New research on the brain and behavior clarifies the mysteries of addiction by Craig Lambert, Harvard Magazine, March 2000. Early experiences with drugs, whether in the womb or as an adult, have ineradicable effects. Drug users often describe a wish to recapture the bliss of their first high. But this goal proves elusive because once [...]

University of Wisconsin-Madison based program aims to better drug treatment Green-Milon’s apparent success in overcoming her addictions is all too rare, experts say. Only about a tenth of the 24 million Americans who need drug treatment get it, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and at least half of them relapse. Part of [...]

The Narcotic Farm: The Rise and Fall of America’s First Prison for Drug Addicts is a book exploring an experiment to deal with addicted criminals. The farm was the first place to look at drug addicts as patients that were in need of treatment instead of criminals in need of punishment. The farm did experiments [...]

Smokefree from the UK National Health Service provides useful advice for smokers everywhere. It is targeted to those living in the United Kingdom (sensibly, given their mission) but provides information anyone can benefit from, such as: “you are up to four times more likely to succeed if you use NHS support and stop smoking medicines [...]

Alcohol major cause of drug rehab admissions, again Alcohol has again topped harder drugs like ice and heroin as the addiction which drives the most Australians into crisis rehab. Seventy per cent of people admitted to the major not-for-profit rehab centre Odyssey House, based in Sydney, in the past financial year listed alcohol as among [...]

Brett Favre’s addiction to painkillers (1996) After the seizure had ended and he had come to his senses, Favre looked into a sea of concerned medical faces and saw Packers associate team physician John Gray. “You’ve just suffered a seizure, Brett,” Gray told him. “People can die from those.” Favre’s heart sank. Upon hearing from [...]

From the United States National Institute of Health, Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide – Why can’t drug addicts quit on their own? Nearly all addicted individuals believe in the beginning that they can stop using drugs on their own, and most try to stop without treatment. However, most of these attempts [...]

National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH on how effective is drug addiction treatment: According to several studies, drug treatment reduces drug use by 40 to 60 percent and significantly decreases criminal activity during and after treatment. For example, a study of therapeutic community treatment for drug offenders (See Treatment Section) demonstrated that arrests for violent [...]

September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. Voices of recovery…

His Life Nearly Destroyed by Drugs, Robert Downey Jr. Found Love and Fought His Way to Recovery.