New findings show that the brain can be trained to value delayed gratification, helpful in treating those who seek instant stimulation from addictive substances.

Most of us have a reasonable ability to look into the future and see rewards and punishments that our behavior may bring. This prevents some from experimenting with drugs, drinking and driving, or even having that extra helping of dessert.

In adults addicted to stimulants, a phenomena known as “delay discounting” greatly decreases their ability to see those future consequences. But now a new study shows that neurocognitive training that targets working memory can significantly reduce “delay discounting” in adults addicted to stimulants like cocaine.

In a randomized trial, participants who received the training through use of memory exercises decreased their rates of future reward discounting by an average of 50 percent, while the rates were not significantly changed for those who received control training.

“This is the first study to demonstrate that memory training decreases delay discounting. The ability of the people in our experimental group to value the future improved,” said lead study author Warren K. Bickel, PhD, professor and director of the Center for Substance Abuse at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute in Roanoke.

This is extremely exciting because it suggests that some of the neurocognitive deficits related to addiction maybe reversible. Researchers have found that addicts’ minds are “filled with the imagination of the pleasure to follow” and not of the possibility of legal or medical damages when they choose whether or not to take a drug. This study provides evidence that this myopic view of immediate pleasure and delayed punishments is not a fixed feature of addictions.

While much more research will need to be conducted, this could lead to cognitive training becoming an important tool in ending the hijacking of imagination by drugs of abuse.

“We know that virtually every form of addiction demonstrates an inability to value the future, which affects numerous behaviors and can also predict how well people do in treatment,” said Dr. Bickel.

Cocaine Rehab

If you or someone you love is in need of cocaine rehab or other addiction treatment, call The Canyon at our toll-free number. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.

Former NHL Predator Wade Belak is the latest in a series of young hockey players who have died recently. Is there a connection to depression, alcohol or prescription meds?

What is behind the death of former Predator Wade Belak, an enforcer who retired in March, ending a career that included five different NHL teams? Just 35 years old, he was found dead this week in Toronto.

Toronto police spokesman Tony Vella said officers found a man dead when they were called to a hotel and condo complex in the early afternoon. No foul play is suspected and an investigation is ongoing.

While any unexplained death of an athlete still in their prime is disturbing, the fact that Belak is the third NHL enforcer found dead since May is especially alarming.

Winnipeg’s Rick Rypien, only 27, was found dead in August 2011 at his home in Alberta. A police official termed it a “sudden and non-suspicious’’ death, but ESPN reports that the implication was that Rypien’s mental health issues were directly linked to his untimely death. Teammates and coaches were surprised, as it seemed Rypien had turned a corner in recent months after twice leaving the Canucks during the season for personal reasons. Meanwhile, former Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard, 28, died in May from what was ruled an accidental mix of alcohol and the prescription painkiller oxycodone.

After the first two deaths, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said he expected the NHL to review its substance abuse and behavioral health program.

“It’s not only about the deaths, it’s the deaths that surround similar type players,’’ former Flames general manager Craig Button told The Canadian Press. “It’s not just getting hit in the head, it’s everything that goes with that role. I think that people are paying very, very serious attention to concussions.’’

Pro athletes need to be particularly vigilant when it comes to injuries and the use of prescription drugs and alcohol to dull chronic pain. An injury on the field, court or rink can easily turn into a substance abuse problem. Would OxyContin rehab have helped Boogaard? Would treatment for co-occurring disorders have saved Rypien? We’ll never know.

While retired from the game, Belak was set to return to the rink as a sideline reporter on Nashville television broadcasts this season.

Drug Rehab

If you or someone you love is in need of drug treatment or help for a mental health issue and addiction, call The Canyon at our toll-free number. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about treatment, financing or insurance.

Toxicology reports are pending, but officials confirm a packet found near the body of Rev. Zachery Tims could point to the possibility of narcotics and an overdose.

What caused the death of Rev. Zachery Tims, Jr., the 42-year-old pastor of a mega-church in Orlando, Florida, who was found dead in a Times Square hotel room in August? The cause of death is still pending, awaiting toxicology reports, but news officials seem to confirm that a substance, possibly heroin, was discovered with the body.

According to a law enforcement official, police found a glassine envelope with a white powdery substance inside the right pocket of Tims’s shorts. The substance is still being tested and it is yet to be determined if it played a role in the death. Police found no signs of trauma to Tims’s body and at this point law enforcement does not suspect foul play. Valuables and other belongings remained in the room.

Investigators were reviewing surveillance video to determine if Tims was traveling with anyone or if anyone visited his hotel room, reports WFTV in Orlando. The news station also reported that officials were seeking to get ahold of hotel and cell phone records to find out whom the Florida pastor communicated with during his stay in New York City.

As a pastor, Tims may seem like an unlikely victim of drug overdose, but Tims’ dramatic story started actually started when he was young and in need of drug treatment in Maryland. According to his 2006 memoir, It’s Never Too Late, he was “miraculously saved,” going on to earn multiple degrees and work at a ministry in Baltimore before founding Orlando’s New Destiny Christian Center in 2006 with his then-wife. In 2009, after 15 years of marriage, Tims and his wife Riva divorced when he admitted to a year-long affair with a stripper. The couple shared custody of their four children.

It’s tragic to see someone who seemed to have overcome drug abuse in his younger years to have potentially relapsed. Addiction treatment experts aren’t likely to be surprised, though. Anyone who has gone through addiction knows that recovery is a life-long process and addicts can never consider themselves “cured.”

Drug Treatment

If you or someone you love is in need of drug treatment or other help, call The Canyon at our toll-free number. Someone is there to take your call 24 hours a day and answer any questions you have about drug treatment, financing or insurance.

Get Your Flu Shot, Tetanus Shot, and Your… Anti-Cocaine-Craving Shot?

Testing for a possible cocaine vaccination has been conducted on lab mice within the last several months. It is common knowledge that rodents share a certain degree of physical characteristics with humans. However, in the analysis of drug addiction in humans as it relates to mice, I have to wave a flag of skepticism. Yes, both animals are structurally similar – but mice do not battle with the phenomenon of reason. Mice don’t have to decide between Bar A or Club C on Friday nights. They don’t live with a moral conscience that kicks in when drug cravings hit. Unfortunately, I just don’t see this vaccine panning out as intended.

To start, consider the statement by a renowned doctor in the field of addiction treatment. As stated in the online edition of Molecular Therapy, on January 4^th, 2010 quotes Dr. Crystal. She is one of the key doctors engaged in the development process. Dr. Crystal states,

“The human immune system doesn’t naturally tag cocaine as something to be destroyed, just like all small-molecule drugs are not eliminated by antibodies. We have engineered this response so that it is against the cocaine mimic. Our very dramatic data shows that we can protect mice against the effects of cocaine, and we think this approach could be very promising in fighting addiction in humans.”

Addicts of cocaine report intense physical cravings, a compulsion to use cocaine despite their best intentions to stop, and a mental preoccupation with the drug. In theory, the vaccine will preclude cocaine from affecting the brain as it historically has in its unaltered state. Through the vaccine’s effects, addicts who succumb to temptation in terms of cocaine would reap disappointing results:

“The antibody immune response produced in lab mice by the vaccine binds to cocaine molecules before the drug reaches the brain and prevents any cocaine-related hyperactivity. The vaccine effect lasted for an incredible 13 weeks, the longest time point evaluated,” states a January 5^th, 2010 article in Medical News Today entitled New Cocaine Vaccine May Squelch Cravings; Remedy Addiction.

Herein lies the rub. Vaccines designed to counter drug cravings might pull drug addicts away from the deep-seated emotional work, a necessary stepping-stone in maintaining abstinence from chemical dependency. Comprehending and managing the mental component of addiction is extremely important to long-term sobriety. By simply relying on a shot injected in the upper arm, a cocaine addict risks losing the inclination to participate in recovery-based work, such as:

• Maintain a regular therapy schedule or regular appointments with an addiction specialist
• Enroll in an inpatient rehabilitation center for drug addicts in which the client will learn invaluable life skills, stress reduction techniques, and bond with other addicts
• Participate in 12-step meetings such as Cocaine Anonymous
• Corral family members to attend family therapy sessions
• Commit to treatment in cases where an intervention is hosted by family and friends

Hopefully the vaccine provides nothing more than a supplemental option, to be integrated into a multifaceted treatment regimen for cocaine addiction. We hope that the link between the reaction seen in mice, and the reaction inherent in humans, continues to be researched and more clearly defined. We also retain optimism that the birth of a cocaine-craving curb does not reduce discretion on behalf of young partygoers. “Well, I can try some coke… there’s a vaccine I can take in the unlikely event that I become addicted!” We’ll keep our fingers crossed until further notice.

One of the most profound characteristics of alcoholism is the self-centeredness of the disease. Individuals engaged in active alcoholism operate out of self-will. Family members and friends are frequently baffled by the means through which alcoholics resort to in order to meet self-centered objectives. Alcoholics and addicts are hindered by the bondage of self; without professional help, it is unlikely they can crawl out of the figurative walls they have built around their former self. In the case of Ronnie Woods, a member of the Rolling Stones, his self-centeredness is front and center due to his worldwide fame.

Addiction and the Rock and Roll Lifestyle

Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll — being a rock star is a lifestyle that is glamorized. Realistically, it is not all it’s cracked up to me. Hardcore rock star life involves a lot of airports, traveling, and lonely nights away from home. Partying doesn’t end on Saturday night. Many rockers find themselves addicted to drugs and alcohol, for which they cannot shake despite their best intentions. Ronnie Woods has battled with alcoholism for many years. According to Fametastic, a United Kingdom news source, Ronnie tried to fight his alcoholism by integrating Campbral into his recovery regimen. The news source continues,

“Campral is the brand name for Acamprosate, which helps treat people with alcohol dependency by stopping neurotransmitters in the brain getting overexcited by alcohol withdrawal. Apparently, the 62-year-old guitarist agreed to take the medication in a last-ditch effort to avoid being admitted to rehab.”

Taking Campbral once daily is intended to help reduce cravings for alcohol and assist in limiting alcohol consumption. However, no pill exists to treat the underlying factors contributing to alcoholism – i.e. character defects, childhood trauma, and anxiety or depression disorders – hence the importance of taking them in conjunction with intensive counseling. For example, many successful cases of alcoholism recovery have been reported where medication and cognitive-behavioral therapy are adopted as a synergistic pair. In Ronnie’s case, he figured he could beat the odds on his own by simply sticking with Campbral once daily. Maybe the length of time in the spotlight has inflated his ego a bit more than average.

The results of relying on medication only, speak for themselves. Ronnie is taking the medication yet avoiding taking steps toward addressing emotional and mental woes. Essentially, Ronnie is taking Campbral in order to avoid enrollment in an inpatient treatment facility. The self-centeredness of alcoholism is illustrated by Ronnie’s behavior; leaving a wife of 23 years for a girl he ended up breaking up with less than one year later is not a selfless act. Barring inpatient treatment – or at a minimum, outpatient alcoholism treatment – it looks like Ronnie will continue trudging the same destructive path that led to his divorce from wife of 23 years in 2008.

The Pleas of Family and Friends for Drug Rehab

His daughter and his bandmates have tried pleading with Ronnie to undergo treatment at an inpatient treatment facility. It seems the pleas have been falling on deaf ears. Again, the self-centeredness and grandiosity inherent in the majority of alcoholics is lit up like a billboard poster for which Rolling Stone fans and avid news-readers can gawk.

Regardless of which avenue Ronnie chooses in terms of alcoholism recovery, we wish him the best. Our hats are off to those who can stay emotionally and physically sober from the disease of alcoholism through non-conventional methods.

Darvocet is one of several narcotic pain medications used by countless people around the world. It made news recently by being pulled off the market due to heart health risks associated with the drug. The biggest concern was the development of irregular heart rhythms during use. This was revealed by a new research study released in November 2010.

After two previous requests to pull the drug off the market, the FDA finally decided that the pain management benefits no longer outweighed the risks. Prescription pain medication could be in your future, so it’s vital that you learn more about what happened with Darvocet.

Health Risks Too Much For Darvocet To Be Used

This just adds more proof to the idea that legal doesn’t always mean safe. Medications are an ongoing experiment, even the ones that have been used for a long time. Sometimes the research methods improve, sometimes a well-publicized event highlights a dangerous trend, or sometimes the data just shows the need for a change. For Darvocet, it was the research that acted as the final straw.

Does that mean other similar pain meds might produce dangerous effects? Not necessarily. However, it’s always important to ask your doctor about these kinds of risks before you start taking any type of powerful prescription painkiller. Whether you take it for occasional back pain or for a long surgery recovery, get the facts and stay alert.

Part of The Larger Problem With Prescription Drugs

Prescription pain medication certainly has its place in today’s society. It can give true relief for people suffering massive pain, the kind that can completely immobilize you for long stretches of time. For people in this type of long-term recovery, good pain relief is essential for maintaining quality of life.

For those who use pain medication more occasionally, it can make the difference between enjoying a family trip or staying in bed as soon as you arrive at the hotel. People who do stressful seasonal work like landscapers and farmers can have painful ailments during their busiest times. Carefully used pain medication can keep a person working when their livelihood depends on it.

Proper use depends on good medical monitoring and strict adherence to the prescription. Even a small deviation can lead to possible abuse. And in light of the current pulling of Darvocet, even proper use can put someone’s health a risk. Alcohol use, even small amounts, could increase the possibility of liver damage. Darvocet contains acetaminophen, which can be toxic to the liver in higher amounts. The combination of Darvocet and alcohol can be disastrous for the liver.

Anyone using more than the recommended amount of prescription pain meds could expect various health risks to develop. However, the irregular heart rhythm risk was present at even normally prescribed levels. With these additional risks, imagine how dangerous it is for someone to abuse or even become addicted to Darvocet.

Prescription Pain Drugs Controversial

Prescription pain pills are making controversial headlines. Prescription drug addiction is reportedly on the rise, and now Darvocet is pulled off the shelf. What’s the future for medically prescribed pain management? There’s no certain answer to that question, but one thing remains clear. The need for prescription drug addiction treatment is strong.

Fortunately, many treatment centers have responded by ensuring their programs deal with the specific needs of prescription drug addiction. Yes, many elements of addiction remain universal. But narcotic, opiate drugs require a specialized approach for best results. Also, programs have to be ready to help people from all walks of life and all ages, especially those who had good reasons for using the drugs in the first place.

How much do you really know about drugs and alcohol? Your knowledge may not be as accurate as you think. The list below covers just some of the myths going around today about drug and alcohol use. Find out what you do and don’t know right now.

Myth: Everyone Is Doing It

No, everyone is not doing it. About half of all high school seniors in one survey said they never tried any sort of illegal drug. Some social groups may have a larger percentage of people that engage in similar drug or drinking behaviors. However, there are plenty of young people and adults who have never (or minimally) drank alcohol or used drugs.

For kids and teens, their perspective may depend on who they hang out with and what they see among their peers. And just because kids DO see others doing it still doesn’t mean it’s the most popular choice.

Myth: It’s OK If I Just Do Drugs Now And Then

It is true that alcohol is a drug that can be used occasionally, under safe circumstances, and with good judgment. However, it doesn’t take much for a person to get themselves into trouble. Just one drink could be enough to impair someone’s driving, for example.

Drugs are just too far out of this scope to be used occasionally. The possibility for harm is always there. There’s no way just a little meth is OK. Same thing goes for a little cocaine. Those drugs are going to get you hooked in a flash and your world will be turned upside down.

It’s simply not the same as having one or two beers on a Friday night with friends. Playing with drugs is like playing with fire when your hands have been dipped in gasoline. There’s just no safe way to do it.

Prescription Pain Pills Are OK Because It’s Medicine

Pain pills are medicine prescribed to a specific person for a specific purpose with close monitoring. That’s the only safe way to use them. Just because they are legal doesn’t make them safe for everyone.

Also, consider that Darvocet was recently taken off the market. It’s a legal drug that showed some health risks even when people took it correctly. And these are highly addictive – even people who take them under the watchful eye of a doctor can still easily misuse them.

Myth: Marijuana Isn’t Harmful

The harmful effects of marijuana may not be sexy enough to make many headlines, but they exist nonetheless. Marijuana can affect a person’s ability to focus – as well as their motivation in life. It can also impair someone trying to drive, walk near traffic, swim, or do anything else requiring careful attention.

And consider this – a marijuana user is inhaling smoke into their lungs, which isn’t good no matter how you spin it. Problems with breathing can affect many aspects of a person’s health over time. Overall, it’s another substance that can do more harm than good to your body.

Myth: Caffeine Will Sober You Up

Caffeine only makes an intoxicated person more alert, not more sober. Sobriety is only achieved when the intoxicating substance leaves the body. That takes time and metabolization, regardless of what the person feels like.

Myth: Drugs Are Way More Dangerous Than Alcohol

Large amounts of alcohol can be harmful, even deadly. Alcohol poisoning can kill a person by slowing their breathing too much and starving their brain of oxygen. It doesn’t take more than a drink or two to make someone intoxicated enough to crash a car.

Plus, alcohol doesn’t have to kill you immediately to be dangerous. Alcohol use during someone’s younger years increases their risk of alcoholism. And alcoholism can definitely hurt your body or kill you over time.

Myths Busted About Drugs and Alcohol

So now you know six true things about drugs and alcohol. If you have a friend or teen who tries one of these myths on you, you’ll know better. Know the facts and you can be sure to make smart choices about drugs and alcohol.