New Jersey Drug Addiction and Addiction Treatment
January 4, 2008
New Jersey contains both an international airport and major commercial shipping centers. Consequently, the state presents an attractive transportation hub for drug organizations, as well as a major challenge for law enforcement entities combating this illicit activity. While Colombian and Dominican drug organizations predominantly control heroin and cocaine trafficking, recent intelligence indicates that Mexican traffickers from the West Coast are now moving cocaine shipments into the New Jersey and New York areas. There continues to be a significant drug abuse problem in New Jersey. In urban areas such as Newark, Elizabeth, Trenton, and Camden, widespread crack cocaine and heroin use continue. Drug rehab and addiction treatment programs have sprung up to treat the drug addiction problems throughout New Jersey.
New Jersey Cocaine Addiction: New Jersey is a transshipment area for cocaine which is transported by various means, including shipping, tractor-trailers, commercial air and private vehicles. In some cases, couriers are utilized to bring in smaller shipments into airports and other public transportation facilities. Cocaine is predominantly distributed by Colombian and Dominican nationals who supply Puerto Rican, African-Americans, and Caucasians who distribute at the street level. Addiction treatment facilities and drug rehab programs focused on the treatment of cocaine addiction are located throughout New Jersey.
If you are looking for an effective drug rehab or addiction treatment program in New Jersey, call the national addiction treatment helpline at 1-800-511-9225.
Understanding Dual Diagnosis
December 22, 2007
The term dual diagnosis is a common, broad term that indicates the presence of two independent medical disorders. Recently, within the fields of mental health, psychiatry, and addiction medicine, the term has been popularly used to describe the coexistence of a mental health disorder and drug addiction / alcohol addiction problems. The equivalent phrase dual disorders also denotes the coexistence of two independent (but invariably interactive) disorders, and is the preferred term used in this Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP).
The acronym MICA, which represents the phrase mentally ill chemical abusers, is occasionally used to designate people who have an drug addiction / alcoholism disorder and a markedly severe and persistent mental disorder such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. A preferred definition is mentally ill chemically affected people, since the word affected better describes their condition and is not pejorative. Other acronyms are also used: MISA (mentally ill substance abusers), CAMI (chemical abuse and mental illness), and SAMI (substance abuse and mental illness).
Cocaine Addiction Treatment
November 30, 2007
What is Cocaine?
Cocaine is a powerfully addictive stimulant that directly affects the brain. Cocaine was been labeled the drug of the 1980s and ’90s, because of its extensive popularity and use during this period. However, it is not a new drug. In fact, it is one of the oldest known drugs. The pure chemical, cocaine hydrochloride, has been an abused substance for more than 100 years, and coca leaves, the source, have been ingested for thousands of years.
Pure cocaine was first extracted from the leaf of the Erythroxylon coca bush, which grows primarily in Peru and Bolivia, in the mid-19th century. In the early 1900s, it became the main stimulant drug used in most of the tonics/elixirs that were developed to treat a wide variety of illnesses. Today, it is a Schedule II drug, meaning that it has high potential for abuse, but can be administered by a doctor for legitimate medical uses, such as a local anesthetic for some eye, ear, and throat surgeries.
There are basically two chemical forms of cocaine: the hydrochloride salt and the “freebase.” The hydrochloride salt, or powdered form of cocaine, dissolves in water and, when abused, can be taken intravenously (by vein) or intranasally (in the nose). Freebase refers to a compound that has not been neutralized by an acid to make the hydrochloride salt. The freebase form of cocaine is smokable.
Let’s Just Leave 911 Alone…
October 12, 2007
The other day at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting I met one of our former patients, Robert E.. He was 8 months sober, thanked me for speaking at the treatment facility one day and shared part of his story relating to his addiction and alcoholism and interaction with the call center. It was absolutely hysterical. He knew he was nearing the end of his drug addiction. Every time he snorted cocaine he felt his heart was about to burst. So instead of stopping, he began to practice calling 911. He told me he would call 15 times in a row. He wanted to make sure he could do it as quick as possible and not make a mistake in case he was having a heart attack from his cocaine addiction. Now that is the true definition of insanity……don’t stop using, just practice calling 911 as quick as possible!! We both laughed and laughed, but beneath the laughter was a shared understanding of just how crazy we get and think it is completely normal.
How is cocaine used?
October 11, 2007
The principal routes of cocaine administration are oral, intranasal, intravenous, and inhalation. The slang terms for these routes are, respectively, “chewing,” “snorting,” “mainlining” or “injecting,” and “smoking” (including freebase and crack cocaine). Snorting is the process of inhaling cocaine powder through the nostrils, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Injecting releases the drug directly into the bloodstream, and heightens the intensity of its effects. Smoking involves the inhalation of cocaine vapor or smoke into the lungs, where absorption into the bloodstream is as rapid as by injection. The drug also can be rubbed onto mucous tissues. Some users combine cocaine powder or crack with heroin in a “speedball.”
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