoke. Some people may wonder whether smoking is an addiction at all, because it does not cause any hangover or unconsciousness. But every drug is deadly in their own phase and only their effects are different. Nicotine is basically a psychoactive drug and the addicts will tell the calming effects after a smoke. It is because nicotine affects the pleasure centers in the brain. This leads to the pleasing and addictiveness of smoking. About 86% of lung cancer is contributed by this. It also causes emphysema and bronchitis. The effects start right from the mouth leading to mouth and throat cancer. Nicotine develops tolerance level and thus leads to the increase in the intake of nicotine which causes long time smokers into chain smokers. As soon as the nicotine reaches the lungs it induces many hormones which in turn will increase the brain activity and lead to sharpness, alertness and increase in concentration. But these are just false assurances for the smoker and smoking will eventually lead to loss in appetite and thus weight loss and anxiety.

If we are stressed and want to relax we smoke, if we want showoff we smoke, we smoke for peer pressure but at times we just need a smoke. The reasons may vary from person to person but the effect is always deadly. The advertisement makers show smoking as a way to improve your image, show your style, your machoness even a way to win girls. Yes the image given to smoking in the society is not as a deadliest enemy rather a casual habit. Persons may even consider smoking as a respect to their social peers. Does smoking affect only the concerned person? The answer is No, unlike all the other drugs which only impairs psychological pressure to others; smoking directly can affect the passive smokers physically. Only recently smoking in public has been prohibited for the welfare of the passive smokers. Inhaling nicotine directly affects the lungs and cause many respiratory problems. The smoking habit for many people kick starts right at the young age. Some find it as a proud moment when they first fill their lungs with smoke. What starts as a game can turn into lifelong addiction. Some are inspired by a parent to smoke. The smokers get their “high” when they inhale the smoke until it fills their lungs and releases it through mouth and nostrils. But every inhaling can cause the change to the tissues. So it is better to stop before it is too late.

Steroids are now the trend in sports arena. A steroid is good for us it helps to make the body stronger and better. It can either be had orally or can be injected. It is of two types oil-based and water-based. When it enters the body it creates “Positive nitrogen balance”. This was mainly used in the bodybuilding arena and those who are the regular visitors of the gym may have wide knowledge about steroids being used to bring out all the muscles of the machoness as said by their gym instructors. But the use of steroids took a hit when it found was to be misused in the sports arena. It is used in the sole aim of excelling and the pressure to rise above others. There gone are the times when the sports personnel’s used to tone their body with natural food and hours of working out and dedication to sports they love. Now we see someone winning gold medals one day and the next day they are flashed all over the world with tears saying that they were not aware that they used prohibited drug and they took it under the instruction of their coaches. Hence the steroid can be called as the “Scandal king”. The steroids that are generally used by sports persons are “Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED)” and “Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS)”. It has ruined the life of many well known Olympic-medal-winning sports stars. So steroids gained popularity as the spoilers or cheaters of sportsmanship. But the steroid is sort of attaining cult status among the youngsters especially those who want a nice physique. Steroid induces the testosterone hormones. This hormone had both anabolic and androgenic effects. The bodybuilders are concerned with the anabolic side of the hormone because that helps in increased strength, increased muscle size and increased muscle recovery. The steroids interfere with the normal functioning of the hormones and enhance it. This leads to many serious side effects. It can cause cardiovascular disease, palpitation, increased heart size, impotency, headache, stomach ache, muscle tear, insomnia, depression and hair fall. Another shocking side effect of this is it causes stunted growth. This fact has been widely proved. It is not good to mess up with what nature had made because it may cause serious effects. The use of steroids has been banned widely. But steroids are not addictive and they can be kept under control through proper knowledge of its effects.

Money and availability is not an issue in solvents class of drugs, because tube glue, petrol, nail polish, aerosol are the drug items are under solvents and they are very cheap and are easily available. Hence it is called as the “Poor man’s drug”. The chemical name is “Volatile substances” and they are basically depressants. The drug was brought into the world stage during the early seventies. It attained immediate popularity because it was widely and openly used by punk rock artists. The only way of administering this drug through inhaling, and the “high” is attained immediately, which is the intoxication caused by the chemicals present in the solvents. It is administered by having the solvent in a plastic bag which covers the face entirely and then inhaling it, some may even die of suffocation when they become unconscious. The “high” of the drug lasts only for a short while and this leads to the use of it repeatedly. The intake will lead to slowing down of the heart to dangerous levels and persons may even die when they are taking the drug for the first time due to heart attack. Some try mixing the various solvents to get a strong feel, if the solvents are mixed together it might lead to poisoning. Many of the solvents used are flammable and there is always a potential accident of fire.

The use of solvents like leaded petrol will eventually result in lead poisoning to lungs and heart and may eventually damage the liver. Sometimes the drug is taken directly i.e. it is swallowed, this will lead to the lungs getting filled up with the fluid and will also make the heart beat lower. The glue is also one of the solvent type and it is taken by applying the glue above the upper lip and then it can be inhaled directly which leads to sudden “high”. In case of using lighters which is also one of the solvent types of drug, they contain butane and inhaling it may even lead to heart attack. It has been reported that 60% of volatile substance abuse deaths, have been caused by the chemicals which is sniffed and can be extremely toxic at times. The addiction is not really strong but the body can become tolerant and one way to stop the addiction is creating awareness by educating them with the haphazard of solvent use.

PCP stands for “Phencyclidine”. Its street names are “Angel dust”, “Ozone”, “Rocket fuel” and “Wet”. This is a dissociative drug and its effects are anapestic, hallucinogenic and neurotoxin. This drug especially has the brain as its target. It affects the motor functions, coordination and also causes unusual behavior. It was not as popular as the other drugs when it was introduced, the main reason was since this drug is basically dissociative the user feels detached from their body and this can be frightening for first time users. So the professional drug addicts stayed away from this drug and even the first time users were scared away because of its effect. Initially the drug was a failure and even now it is not widely used. Then the drug was given a new name, instead of PCP it was sold out as TCH. But this proved to be even worse because this resulted confusion to the users because TCH didn’t provide what they had expected. Even the sales of TCH began to fall down. Then PCP made its come back with its new name “Angel dust” which is used to denote the combination of crack and heroin. With the new name PCP alias angel dust, it was able to hold some drug market. But even the dissociative effect couldn’t drive away some of the users.

There are still followers of “Angel dust” who just loved the dissociation effect and found it to be pleasing, and added it to their drugs kit. The immediate effects are drowsiness, no feel of pain, unaware of the surroundings, sense of strength and invulnerability. The PCP when taken as pill is very strong , the pill will show its effects after 30 or 60 minutes, and the person will be “high” for 24 hrs and it may even take 64 hrs for the effects to wear off. Another way to take this drug is to mix this with marijuana and smoke it. This is relatively less stronger compared to PCP as pill and even though the person will get “high” immediately, the effect will stay only for 5 or 6 hrs. High doses though may not lead to death will result in seizures and coma. The continuous use of this drug leads to psychological dependence, craving, memory loss, weight loss, depression and difficulties with speaking and learning. These effects will persist even after one year of quitting it. So it may lead to relapse easily. Valium is used as the emergency withdrawal medicine. Rehabilitation is a little tough because the users may become violent and suicidal and extreme care should be taken for they cannot be left alone. But continuous therapy will help the addicts get over this drug.