Category: Understanding Addiction

Hair samples reveal party goers are unintentionally consuming bath salts

New research reveals those who use the ‘party drug’, MDMA, are often unwittingly consuming potentially lethal synthetic drugs.

A recent study published online in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2016, claims MDMA or ecstasy is commonly contaminated with highly dangerous substances, known as “bath salts,” which are new or novel psychoactive substances (NPS) that mimic the effects of illegal drugs.

In 2015, a team of researchers from New York University Langone Medical Centre (NYULMC), USA conducted an online pilot survey of people aged between 18-25 who attended night clubs and festivals in New York, to examine their consumption of MDMA. A quarter of the respondents provided hair samples, 50 per cent of whom tested positive for MDMA, with NPS detected in 41 per cent of the participants who reported using no “bath salts.”

In a recent media release, the study’s lead researcher, and an assistant Professor of Population Health at NYULMC, Joseph J. Palamar said “Users need to be aware that what they are taking may not be MDMA.”
The findings are cause for concern for Australia, with the Australian Drug Foundation citing the rising trend of MDMA use, which follows the 2015 music festival season, that saw four suspected ecstasy deaths between September and December, including the loss of Sydney pharmacist, Sylvia Choi.

Although the findings are US-oriented, they are highly applicable to Australia, and reinforce the importance of not trusting illicit drugs, regardless of their country of origin.

The take-home message is simple – Don’t take the risk, don’t abuse drugs.  

To learn more about the risks of drug and alcohol addiction, head to https://dararehab.com/ or call a DARA Thailand therapist today on +661 800 011 193.

 

A drug is considered anything that alters the way one’s brain functions. Drugs can be absorbed, consumed, inhaled, injected, or smoked. People choose to use drugs for numerous reasons. Different categories of drugs have a wide range of effects. All drugs have many different dangers when using them as mentioned above as well. Mixing drugs together also add increased dangers. To seek help with drug use, there are many places one can turn to for help. This article will look at all the topics discussed above to try to help educate you on drug use and how to find help for a drug abuse problem.

 

What types of drugs are there?

There are two different types of drugs: legal drugs and illegal drugs. Legal drugs include ones that are sold and obtained legally, such as alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, and medications sold at a drugstore. Even though the drugs are legally sold, they often have restrictions by law on how they can be sold and in what quantities they can be sold. They are regulated because if used inappropriately, they can cause serious side effects. These substances are used improperly in order to feel good or get high.

 

There are also illegal drugs, which are substances sold without having legal permission to do so. Illicit drugs can include cannabis, amphetamines, ecstasy, LSD, cocaine and heroin as well as numerous others. Not only are these drugs not permitted to be legally sold, they also do not have regulations put in place to safety guard the amount of drug placed in each batch. Potentially, each batch bought could have differing levels of the drug in it, sometimes less and sometimes more frequently, which could be potentially life threatening. Laws prohibit people from using, selling, possessing, making, or driving under the influence of any of the aforementioned substances.

 

Why do people use drugs?

Some people begin using drugs because they want to experiment with them to see what they are like. Sometimes they try it once and never try it again, but at other times they try it and continue using for long amounts of time. Others use drugs because their friends use them. Some others may use drugs because they have become addicted to them. Occasionally, individuals take drugs to feel more grown up or more powerful than they are. Others use drugs to rebel against some situation they are in as well. Some others use drugs because they are bored. Some use because they like the way it makes them feel; it might enhance their mood or make them feel different. Other people use drugs to cope with stress they may be feeling. There are a variety of factors that can play into why people choose to use drugs.

 

Effects of Different Types of Drugs:

Depressants (alcohol, cannabis, heroin):

• Slow down the messages one’s brain sends and receives
• Can cause severe muscle aches
• Can lead to fever
• Can cause vomiting
• Can make one pass out
• Can make one stop breathing
• Can initiate insomnia
• Can lead to anxiety
• Can cause depression
• Can bring about hallucinations
• Can lead to paranoia

 

Stimulants (caffeine, nicotine, amphetamines, ecstasy, cocaine):

• Speed up the messages one’s brain sends and receives
• Increases body temperature
• Can prevent one from feeling hungry
• Can cause heart problems
• Can give rise to feelings of paranoia
• Can lead to insomnia

 

Hallucinogens (LSD, ecstasy):

• Leads to anxiety
• Makes one take risks you normally would not take
• Changes one’s perception of reality
• Can cause one to lose sight of reality

 

Mixing drugs together, even with alcohol, can lead to serious health dangers. Mixing drugs alter one’s body chemistry and can even be life threatening.

 

Addiction is a complex problem and there are many ways one can seek help for a drug abuse problem, and there is no one method that is right for every individual. To have effective treatment, it is critical to address the needs of each person. Individual counseling is an effective mode of treatment as is group counseling. Detox or a rehabilitation center are also effective treatment strategies for those dealing with drug addiction issues. Treatment methods can include either inpatient or outpatient modes of rehabilitation also. Relapse prevention is also crucial step to one’s treatment program. Finding some mode of help and education about their situation is the most important thing for each individual seeking to free himself of a drug abuse problem.

 

Drug use can impact many aspects of one’s life-physically, mentally and socially. If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, please contact a professional who can help you to your journey of freedom from your drug habit.

 

Australians are the world’s biggest losers per capita, when it comes to gambling.

In 2011-12, Australians lost more than AUD$20 billion through gambling, placing us head and shoulders above the rest of the world. Singapore is ranked a distant second, with other countries trailing much further behind.

Between 0.5 and 1.0 per cent of Australian adults experience significant problems with gambling, while a further 1.4 to 2.1 per cent experience moderate risks that heighten their vulnerability to gambling.

On average, problem gamblers lose upwards of AUD$21,000 each year, which equates to almost one-third of the average Australian salary.

This begs the question, what is it about our Australian culture that makes us so vulnerable to gambling?

We can’t simply attribute this addictive behaviour to the broad availability of electronic gaming machines (EGM), for this further compounds the question as to what is it, about our Aussie culture, that has allowed the popular acceptance of gambling saturation?

According to clinical psychologist and DARA Thailand Treatment Director, Dr Phil Townshend, “the saturation of gambling in Australia is not only associated with EGMs, but with the high rates of sports betting advertising, widespread availability of mega casinos, and now the inexorable movement towards legalising widespread online gambling (so we can have a safe trustworthy local alternative to offshore providers). It’s this acceptance in our community that allows a legislative environment that enables saturation gambling.

“I don’t know the answer to this, but here’s a little factoid about gambling and the Australian psyche that illustrates the difference in our attitude towards gambling,” said Dr Phil.

According to Dr Phil, after the Second World War, the richest and most powerful countries invested their resources into developing weapons of mass destruction, particularly chemical weapons. One of the difficulties with doing this was that the human subject, or “observers” as they were called, were required to test weapons on. Many countries, including Australia, used military personnel in experiments that involved placing individuals into gas chambers, squirting in nerve gas and seeing what happened in a bid to measure the effects, dose response dissipation, and speed of onset.

“Australia performed these tests at the chemical warfare experimental research centre on Innisfail Island, just off the North Queensland coast. However, something completely unique happened in the Australian tests that had not been seen in any similar experiment, in any other jurisdiction worldwide.

“Overall, the ‘observers’ were quite naïve about what they were doing, and when the bad effects began, they started screaming to be let out,” Dr Phil said.

“However, in the Australian tests, the observers started a sweepstake, all throwing in money, and agreeing that the last one out took the pot.

“They were encouraged by female staff making blokie comments, singing Australian folk songs and gesturing through the windows,” said Dr Phil.

“As a result, some of the volunteers ended up with severe and permanent disfigurement and lifelong health issues.”

To conduct a sweepstake and make staying in the gas chamber “a manhood issue” was a uniquely Australian response that did not occur in any other jurisdiction.

No observers in any other country thought it would be a good idea to make a gas chamber into a random number generator and bet on the result, and consequently sacrifice their own health.

“There’s something about the Australian culture and gambling. I don’t claim to understand it, but I think we need to see our gambling culture as unique, and to gain a better understanding of what drives it,” Dr Phil said.

If you, or a loved one is battling an addiction to gambling, contact DARA Thailand on +66 87 140 7788 or email info@dararehab.com for information and support.