Sobriety can be scary, for many reasons. First, because rehab and recovery is not a simple or easy road, though it is a journey that's possible for anyone willing to reach out for help and do the work. Second, recovery may seem like an unknown for individuals who have lived a life with drugs or alcohol for some time. ... Read More
Battle of the Back Roads: Arkansas Responds to the Rural Drug Trade
Known as the Natural State, Arkansas is home to over 3 million people in the southern United States. And, like most states throughout the U.S., illicit drug use is rampant throughout Little Rock, Fort Smith, Fayetteville and beyond. This is particularly true for opioid use. Like many of its neighbors such as ... Read More
Truth, Fiction and Real Solutions on Arizona’s Southern Border
Will a wall alone, separating the U.S. from Mexico really stop the flow of drugs into the country? While proponents of President Trump's wall say yes, law enforcement and drug smuggling authorities say no. News reports of drug smugglers using tunnels under existing Mexico-U.S. barriers are common and not surprising ... Read More
The Challenges of D.I.Y. Recovery: How to Beat the Roadblocks of Quitting Alone
An important thing to realize about addiction is that it isn't an acute condition. In other words, it's not something that you're diagnosed with and treat with a short run of medications before being fully recovered. Addiction is a lifelong disease and has to be treated as such. This means that treatment and care ... Read More
Social Anxiety and Recovery: The Fear of Speaking in Groups and Other Barriers to Getting Help
Some of the barriers to seeking mental or behavioral health treatment, including treatment for addiction, are well-known. Despite the increase in social recognition of addiction and mental health disorders as legitimate diseases, a stigma remains, and it prevents some people from getting the help they need. Other ... Read More
Close to Home: A Major Bust in Putnam County
In December, multiple news sources reported a recent news release in Putnam County, an inland community in the northeast part of the state of Florida: A year-long investigation had resulted in a massive crystal meth bust. By the end of the investigation, which resulted in the indictments of the trafficking ring's ... Read More
Shedding Light on the Party Drug Market in Rural Texas
It's well-known that drug abuse can happen anywhere, but trafficking and major seizures by enforcement officials are reputed to occur more often in the big cities or at least major suburbs — certainly not a small town in remote central Texas. But that's exactly what happened in Belton, the county seat of Bell County, ... Read More
Seizures: Mitigating a Serious Alcohol Withdrawal Risk
If you've abused alcohol for a number of consecutive days, months, or years, the cumulative impact all that alcohol has on your body can dramatically increase the levels of dopamine within your brain — that's the neurotransmitter associated with pleasurable feelings like euphoria, relaxation, and satisfaction. Given ... Read More
