The reality show Deadliest Catch follows a few different privately owned fishing boats in the Bering Sea, chronicling the hard labor that comes with the job and the personal stories of many of the fishermen as well as the boats’ captains. One thing that the show doesn’t do is address the drug addiction that is rampant among fishermen – until now.

Drug Addiction and Deadliest Catch

It’s not uncommon for fishermen to abuse crystal meth and other stimulants in order to stay awake for 36+ hours at a time during the most labor intensive parts of the trip or for them to smoke marijuana or drink heavily to unwind. But the problem this time around was likely a mixture of job stress and depression. Jake Harris is one of the new owners of the Cornelia Marie after his father, Phil Harris, the former captain of the boat, passed. Though Jake had struggled with drug addiction for years, he sought drug addiction treatment right around the time that his father died and did well during rehab. When he got out, he and his brother were tasked with finding a captain who was a good fit for their boat and would be able to help them carry on their father’s legacy.

The man they chose didn’t quite work out as the brothers had hoped. The boat made absolutely no money at all on their trip and the captain got along with no one on the crew, causing many long-time crew members to find a new boat. It was alleged by the captain that Jake had been smoking marijuana while aboard the ship, and he had a cop waiting to drug test Jake at the dock to prove his charges.

If Jake did get high on board the Cornelia Marie, he wouldn’t be the first fisherman to do so. Stress over the relations between the crew and the captain, financial concerns, and the sheer wear and tear caused by the job may have made it difficult for him to avoid triggers to get high. It’s a topic that the reality show has handled with grace and objectivity, allowing fans a better look inside both the world of fishing and the issue of drug addiction in the workplace.

When Work Encourages Drug Addiction

It’s not an issue exclusive to fishermen. Many people struggle with getting high while at work or drinking heavily and abusing drugs after work and on the weekends due to stress and pressure. The constant threat of losing your job because of the state of the economy doesn’t help, either, and if you don’t like your job, the risk of drug addiction only gets worse.

If you are living with a drug addiction and feel that your job is part of the cause, take measures to find new employment. If that’s impossible –and for many, it is – then get the drug rehab help you need so that you can learn to manage the stress without drugs and alcohol. Contact us at The Canyon today for more information about our drug rehab program.

Marijuana addiction treatment should address both the physiological effects of the drug and the psychological cravings that characterize addiction. While patients definitely need a medical professional to walk them through marijuana detox and guide through an intensive addiction treatment program, they can bring quite a bit to the table to help themselves avoid relapse and stay on track during the recovery process.

No one knows you better than you. You know your emotional responses to events and people, and you can identify when those emotional responses are serious enough to derail your intentions during marijuana addiction treatment. Relapse usually starts with a triggering event, followed by an emotional response and the compulsion to get high. Here’s what you can do to notice what’s going on and self-correct before you spin out of control.

Triggering Event

Triggering events are different for everyone. It can be something big like a death in the family or a pending divorce or something smaller in scale like someone cutting you off in traffic or speaking to you rudely. Depending on your mood, the smaller issues can glance off you without affecting you on some days and on others, they can cause serious upset.

If you know that certain things trigger a strong emotional response in you, figure out how to avoid them whenever possible. If a relationship is stressful more often than not and you constantly feel like you want to get high as a result, end the relationship. If a job causes you to feel bad about yourself or makes you angry, find a new job.

For the situations that you can’t change – say, your reaction to a family member – figure out how to mitigate the problem. Limit your contact as much as possible and create a plan for how you will handle it when the situation inevitably crops up – without smoking pot.

Emotional Response

Having an emotional response or reaction to an event or stressful situation is natural. How you express those emotions is defined by your maturity level. Throwing fits, screaming and yelling, or becoming violent in any way will do nothing to change the situation positively. Neither will indulging in the compulsion to get high. The answer is not to go to the opposite extreme and ignore those emotional issues or pretend that your fine. The best thing to do is find a way to vent in a healthy manner and let those feelings go in a way that won’t hurt you or anyone around you.

Compulsion to Get High

Everyone gets cravings every now and then during recovery. There’s no avoiding it. How you handle those cravings is key. If the triggering event and emotional response make you crave marijuana despite your best efforts, have another plan in place. Call someone. Distract yourself. Treat yourself in some other way. Do something –anything – else except get high. Don’t let anything come between you and your marijuana addiction recovery.

There’s been another professional casualty due to the Contra Costa County drug task force debacle.  Stephen Tanabe, a Contra Costa County Sheriff’s deputy recently resigned in the face of accusations that he set up DUI busts to ruin the reputations of men who wound up on a dirty private investigator’s bad side. That alleged dirty private investigator is Chris Butler, currently accused of being the right hand man to drug ring operator and former head of the drug task force, Norman Wielsch.

Norman Wielsch was arrested recently for stealing drugs confiscated in drug busts, drugs like crystal meth, marijuana and steroids, among others.

Tanabe was officially arrested for “possession and transfer of an assault rifle and conspiracy to possess and sell controlled substances.” The investigation into the drug ring run by Butler and Wielsch is ongoing.

What the Investigation Means to Previous Drug Investigations

Unfortunately, the suspect and illegal dealings of those involved in the current investigation calls into question the results of hundreds of other cases run by the task force in Contra Costa County. Officials are angry and many are gearing up for cases that attempt to overthrow their convictions in light of the new information. Police misconduct is one of the most common reasons for overturned convictions and drug arrests that get thrown out of court before they result in conviction or sentencing. In this case, the flood gates have not yet opened and likely won’t until convictions of the arrestees are obtained. Given the steady flow of new information, arrests and resignations, convictions likely won’t be long in coming. Though none are guilty until proven innocent, the word is that many are planning their own cases based on the outcome.

Do You Have Confidence in Law Enforcement Officials?

It should be pointed out that while cases like these get a host of media attention, the very reason they are so starkly highlighted is that they don’t happen all the time. If corruption were an everyday occurrence, the media wouldn’t spend so much time on it. Thousands of law enforcement officials do their jobs honorably and have a true desire to stop drug trafficking as much as possible and help those who want to fight their own issues with drug addiction.

Unfortunately, the public doesn’t always agree. What do you think? Do you trust law officials to do the right thing when it comes to victims of drug addiction and drug sales arrests? Or do you feel that most law enforcement professionals don’t earn the trust of the public?

Michael Phelps

So Michael Phelps, Olympic gold medalist eight times over, recently had his picture taken smoking marijuana from a bong. Not that it matters that it was from a bong as opposed to any other smoking device, just that it was undeniable what he was smoking based on the fact that he was smoking out of a bong. And on a college campus, the University of South Carolina to be exact. Yeah, it really didn’t look good for him, especially since he was one of 12 Olympic athletes who signed the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency “My Victory” initiative last year with the goal and intent of keeping competitive sports clean.

Proof of Marijuana Abuse is Not Yet In

There’s the picture, yes, but a sheriff’s office in South Carolina is looking into the allegations, making an actual criminal investigation into the matter. There is talk of criminal charges being filed against Phelps if it is in fact found to be true.

Sheriff Leon Lott said: “If someone breaks the law in Richland County, we have an obligation as law enforcement to investigate and to bring charges. The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is making an effort to determine if Mr. Phelps broke the law. If he did, he will be charged in the same manner as anyone else. The sheriff has a responsibility to be fair, to enforce the law and to not turn a blind eye because someone is a celebrity.”

However, both the Columbia, South Carolina police and the university police say they won’t press charges.

What Phelps Says About the Marijuana Abuse

I’m not sure what exactly the investigation is about, since Phelps seems to admit that he was smoking weed. Why else would he apologize and call his behavior “regrettable”? Phelps says:

“I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I’m 23 years old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public — it will not happen again.”

The U.S. Olympic Committee also issued a statement that said, “Michael has acknowledged that he made a mistake and apologized for his actions. We are confident that, going forward, Michael will consistently set the kind of example we all expect from a great Olympic champion.”

Marijuana Abuse Versus Marijuana Addiction

The difference between the two issues can be very clearly shown by this example. Once or twice having used marijuana is not marijuana addiction. It is bad judgment, maybe, but it is not a medical issue that requires treatment. However, if one is using marijuana daily, multiples times a day, choosing to get high despite the pain it causes others who are close to them, the problems it causes at work or the threat to their own physical and mental health and safety as well as the safety of others, than that is marijuana addiction and it requires medical treatment.

Marijuana Addiction

It’s all very sciency-schmiency but I’ll lay it out for you. According to Medical News Today and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, changes that occur in a molecular pathway in the brain when you smoke marijuana have been linked to symptoms of schizophrenia.

In Layman’s Terms: Marijuana is No Good For Your Head

Neurotransmitters necessary for memory and other cognitive processes are diminished when you smoke pot. For those who have schizophrenia, this neurotransmitter is already inhibited and smoking weed makes it even worse. But it’s not just a danger for those who already have schizophrenia.

David A. Lewis, M.D. is a corresponding author of a recent study on the connection between schizophrenia and marijuana abuse and a UPMC Endowed Professor in Translational Neuroscience, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He says, “Heavy marijuana use, particularly in adolescence, appears to be associated with an increased risk for the later development of schizophrenia, and the course of illness is worse for people with schizophrenia who use marijuana.”

Marijuana Addiction: No Such Thing as Innocent Experimentation

The problem with marijuana is that few people take it seriously. Those who experimented with it back in the ‘60s and ‘70s lived through it just fine, most without developing schizophrenia or addictions to other drugs often feel that there’s no harm in a little flirting when it comes to the green stuff. Unfortunately, the weed that was in circulation back then was far less potent than what is on the streets today. Whether it’s from Canada, Mexico or homegrown, today’s marijuana is exceedingly strong with higher levels of THC, which makes its effects that much more harmful. It’s also easier to find. More and more people are learning how to grow it themselves and with the advent of medical marijuana, more pharmaceutical grade product is making its way to the street.

Finding Marijuana Addiction Treatment

Few drug rehab facilities cater to the needs of those who suffer from marijuana addiction. It’s a sad commentary on the state of drug addiction treatment in the United States and the weight of the problem with addiction in general that so little has been developed in the way of specific marijuana addiction treatment.

At The Canyon, every person who comes to stay with us enjoys a highly unique drug rehab experience. Contact us today for more information on the marijuana rehab program that we can provide you or someone you love struggling with marijuana addiction.

Medical Marijuana Rehab

You’d think that medical marijuana would—by virtue of being medication—be inherently, if not healthy, at least safe, right? Well, apparently, the results of research focused on whether or not marijuana is good for your health or another problem needing treatment are mixed.

According to the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) and Medical News Today, a review of studies done on medical marijuana over the last 40 years was recently published and found that “short-term use appeared to increase the risk of non-serious adverse events.”

More research is definitely needed on the topic, especially on the effects of long-term use of the drug. But here’s what we know:

Smoke is Smoke is Smoke

Smoke it for a physical health issue or smoke it for recreation: the fact remains that you are still smoking. Like cigarettes, it’s not just the toxins associated with tobacco or marijuana that are dangerous but the smoke itself. Marijuana smoke is just as harmful to your lungs, throat and mouth, opening you up for breathing problems and cancer risk just like cigarettes.

Marijuana Use and Psychological Health Issues

Your body doesn’t know the purpose of marijuana use. Whether you use the drug to help you relax after work or with the hopes that it will help ease a physical health symptom, marijuana is still linked to the development of certain mental illnesses.

Weighing the Risks

Like all medical measures, there are residual effects and side effects associated with marijuana use when used to treat a medical problem, just like there are with a number of drugs. Maybe your nausea will be eased, but now you’re too tired to get out of bed.

And then there’s the matter of dosing. Most who have a medical marijuana card are not prescribed a certain amount of the drug each day. The variances in different kinds of marijuana make this almost impossible. Patients are left to figure out how much they need and when on their own. Addiction is almost a guarantee under these circumstances. And when there is addiction present, a new medical need for marijuana addiction treatment arises.

Medical Treatment for Medical Marijuana Addiction

Are you addicted to marijuana? If you need help treating your addiction to the drug, even if you also need treatment for mental illness associated or not with your marijuana use, you can find that help at The Canyon.

Have you used medical marijuana to treat an illness? What was your experience? How did you feel? What facts did you use to weigh the risks and what did you eventually discover in your personal experience?

Avid pot smokers don’t want to hear it, but more and more studies are coming out lately that say that marijuana abuse affects more than just your motivation; it affects your brain and, specifically, parts of your brain that control your psychological behavior. Summed up, it’s not just one study but many that are pinpointing marijuana abuse as part of the problem in cases of psychosis, schizophrenia and brain abnormalities.

What the Experts Say About Marijuana Abuse and Mental Illness

* One study put out by Cygnet Health Care, a British provider of psychiatric care for patients with psychological, emotional and addiction problems, and published in the British Journalo of Psychiatry and Medical News Today states that, “Teenage cannabis users are more likely to suffer psychotic symptoms that raise the risk of full-blown mental illness in later life.” The significance of this study is that psychosis was linked to the very earliest stages of marijuana usage. This means that no experimentation with the drug is harmless.
* Another study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, and Medical News Today found that long-term use of marijuana can lead to structural abnormalities in the hippocampus and amygdala. These areas are smaller in marijuana smokers, areas that regulate things like emotions, memory, fear and aggression. This translated into more symptoms of psychosis among marijuana users than those who did not use the drug.

Are You Experiencing Symptoms of Psychosis Due to Marijuana Abuse?

There are a number of different things that you may experience when you are addicted to or abuse marijuana, but the following symptoms of psychosis occur even when the “high” has worn off. Look for feelings of:

* Suspicion of being followed or that someone is trying to influence you
* Strange things are happening around you or to you
* Uncontrollable thoughts or speedy thoughts

Dr Zerrin Atakan is a consultant for Cygnet Health Care and has researched and written on the effects of marijuana. He says there is hope: “The provision of appropriate knowledge delivery on the subject and early intervention are both important to prevent the development of a psychotic illness.”

What Do You Think?

There are a number of studies that link long-term marijuana abuse to health problems and yet people are still pushing for legalization. These studies show that short-term use, too, can have an effect on people and further prove that among the long-term health consequences are psychological problems.

But what do you think? Marijuana: health risk or restorative drug?