A recent survey at a Narconon rehab center reveals how many opiate addicts are abusing only prescription opiates and how many increase their risk of death by adding a benzodiazepine like Xanax.
A new survey of those admitted to a large drug rehab center in the Narconon network revealed that the majority of those entering the rehab are part of the current epidemic of prescription drug abuse. What is even more frightening is that eight out of ten of these admissions were abusing a potentially deadly combination of opiates plus a type of anti-anxiety medication called benzodiazepines.
Highlights of this survey:
Out of 70 admissions that were selected at random from recent admissions, 71% were abusing prescription both opiates (with or without heroin) and benzodiazepines together.
Only eight people were abusing opiates with no use of benzodiazepines.
Only twelve people were not including opiates in their mix of drugs being abused.
The addition of drugs like Xanax, Librium, Valium or Ativan to an opiate high is said by some to make the high more pronounced. But the National Institutes of Health report that withdrawing from both drugs together makes the experience more severe than the experience of someone withdrawing from either one alone.
Even more significant is the fact that the opiate-benzodiazepine combination creates a serious risk that the drug abuser will stop breathing. Each drug suppresses the body?s breathing reflex and together, the effect is compounded. Add alcohol and the risk is even greater.
?When a person begins down the slippery slope of addiction, his judgment is one of the first things to be impaired,? explained Clark Carr, the president of Narconon International. ?When he starts being driven by his cravings, he will stop thinking about the danger to his health or survival. He will take risks that no sober person would take and for almost 15,000 Americans each year, this risk-taking results in death.?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC) in 2010, more than 12 million Americans abused a prescription drug, meaning that they took more than prescribed, took it in a different way than was prescribed, took a drug meant for someone else or acquired it illicitly and then abused it. The CDC also stated that nearly 15,000 people died in 2010 from the abuse of painkillers. As noted by the Drug Awareness Warning Network, emergency room visits for problems with drug abuse often involve multiple drugs.
?Our survey shows the vital necessity of effective programs to help people recover from addiction to opiates and benzodiazepines before an overdose occurs,? stated Mr. Carr. ?At Narconon rehab centers around the world, we successfully help opiate and benzodiazepine addicts leave these drugs behind but education of our youth must be added to keep other people from starting down this path.?
Mr. Carr recommended drug prevention activities for children of all ages. ?Our drug educators can scale our drug education classes to any age bracket,? he added. ?This is the best way to curb this epidemic as these youth grow into adults.?
For more information on the Narconon Drug Prevention and Education Program contact the international offices of Narconon at 1-800-775-8750.
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References:
http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/professional_drugtests_benzodiazepines.htm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12762549
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15380286
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14665804
http://www.samhsa.gov/data/2k12/DAWN096/SR096EDHighlights2010.htm
Source: http://news.narconon.org/opiates-addicts-endanger-lives-adding-benzodiazepines/
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