The USA has published their 2012 National Drug Control Strategy. The intro from President Obama includes: Illicit drug use in America contributed to an estimated $193 billion in crime, health, and lost productivity costs in 2007, the year for which the most recent estimate is available. In today’s challenging economic environment, we cannot afford such [...]

Some key findings from the Council of State Governments study on Prescription Drug Abuse in America (from 2004). The report is obviously a bit outdated but the problem continues to grow. More than 6.2 million people were current illicit users of prescription drugs in 2002. In 2001, prescription drug abuse and misuse were estimated to [...]

Decriminalise drug use, say experts after six-year study A six-year study of Britain’s drug laws by leading scientists, police officers, academics and experts has concluded it is time to introduce decriminalisation. The report by the UK Drug Policy Commission (UKDPC), an independent advisory body, says possession of small amounts of controlled drugs should no longer [...]

Some interesting details and data from Texas government web site. Drug users constitute a large and growing proportion of the criminal justice population. Drug users not only commit a substantial amount of crime, but as the frequency of drug use increases, the frequency of crime increases and the severity of crimes committed also increases. Drug [...]

Celebrity Russell Brand makes very intelligent comments to a UK government inquiry on how to deal with drug addiction problems. He was an addict and has been drug free now for years. His main point seems to be that we need to take a pragmatic approach to what is a primarily a health problem not [...]

In 1989 the first recovery high schools in the USA began. The Ecole Novelle (now known as Sobriety High) and Peers Enjoying A Sober Education (PEASE Academy) were both started in started in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area, and are still operating today. Today, there are approximately 30 recovery high schools around the USA. Sobriety High [...]

There are many of reasons why people resort to abusing substances such as drugs or alcohol. People from different levels of society and from different age brackets fall into drug or alcohol addiction. Many use it for socialization or enjoyment but others tend to abuse it leading to addiction. Drug and alcohol rehabilitation is so [...]

An Obscure Hallucinogen Gains Legitimacy as a Solution for Addictions Ibogaine, a brown powder derived from the African Tabernathe iboga plant, has intrigued researchers since 1962, when Howard Lotsof, a student at New York University and an opiate addict, found that a single dose erased his drug cravings without causing any withdrawal symptoms. Unfortunately, the [...]

“You cannot fully recovery unless you help the society that made you sick, recover.” New Jerusalem Now, a community of former addicts helping each other achieve a “fullness of life” formerly prevented by drug and alcohol abuse. From the residents’ narratives, you learn how they run their community within a community in one of the [...]

Beyonce Knowles donated her entire $4 million salary for Cadillac Records to the Phoenix House rehabilitation charity. She spent 2 weeks at Phoenix House researching her role in the movie where she played signer Etta James. Etta James struggled with drug addiction throughout her career. Beyoncé Opens Cosmetology Center at Phoenix House The new Cosmetology [...]