Methadone Essays (Examples)

But despite this medicinal veneer, methadone is "increasingly being abused by recreational drug users and is causing an alarming increase in overdoses and deaths" (Belluck 2003). Heroin and prescription opium abusers are turning to methadone often with alcohol or other drugs. They buy the drug illegally on the street -- often it is sold by addicts who have been able to obtain a large supply, though fair or foul means. This suggests that without appropriate controls upon methadone's distribution, and without appropriate counseling, methadone is no panacea to the dilemma of heroin addiction. Heroin has a psychological and a physiological component, and merely addressing one without treating the other can simply replace one deadly addiction with one slightly less damaging one. Methadone is not without its addictive potential and does not turn a drug addict into a nonuser.

orks Cited

Belluck, Pam, (9 February 2003) Methadone Suddenly Grows as a…

Cons:

Methadone use has a number of side-effects such as constipation, sweating, loss of libido, sleep disturbance, weight gain, dental problems, vomiting, and serious bowel problems. While most of the side-effects are reduced or managed by controlled prescription, they can occasionally be severe enough to affect a person's health sufficiently for him to discontinue treatment (Withers, 1999)

One of the 'advantages' of methadone, i.e., it blocks the euphoric high of heroin can also become a disadvantage at times, as many addicts under methadone treatment miss the 'high' of heroin and could overdose themselves for the sake of experiencing the euphoria.

Methadone is a long-acting opioid. In other words, its effect in the body remains for up to 36 hours. This makes it difficult for patients under methadone treatment, desirous of becoming completely drug-free, to kick their methadone habit. According to some, it is far more difficult to kick the methadone…

" (1995)

The authors state: "The amphetamines occasioned dose-related increases in d- amphetamine-appropriate responding, whereas hydromorphone did not. Amphetamines also occasioned dose-related increases in reports of the drug being most like "speed," whereas hydromorphone did not. However, both amphetamines and hydromorphone occasioned dose-related increases in reports of drug liking and in three scales of the ARCI. Thus, some self-report measures were well correlated with responding on the drug-appropriate lever and some were not. Lamb and Henningfield (1994) suggest that self-reports are complexly controlled by both the private event and the subject's history of experience with the drug. Some of the self-reports they observed (e.g., feels like speed) are probably occasioned by a relatively narrow range of stimuli because in the subject's experience with drug administration, these reports have been more selectively reinforced by the verbal community relative to other reports (e.g., drug liking). They also suggest that these results imply…

Family Interventions

-Mother can attend cancer support groups and receive advice and education through other channels regarding proper methods of providing care and improving quality of life for her husband

-Son can explore employment options as well as discuss various needs and responsibilities with his parents in order to determine his most effective utilization within the changed family dynamic

-Father can provide the levels of self-care that come easily, but should educate himself regarding his condition and ease care by allowing others to help when necessary

Nursing Interventions

-Provide educational materials/answer questions for both mother and father

-Assist son with psychological transition of increased responsibility/familial dependence

-Instruction of proper care techniques for mother and father regarding father's condition

Evaluation

Levels of comfort and competence in new family roles should be easily assessed in regular visits through brief questioning. Monitoring father's health through standard vital sign and other appropriate tests will…

This leaves those clients that are inside unsupervised while the guard is outside. There is also a lack of signage inside displaying rules and regulations along with directions. This propagates a lot of unnecessary questions being asked of the surety officer on duty. In order to alleviate these issues it would be essential to place distinct parking signage outside in order to help facilitate clients parking in the correct spaces. It is also necessary to place directional signage within the facility along with general rules and policies. All of these signs together would cost approximately $1,000 to install.

The last security issue that needs to be addressed is that of the security information processes that is in place. As each client arrives at the facility, their license plate numbers are recorded and they are then assigned a number. They are seen by the appropriate medical personnel based upon the order…

Offered under the same roof are "consultative, diagnostic, and treatment services" which are stated to be provided "by board-certified practitioners in the fields of pulmonary medicine, otolarngology, family medicine and more." (2006)

Smith reports that the laboratories experiencing the most dramatic growth are two which are located the "farthest from the Hillsboro flagship" as they are located in two areas that were "formerly underserved." (2006) Smith additionally reports that the demand is stronger in the areas where the two fastest growing centers are located which supplies "plenty of fuel for expansion."

Smith states that the Sleep Health & Wellness NW is attempting to "fill a gap so that patients who previously were overlooked or not being reached or who fell through the cracks no longer are," she says. "We have no plans to open centers in areas where there are already quality sleep services programs. We only want to go…

economic impact of drug use in the United States might initially seem easy to measure. A legal trial is an expensive proceeding: police officers, prosecutors or public defenders, judges, stenographers, and bailiffs are employees of the state, and even if jurors are barely remunerated, defense attorneys are lavishly remunerated. To prosecute someone for dealing marijuana is an expensive undertaking, and to do so under a "three strikes" law, where the crime is suddenly elevated to a horrific felony with extreme penalties, is even more expensive. The greater expense comes with convictions: America has the largest imprisoned population in the world, with more people behind bars in this country than comprise the entire populations of other sovereign nations. Imprisonment is not a cheap proposition. We can then consider the further economic impact, legally and morally speaking, of drug use in the current extensive misuse of civil forfeiture laws. Ostensibly designed to…

Alcohol Prohibition from 1920 to 1933 did not work. There are many parallels from this failed effort and the current laws prohibiting drugs in the United States. Alcohol prohibition was undertaken to reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, reduce the tax burden created by prisons and poorhouses, and improve the health of Americans. According to research, alcohol consumption of alcohol fell at the beginning of Prohibition, but then it subsequently increased. "Alcohol became more dangerous to consume; crime increased and became "organized"; the court and prison systems were stretched to the breaking point; and corruption of public officials was rampant." Instead of measurable gains in productivity or reduced absenteeism, Prohibition removed a significant source of tax revenue and greatly increased government spending. It led many drinkers to switch to more dangerous substances such as opium, marijuana, patent medicines and cocaine that they would have been unlikely to encounter in…

This allows the client to place their level of behavior on the continuum and assess the levels of risk associated with their behaviors. The continuum also allows the client to assess the ways in which their behaviors over time, by examining the ways in which their behaviors are now different to past behaviors. This may allow clients to recognize that they have already made some progress toward less harmful behaviors, or may allow them to identify specific events which led to developing more risky behaviors. The harm reduction model allows the client to assess their current situation and plan the actions which they wish to take to change their future behaviors.

Applications of the model

The harm reduction model has been applied predominantly to drug misuse issues, however it is also appropriate to apply the model for a wide range of social and health behavior changes. The model has been…

Target ecommendations

The current opium irradiation program in Afghanistan is failing to address the long-term challenges impacting the country (i.e. poverty, a lack of economic opportunities and corruption). This is resulting in the Taliban and organized crime utilizing it as an avenue to create greater amounts of instability. In the ten years, seizures of opium and heroin have declined by 57 and 77% respectively. This is problematic, as it is making it difficult for the country to move forward beyond the decades of civil war. (Ackerman, 2014)

To address these issues, a new approach must be used that are showing the way forward. This will be accomplished by providing policy recommendations and suggesting a future course of action which can reverse key trends. Together, these insights will enhance stability and decrease the influence of the Taliban / organized crime elements.

Policy ecommendations

The opium trade and poverty are directly related…

osa Lee Cunningham. Elements such as the subject's health history, legal history, psychosocial history, and diagnostic impressions will be covered.

osa Lee Cunningham

DOB/Age: October 7, 1936

Date of Interview: October 7, 1994

Evaluator:

eason for Assessment: osa Lee Cunningham was discovered having a fit at Washington's Howard University Hospital, owing to over-consumption of heroin. In spite of being enrolled in an intervention for drug treatment, there did not appear to be any inclination in osa to quit drugs. In fact, she wished she could access methadone, a synthetic drug with heroin-like effects. Some days prior to being interviewed, osa awoke to find herself with fever; her condition had exacerbated. By noon, she was admitted to the emergency room (Dash, 1996 Prologue). osa states that her drug consumption levels hinge on the amount of money in her pocket and heroin accessibility. The subject also had Preludin-use history, a drug she…

Psychology: Alcohol & Drug Abuse

The over-all focus of this paper is to show how alcohol, drug addictions and abuse is fundamentally a disease of the brain. It will focus on various psychological aspects of addiction, such as some theories as to why people get addicted to drugs or alcohol in the first place, and some theories for treatments of those addictions; some psychological processes of how certain drugs work; how those drugs shape addiction through their processes; and finally analyzing the understanding of addiction within the brain.

Some major theories for why people begin to use substance such as drugs (legal or not), and alcohol are the reward and reinforcement theory, recreational use, and the stress-reduction theory. Some theories for treatments include using combinations of cognitive/social support rehabilitation, or using some form of rehabilitation with medications as well. The types of drugs and their effects that will be discussed…

Patty's introduction to prostitution certainly reinforces this notion: it became a part of her life as a result of her social situation and a perceived necessity. Still, more fervent moral positions against prostitution, in the Untied States, often come from Christianity. Obviously, it violates the general principles of Christianity to pay for sexual intercourse; however, it is also a violation of Christian principles to engage in premarital sex, extramarital sex, homosexual sex, or even masturbation. Notably, none of these actions are illegal in the United States -- or at least the antiquated laws pertaining to them are not enforced -- and of them, only homosexuality is ever regularly regarded as a form of social deviance; though this too is a matter of debate. Ultimately, viewing prostitution as a moral crime from the standpoint of Christianity fails miserably, because doing so would require accepting that law should be solely determined by…

Drug Control

"Prevention is better than cure" is an age-old and time-tested maxim. It has been proved correct in many different situations. None more so than in the area of drug abuse: it being far easier and more cost effective to prevent drug use than drug treatment. This essay explains why drug treatment is far more expensive than drug prevention.

A study by the Lewin Group for the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimated the total economic cost of alcohol and drug abuse in the U.S. was $245.7 billion for 1992. ("NIDA InfoFacts" 2005) This includes productivity losses (losses from premature death, drug abuse-related illnesses), health costs, and other, primarily crime-related, costs such as losses due to incarceration and criminal careers. If we consider a hypothetical case in which we prevent all alcohol and drug abuse in the United States, we would theoretically save $245.6 billion.

On the other hand,…

ILIOGRAPHY

NLM (2012). Substance abuse treatment of women. Chapter 4. National Library of Medicine: National Institutes of Health. Retrieved on December 9, 2012 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NK83257

- Screening and assessment. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books.NK83253

rauser, D (2010), Sublingual buprenorphine relieves symptoms of neonatal opioid abstinence syndrome, Medscape: Medscape LLC. Retrieved on December 9, 2012

from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/730366

Fisher, P.A. et al. (2011). The combined effects of prenatal drug exposure and early adversity on neurobehavioral dis-inhibition in childhood and adolescence,

Developmental Psychopathology. Retrieved on December 9, 2012 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3335443

Hamdan, a.H. (2012). Neonatal abstinence syndrome, Medscape: Medscape LLC.

Retrieved on December 9, 2012 from http://www.emedicine.medscape.com/article/978763-clinical

Johnson, K et al. (2003). Treatment of neonatal abstinence syndrome, Archive of Disease

in Childhood. Retrieved on December 9, 2012 from http://www.bmj.com/content/88/1/F.2.2.ful

Johnson, K and Leff, M (1999). Children of substance abusers. Pediatrics. American Academy of Pediatrics. Retrieved on December 9, 2012 from http://www.pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/103/Supplement_2/1085.long

Kraft, W.K. et al. (2010). Future trends…

02).

Overall, the findings of Shields and colleagues (2007) suggest that religious patients entering a substance abuse treatment program will tend to seek out treatment programs that are more religious. This grouping effect will then have a positive effect on retention rates and commitment to establishing a drug-free lifestyle.

The diversity of individual religious practices is one of the main impediments to researchers attempting to define it efficacy in treatment programs (reviewed by Puffer, Skalski, and Meade, 2012). For example, the eligious Coping Scale (COPE) instrument is intended to bring some measure of standardization to the research being conducted in this area by discriminating between positive and negative religious beliefs. A positive religious coping practice would be the belief in a benevolent Higher Power and finding meaning in personal suffering. Negative religious coping, on the other hand, would be to believe personal suffering is God's punishment for past wrongs.

When…

Addictive Nature of Vicodin

According to statistics provided by the Department of Health and Human Services, an estimated one and one-half million people in the United States started taking prescription painkillers for "non-medical" purposes in 1998, three times as many as in 1990. One of the most heavily abused painkillers is Vicodin.

Properly used, Vicodin is one of the most commonly prescribed pain medications, especially for those suffering from lower back pain, arthritis, post-operative distress, malignant cancer or sports injuries. It is not time-released, and therefore provides almost instant relief. Vicodin is a compound of two drugs: acetaminophen (found in Tylenol) and hydrocodone bitartrate. Both are painkillers, but together they are far more effective than either one individually.

Twenty tons of Vicodin are produced annually, and it is marketed under a plethora of brand names including Anexsia, Bancap-HC, Ceta-Plus, Co-Gesic, Dolacet, Hydrocet, Hydrogesic, Hy-Phen, Lorcet, Lortab, Margesic-H, Maxidone, Norco and…

From the study of treatment for mothers on crack, 50 experts in drug dependency as well as 150 addicted women identify components which they believe are important in the treatment of women effectively. Some of the features that they had identified that are always not present within the current programs are: comprehensive health care such as family planning, prenatal as well as prevention of HIV; service for children such as play therapy, day care, parental training and developmental monitoring of a child; an advocacy role such as contact with protective services of a child as well as welfare; and appropriate staffing such as non-confrontational, female staffing as well as cultural and racial sensitive.

As evident in the finding of the study, there is preference within experts and women for a program that combines medical, drug treatment and therapeutic services for the child and the mother, job training and education, long-term…

Substance-Related Disorders

A "drug" is any substance, other than food, that affects our bodies or minds. Since not all drugs are bad, the book uses "substance" to clarify the issue. Substance abuse can cause temporary or long-term problems for the abuser. Dependence, tolerance or addiction can develop.

Depressants: slow the central nervous system (CNS) down. Alcohol is a CNS depressant.

Alcohol: nearly 6% of the U.S. population are heavy drinkers, some as young as 11. Men outnumber women 3:1. Ethyl alcohol is quickly absorbed in stomach and intestine. First it depresses the areas of the brain that control judgments and curbs on behavior. Next, motor control is affected. Alcohol can also interfere with both vision and hearing. As the liver metabolizes the alcohol, the blood levels drop and function gradually returns. Patterns of alcoholism vary among socio-cultural groups and by age. Alcoholism can destroy family life, sink a career, and…

Criminal Justice

Narcotic ithdrawal

This is a paper on narcotic withdrawal. There are three references used for this paper.

A person who has taken narcotics faces a number of physical difficulties. It is important to look at narcotic withdrawal in order to gain a better understanding of the signs and symptoms associated with it, as well as what the person is experiencing.

ithdrawal

Narcotic drug addiction is a "physical and psychological dependence on a specific class of drugs. Narcotics are drugs that produce a change in response to sensations, mood changes, unconsciousness, or deep sleep. Some examples of narcotics are heroin, codeine, morphine and methadone (www.beryl.net/HTL/DrugAbuse/21505.htm)."

A person may experience withdrawal due to a number of reasons such as "shortage of supply, lack of money, deciding to stop taking the drug to break the drug habit, or confinement in a controlled environment, such as jail, hospital, or other institution where…

" American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 21(1), 111-35. A research team led by Dr. Michael French gathered to estimate the costs and benefits of residential and publically funded treatment programs for addiction issues. The team was derived from the University of Miami. Program and the client related economic cost estimates were obtained using data collected at the site with the drug abuse treatment cost analysis program (DATCAP). It was concluded that the economic benefit to society was almost four times what the cost of treating residential clients. Short-term follow-up treatment was also beneficial and the economic benefit was even higher.

Hanlon, T.E., Kinlock, T.W., Nurco, D.N. (1991). "Recent research on the relationship between illicit use and crime." Behavioral Sciences & the aw, 9(3), 221-242.

The study reviews previous research on the correlation of drug use and criminal behavior resulting in arrest since 1980. Advances were noted in crime…

Financial and Economic Impact of Worker's Compensation egulations And Compliance

The program and concept of Workers' Compensation might appear to be a product of a civilized society and the modern era, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Workers' Compensation has essentially been around for as long as people have been completing task for payment of some form of another, because people have always been getting hurt in some way, on the job. "The history of compensation for bodily injury begins shortly after the advent of written history itself1. The Nippur Tablet No. 3191 from ancient Sumeria in the Fertile Crescent outlines the law of Ur-Nammu, king of the city-state of Ur. It dates to approximately 2050 B.C.2. The law of Ur provided monetary compensation for specific injury to workers' body parts, including fractures. The code of Hammurabi from 1750 B.C. provided a similar set of rewards…

Heroin

Drug addiction has been the scourge of our times. Heroin and cocaine especially are the leading cause of imprisonment in the civilized world. (Johnson, 1973) The anti-drug lobbies aver with statistics that show that marijuana users often fall prey to more potent narcotics -- especially those that are seeking that perennial "high."

This essay will present a comprehensive picture of the factors -- physical, pharmacological, societal and epidemiological -- that surround heroin in Australia. (Hirst, 1979)

Heroin (Hulburd, 1952). Pharmacologically, heroin belongs to a class of drugs called depressants. This is because heroin use slows down the brain and central nervous system.

Heroin usually comes in powder form. In its pure form, heroin is white. ut depending on how it is "cut" or diluted, it can have different colors. In some third world countries, users are familiar with "brown sugar" (severely cut heroin, occasionally even with rat poison). (Charles,…

The inclusion of alcohol and drug education is a vital component of most drug and alcohol abuse interventions, for both the users and non-user. (Montagne et al., 1992). This education can be offered as a preventive measure to beginners of abuse of substances of to the vulnerable group to save the future generations from the menace and the whole society from the drug's association with crime. Alternatively, it should be offered to be taught as part of the educational curriculum in schools

ecent literature reviews have not found enough evidence to convince many researchers that drug and alcohol awareness programs have great impact on changing substance and drug use, attitude and behavior (Eliany et al., 1993). Although it is of great effort, it has been observed that education alone is not enough to change the actual behavior of alcohol and drug use (Tobler et al1976), in the actual examination of…

While the term "addiction" used to relate primarily to chemical addictions (i.e. drugs and alcohol), Straussner reports that social workers now also deal with "process addictions" such as gambling and anorexia. Furthermore, the responsibilities of the social worker toward addicts and their families have become expanded to the point where social workers are now involved in program and policy development, administration and scientific research. I believe that all of these expanding roles and responsibilities will help to solidify addiction as a significant part of the social worker's job description.

Some of the new and expanding roles of the social worker in regard to addiction even extend to other disorders or illnesses that often occur in conjunction with addiction. For example, Straussner reports that social workers have become increasingly involved in the fight against AIDS, the management of methadone treatment programs and mental health disorders that are often a result of,…

Therefore, HM is designed to help those who would likely not succeed in traditional treatment methodologies as well as to address the indirect harms associated with the behavior targeted for intervention (Brocato & Wagner, 2003).

In that respect, existing HM-based drug treatment programs have confirmed the social benefit and individual welfare achievable through the more tolerant form of intervention. Universally, the literature documents the extent to which social problems such as petty crime and personal harm such as disease transmission and other types of intravenous infection have been substantially reduced through the HM approach to drug abuse.

In Opposition to the Harm eduction Model

Critics of the HM (especially in connection with illicit drug abuse) strongly object to that approach, largely because they believe that it is tantamount to condoning that behavior or even enabling it in the classical codependency context (O'Neill, 2002). In general, that is equally true with…

In addition, factors that cause stress such as divorce or death increase the likelihood that a teenager will have aggressive tendencies (Peterson and Sheldon 2006). Additionally maternal depression, substance abuse or maternal anxiety can all lead to aggressive behaviors in teenagers (Peterson and Sheldon 2006).

According to Peterson and Sheldon (2006) teenage aggression can also be linked to neuropsychiatric disorders. In fact the authors asserts that

"Persistent aggressive behavior is a common feature in many neuropsychiatric disorders and is the most common reason for referral to a child and adolescent mental health clinic [1]. Neurological features associated with aggression include low overall IQ and relative deficits in verbal learning, memory, and fluency [2]. Deficits in executive functioning and working memory are also common [3] and may be especially pronounced with co-occurring attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)."

The aggressive behavior can involve lashing out at family members, friends or strangers. The…

It has been argued that despite this fact, because substance abuse treatment has been developed by men, for men, it emerged "as a single-focused intervention based on the needs of addicted men." (Covington 2008). ithout empowering substance abusers whose lives have become severely impaired in terms of basic life functioning, treating the abuse or disability as a purely biological function will have little effect, and only address the physical withdrawal symptoms, and surrendering to the addiction may not address the need to seek out new, positive social relationships and to actively construct an environment that does not facilitate the addiction.

Even addicts with jobs who are minimally socially functional may have social structures revolving around their addiction. In the case of many women in particular, the life pattern of being involved with an abusive partner, which may have driven the women to abuse drugs in the first place, becomes a…

However, with this mandatory sentence comes seemingly excessive punishments for being afflicted with a real disease. hese types of solutions to the drug problem in the United States fail entirely to grasp drug problems as a real medical issue and therefore throw out medical treatment over punitive punishment, (Nadelmann 2007). Not to mention many of these programs go only so far, failing to provide the support and structure many drug addicts need in order to get themselves clean. Much research has shown that more intensive inpatient programs prove more successful than less regulation programs (McKay et al. 1997). herefore, ineffective drug treatment programs within prison walls are failing to truly encapsulate the addict as a means of supporting their efforts to get clean.

One other major solution that is currently being used in many states is the enactment of a drug court to handle specific drug cases. his court can…

Croop et al. (1997).

The overall safety profile of naltrexone is good; however, care must be taken in prescribing the drug to certain patient populations; e.g., naltrexone shows a dose-dependent hepatotoxicity (package insert) and is therefore contraindicated in patients with significant hepatic impairment, which is frequently encountered in alcohol-dependent populations.

The clinical trials of naltrexone have typically been conducted in patients without significant impairment in hepatic function. Another consequence of the hepatic impact of naltrexone is the possibility of drug-drug interactions.

Kim et al. (2001) potentially clinically significant interaction has been reported between naltrexone and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; these researchers found elevated liver function tests in study participants receiving both medications, although the doses of naltrexone used in this study were higher than the typical 50 mg daily dose.

Naltrexone is not appropriate for use with patients taking prescribed or illicit opioid drugs. Antagonism of the effects of these drugs…

Kinesics interviewing identifies and "interprets a range of verbal and nonverbal, conscious and unconscious behavior" (Ibid) that individual typically exhibit when questioned.

The more definite the pattern of an individual's observed behaviors, the more likely the person being questioned is being "being evasive or untruthful." No single behavior, however, stands alone or can serve as absolute proof regarding the validity of a statement. Instead, a combination of behaviors need to be assessed.

The interviewer must look at the cumulative message of behaviors.

The following behavior includes not only how the words are spoken, but also components that accompany speech; for instance: stalling; hesitating; being excessively polite; responding to a question with another question; trying to attach validity to a response by invoking God or religion ("I swear to God"). (Ibid.) Gaining and maintaining a client's attention during interviews is a key technique for securing relevant data. Although I do not…

Green County Drug Court

The Green County court system has finally decided to implement a "drug court" to bring about some much-needed changes in the current system. The county has authorized a new judge and is debating the merits whether that individual should be elected or appointed. The court is also considering the questions of whether it should operate on a due process model or a crime control model and whether juveniles should be adjudicated.

Green County elects its judges, but in this instance it is recommended that the drug court judge be appointed. The primary reason is expedience. Political campaigns, in addition to being costly in terms of money, are costly in terms of time. Green County needs to address its drug problem immediately and can do so by appointing a judge.

Election campaigns can also take the focus away from an issue. The recent brouhaha over President Obama's…

Teen Drug Abuse - Prescription or Not

Differences between nonalcoholic offspring of alcoholics (family history positive, FHP) and matched offspring of nonalcoholics (family history negative, FHN) have been identified on a variety of behavioral, cognitive, and neurological measures. Compared to FHN teens, FHP adolescents and young adults demonstrate more disturbed school careers, impulsivity, rebelliousness, and nonconformity (National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2006); poorer neuropsychological performance (Worden & Slater, 2009); and significantly lower amplitude in P300 brain waves, which are believed to measure selective attention (Cicero, et al. 2005). Further, following ingestion of alcohol, sons of alcoholics report less body sway and less subjective intoxication (Grant, et al., 2005), higher levels of flushing (McBride, 2011), and decreased P300 amplitudes when performing difficult tasks (Foster, et al., 2009).

Not all individuals with a family history of alcohol dependence become alcohol and/or drug abusers, however, and genetics alone cannot account for…

14). Soon, Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act, which was signed into law in 1937. Like the Harrison Act, the Marijuana Tax Act placed marijuana into the same category as the cocaine and opium drugs. It was now illegal to import marijuana into the United States (McWilliams, 1991). However, this law was ineffective in curbing marijuana use (Brecher, 1986, p. 14).

By the early 1940s narcotic addiction had significantly reduced in the United States (Harrison, Backenheimer and Inciardi, 1999). However, this was not the result of legislative initiatives. Instead, it was because World War II was cutting off the "supplies of opium from Asia and interrupt the trafficking routes from Europe" (Inciardi, 1992, p. 24).

Several other legislative efforts in the supply reduction department served to establish more severe penalties for violations of drug laws, and tighten controls and restrictions over legally manufactured narcotic drugs (Harrison, Backenheimer and Inciardi, 1999).…

There are many of these individuals, and it is time that this is changed.

Parents often look away from these kinds of problems, or they spend their time in denial of the issue because they feel that their child will not be harmed by parental involvement with drugs or alcohol. Some parents have parents that were/are addicts themselves, and some are so busy with their lives that they do not actually realize that their child has any kind of problem with the lifestyle of the parent until it becomes so severe that it cannot be overlooked, or until it is brought to their attention by police, the school, or someone else that has seen it first hand. Parents are not the only ones that overlook this issue, though.

Sometimes siblings and friends also see problems that they ignore, do not understand, or do not talk to anyone about, and the…

When this theory is applied to those who are suffering from major depression it drives home the possible underlying cause of one of the key signs of depression. When one no longer gets pleasure out of things that at one time gave them pleasure it is a sign of depression. Even if those activities one time gave them pleasure if they do not now, it is possible that it is because the person is giving in to their subconscious death instinct desire.

CONCLUION

As the field of mental health continues to advance many of the original founders' theories and opinions may find that they are tossed aside as more knowledge about the working of the mind is gathered. Freud has had many of his theory come under scrutiny over the years and some of his theories are no longer considered applicable.

The Death Instinct theory however, is one theory that…

American Academy Pediatrics publication a critique a media portrayal substance, links made AAP statement material. The password EBook: apusstudent I uploaded rest material.

American Academy of Pediatrics' Policy Statement concerning media portrayal of substance abuse touches upon several important issues that arise along with the media products' influence on America's young population at large. The article's targeted list of open-access channels associated with messages of noxious substance use include advertisements, television shows, motion pictures, social websites and music. Attention is directed specifically towards the findings of broadly conducted research in the matter of harm inflicted on children and adolescents as a result of the entertainment industry's depictions of legal and illegal substances, such as alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and heroin. Based on these findings, Pediatrics proposes a set of familial, institutional and legislative measures designed to minimize or abolish the destructive influence that media effects on a child's and teenager's development…

CVD

Vascular Leg Disorders in Adults with Substance Abuse Issues

Vascular leg disorders, namely chronic venous disorders (CVD) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD), are frequent yet generally unacknowledged complications of injection drug use (IDU) (Pieper, Templin, Kirsner, & Birk, 2010). One study provides a quantitative analysis of the relationship between PAD and exercise habits in adults that engage in IDU. In the sample that was used, overall activity was relatively low and most participants walked less than half a mile a day (Pieper, Templin, Kirsner, & Birk, 2010). There is a significant inverse between PAD and CVD and being active and engaging in some form of walking or exercise. This study is quantitate in nature and provides that statistical findings of the experiment with a large sample.

By contrast, other articles are more informative in nature. One informative article gives an overview of a particular drug that can be used…

Mixed Method, Systematic Reviews, Integrated Reviews, Review of the Literature, Expert Opinions, Informative Articles are not appropriate for this assignment.)

Record your responses in the space provided. he boxes will expand as you type.

Your responses should be your own words and written in complete sentences. No "yes" or "no" answers. You should provide an explanation/rationale for each response.

Did the authors specifically indicate that the human rights of the subjects were protected? Did they specifically identify Institutional Review Board approval/Ethics Committee approval for this study? Did they indicate that they obtained informed consent for the study from the sample/participants? State what page numbers this information was found.

he participants gave informed consents and the procedures were performed in accordance with standards from the Committee of Human Experimentation of the University Institutional Review Board (Pieper, B., et al., 2010, p. 19).

15b: Does the study indicate that the subjects/participants received…

Maryland Prison System

Crime is expensive. But so too is punishment. The state of Maryland, like the majority of states across the nation at the moment, is facing a period of slow economic growth and shrinking economic resources even as it continues to have to meet the needs of its citizens. This paper examines the effect on the state's overall budget of the cost of incarcerating prisoners.

The treatment of prisoners causes few legal problems for the government of a dictatorship. A government that refuses to acknowledge the human rights of even its law-abiding citizens is not likely to show too many qualms about shoving its criminals into overcrowded and unsafe prisons - or even to worry about whether the niceties of due process were considered in getting the person to prison to begin with. But the rule of constitutional law changes all that. Because we live in a country…

Avoidant Personality Disorder

As per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), a certain case of avoidant personality disorder (APD) is featured by the existent sign of social inhibition, feeling of being short of requirement, and hypersensitivity to negative valuation. (American Psychiatric Association, 1994, p.1) Even though personality disorders are not often discovered in persons below age 18, children who come within the condition of APD are recurrently portrayed as being aloof to the core, fearful in arising circumstances, and afraid of dissention and social boycott. The proportion of the signs and the inability is way behind the practice of inhibition that is prevalent in as much as 40% of the populace. Hence it is of great relevance of examining the disorder as it relates to professional counseling.

Exploration of disorder

Bearing a semblance to other personality disorders, the state of Avoidant Personality disorder turns out…

Exchange

Definition of Policy

A needle exchange is a harm reduction strategy wherein the program provides clean, unused needles to addicts for the injection of intravenous drugs. The principle is that when addicts do not have access to clean needles, they are far more likely to share needles among themselves. Needle exchanges are typically set up in areas with a high concentration of intravenous drug users. They provide clean, unused needles free of charge.

Arguments for the Policy

The arguments in favor of a needle exchange center around the harm reduction principle. Intravenous drug users exist, and will continue to exist. The role of health providers with respect to these individuals is to reduce the harm that they do to themselves and to others. The policy makes no value judgments against the users, but merely seeks to reduce the spread of HIV / AIDS among that community. This is important…

Exchange is a program designed to educate and promote health among drug-users. Needle Exchange, and similar programs that provide needles and syringes to drug-users are a harm-reducing motive whose aim is to enable access to sterile needles and syringes for individuals injecting drugs. This kind of action is recommended by The World Health Organization (WHO), whose experts suggest that each drug-user injecting drugs needs to be given access to two hundred clean needles and syringes on an annual basis as a way of tackling and preventing the transmitting of HIV and other blood-borne viruses through this method.

Overall, most programs similar to Needle Exchange are facilitated by pharmacies. Some of these programs work from fixed locations, while others are mobile, and some even employ strategically placed sites. The aim of most Needle Exchange programs is to alleviate and prevent the transmission of HIV, as well as other blood-borne viruses, through…

Chemical Dependency

Jesse Bruce Pinkman is one of the most important characters in the popular TV series, 'Breaking Bad'. He plays the deuteragonist (2nd most important character) in the series, partnering with Walter White in his methamphetamine drug ring. Pinkman acts as a dealer and manufacturer of methamphetamine, and is also a methamphetamine user. Jesse was also a former student in White's chemistry class.

According to the program script, Pinkman was born September 14, 1984, into a middle income family in Albuquerque, New Mexico. While still in high school, he began using and dealing methamphetamine. After being thrown out of the house for his continued drug use, he moved into his Aunt Ginny's place, and looked after her until she died of lung cancer. After her death the ownership of the house fell to his parents who allowed him to continue staying there. The rift between Pinkman and his family…

vignette pertaining to addiction. Ethical and legal factors will be considered. Also discussed will be cross cultural matters related to the topic. Possible solutions to the issue at hand will also be considered.

Middle-aged couple, Anna and James, drops in for an appointment as Kevin, their son aged 16 years, faces suspension from school because of 'drug paraphernalia' found in his school bag. While James is Native-American, Anna is Japanese-American. James goes on to say that it is all Anna's fault, stating that she has smoked pot on a daily basis for the most part of their married life. Anna is of the view that she at least isn't a slobbering drunk like James, further elucidating that James over-indulges in drinking alcohol on weekends. It is discovered, in the course of assessment that James as well as Anna come from alcoholic homes.

Session one

Much is to be taken into…

drives under the influence of alcohol, it is a criminal offense abbreviated as driving under the influence (DUI). However alcohol is but one of the many substances that can interfere with one's driving capability. DUI charges can also be pressed against individuals who are driving under the influence of other kinds of drugs, including illegal drugs and even prescription medication. Taking drugs and driving at the same time, whether the drugs are just prescription muscle relaxers or medicinal marijuana is illegal and a DUI offense. The argument that one took drugs because of doctor's orders is not a defense to DUI charges. Various drugs have different effects on drivers. The drugs that impair concentration, judgment, alertness and/or motor skills are regarded as dangerous and in several cases even more dangerous than alcohol. Driving while having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of more than 0.08% or higher is illegal in the…

ecovery can be a difficult journey for many. The reality of having to change old habits for new ones can take a lifetime. The recovery approach/model realizes the struggle of change and transformation and makes it so that way emphasis is not placed on the destination, but rather the journey. Although other approaches like the disease/medical model aim to treat one aspect of recovery from addiction, the recovery model encompasses all aspects making it one of the most advantageous models to adopt to fight addiction.

The recovery approach/model to addiction and/or mental disorder places a strong emphasis on a support for an individual's potential for recovery. ecovery means a person undergoing a personal journey instead of determining and setting an outcome. This personal journey involves the development of hope, a sense of self, a secure base, social inclusion, meaning, empowerment, and coping skills that will take that person past the…

Neuroplasticity has gained traction, in the realm of pop psychology and also in the more credible arenas of counseling and clinical psychology. In Doidge's (2007) book, neuroplasticity is presented for a general audience but using research to substantiate claims. Therefore, the case studies that comprise The Brain That Changes Itself can become effective blueprints for personal change. The book delves into various aspects of neuroplasticity. Three of those include sexual attraction, addiction, and pain.

Chapter 4 of The Brain That Changes Itself covers the neuroplasticity of sexual attraction and love. Doidge (2007) claims that human beings "exhibit an extraordinary degree of sexual plasticity compared with other creatures," (p. 94). Specific examples of sexual plasticity include trying different sexual positions, techniques, or toys with the same partner or with multiple partners, becoming fixated on certain "types" of people for a while, or going through periods of high versus low sexual energy.…

Heroin Impact on Caucasian Family?

A large number of Caucasian families are plagued with the issue of heroin use, mostly consumed via injections. This is a major public health issue. Viral hepatitis, HIV and other dangers associated with heroin dependence, as well as social harm resulting from accompanying poverty and crime, exceed those of almost all other drugs used. A majority of Caucasian households are indirectly as well as directly impacted by the aforementioned diseases.

Increased pureness and decreased drug costs are potential factors contributing to the trend of decreased age of first-time consumption and increased initiation into habitual consumption in the Caucasian population. As heroin dependence can be successfully cured, primary care providers need to check their patients for this problem.

This paper serves two purposes. Firstly, it attempts to study substance abuse's socio-economic effects on Caucasian people. Secondly, depending on this analysis, it attempts to provide recommendations on…

working for a community mental health agency that serves male adolescents aged 14-16 who have received a diagnosis of conduct disorder. You have been asked by your director of clinical training to answer the following questions (choose only one): a) What family treatment modes have been found to be effective (best practices, evidence-based) for treating this population?

Submit an annotated bibliography with an entry for each of your resources. Include the references in proper APA format. Write a brief summary highlighting the theory, treatment, intervention, and research methodology discussed in each resource.

Authors conducted thorough review of existent studies on psychosocial conduct disorder and interventions in regards to children and adolescents. They also investigated oppositional defiant disorder. 82 experimental studies were evaluated using certain criteria created by the Clinical Psychology Task Force on Promotion and Dissemination of Psychological Procedures. Authors concluded that the two most effective programs that met all…

Jung believed that the unconscious mind has two very distinct layers. The first layer is the personal unconscious. The personal unconscious is where the individual's memories of experiences and events reside. The collective unconscious, on the other hand, is something that we are born with. There is a shadow that Jung also talks about, which is a darker side of the personality and the shadow may be filled with darker aspects of personality (violent tendencies, etc.); these are elements that we may not recognize in our personalities. Therefore, self-actualization is the most important step to take in therapy.

Bennett (year) discusses the integrative archetypal model and how it lends itself to two separate categories of self-representation ("and, by extension, personality as an epiphenomenon of self-representation" (year)). These are the horizontal and vertical factors and they are normally discussed in terms of "splitting" (year), "which is a defensive separation of various…