Methamphetamine and Who is Using It.

Methamphetamine, also known as meth is a chemical stimulant similar to adrenaline but powerfully addictive. Methamphetamine effects the central nervous system.

Street names for meth are crank, crystal, speed ice, and glass. The prevalence of meth is extremely high. The reason being is that it is easily made out of cheap ingredients that are easily assessable.

The hook on meth comes from the effects the user achieves: increase wakefulness and physical activity, decreased appetite, and increased mental and physical well-being. Users report there is a brief intense sensation when meth is snorted or injected.

The rush and the high are believed to result from the release of very high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine into areas of the brain that control feelings of pleasure. Usually a person who uses meth never gets as big a “high” as he or she did the first time. As tolerance for meth develops with chronic use, in an attempt to intensify the desired effects, users will take higher doses more frequently. It is not uncommon for meth abusers go without food and sleep while indulging in a form of binging known as a “run,” injecting as much as a gram every two to three hours over a several day period. This will continue until the user runs out of the drug or is too disoriented to continue. With chronic use and/or increased dosages of meth, the toxicity level increases. With the increased toxicity, the user may experience irritation, outbursts of anger, paranoia, delusional thinking, visual or auditory hallucinations, inflammation of the heart lining as well as progressive social and occupational deterioration. Psychotic symptoms can sometimes persist for months or years after use has ceased.

If that is not scary enough, the fact that our teens make up a significant number of meth users today is. In the past few years, the use of this drug has increased dramatically in teenagers from 12 to 17 years old. What makes matters worse is the internet has hundreds of web sites that provide the recipes and places to purchase ingredients to make meth. Just a couple of the ingredients that are toxic on their own, commonly known to be used to make meth are battery acid and drain cleaner. This is what is what our youth is putting into their bodies.

Regardless of social or economic background, the experimentation with crystal meth has become commonplace for our teens. The TV does not help. It portrays that thin is beautiful and has become increasingly important teen girls unfortunately. With extended meth use, one does experience dramatic weight loss but at the same time risk their lives.

Other factors that play a role in the increased drug use amongst our teens are the youth rave culture that encourages hard drug use, desire for personal freedom, self-discovery, peer acceptance, and the “non-alcohol” after hour’s club. Sadly, the increased use of meth has shown in the statistics.

According to the 2005 NSDUH, 10.4 million Americans age 12 and older had tried methamphetamine at least once in their lifetimes. (NIDA) Based on its 2007 survey results, NACO reported Meth is still the number one drug problem.

Within the criminal justice system the cost associated with enforcing Meth laws represent the second largest category of costs at $4.2 billion.


The U.S. Department of Justice’s National Drug Threat Assessment 2009 continues to report that an overwhelming percentage (68%) of state and local agencies in the 20 Western states perceive Meth as their greatest drug threat.

According to the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the best estimate for the number of Meth dependent users is 270,348—an 11% increase from 2005.

Between 1998 and 2000, meth related emergency room visits doubled - 47% of hospitals report Meth as the top illicit drug involved in emergency room visits. Between 1998 and 2002, death from methamphetamine overdoses rose 125 percent.


The calculated costs associated with drug treatment are approximately $545 million, of which $491 million is in the community-based specialty treatment sector.

Treatment admissions for Meth more than doubled nationally between 2000 and 2005.

If you need help or know of someone who does, please contact A Better Tomorrow today. We are here to help.
http://www.abttc.net/
Phone: 800.971.1586
Fax: 800.401.8464
24 Hour Addiction HelpLine
Tel. (800) 396-9389 (7 days 24 hours)
e-mail: info@24houraddictionhelp.com
http://www.24houraddictionhelp.org/

YOUTHS ARE MAKING A MOCKERY OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAWS

Jerrod Menz NEWS RELEASE
(800) 757-9867
Jerrod@abttc.com


YOUTHS ARE MAKING A MOCKERY OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAWS

One California drug rehab center is seeing increasing numbers of youths in their 20s who have obtained medical marijuana cards after telling their doctors they were suffering from back pain and other ailments

MURRIETA, Calif., March 31, 2009 – Thirteen states have legalized the medical use of marijuana with a doctor’s approval, a development that has led to the rapid growth of cannabis dispensaries from coast to coast.

But one prominent drug treatment center in Southern California is finding that the recipients of medical marijuana cards are not just elderly people with terminal illnesses, but young people in their 20s who are faking back pain and other ailments in an effort to legally obtain the drug.

“Young people are finding they can easily trick doctors into giving them medical marijuana cards by claiming they are suffering from back pain and other ailments whose existence is difficult to prove,” said Jerrod Menz, president of A Better Tomorrow Treatment Center Inc., a Murrieta, Calif.-based drug and alcohol rehabilitation center.

“We recently had one client in his 20s who told us he obtained a medical marijuana card by telling his doctor he was suffering from foot pain. He laughed and said his doctor gave him the prescription after a five-minute examination,” Menz said.

Menz said several young people have voluntarily surrendered or destroyed their medical marijuana cards after receiving treatment at his clinic. But he said doctors need to use more care in their examinations of young people who come into their offices with complaints of persistent pain to better prevent people from abusing the intent of medical marijuana laws.

Thirteen states have legalized the medical use of marijuana, including Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Additional states are considering laws that would legalize marijuana for medical treatment.

Based in Murrieta, Calif., A Better Tomorrow is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), placing it in the top 5 percent of drug and alcohol treatment centers in California. For more information about A Better Tomorrow, please contact Jerrod Menz at (800) 757-9867. Additional information is available on the clinic's website at http://www.abttc.com/

If you need help or know of someone who does, please contact A Better Tomorrow today. We are here to help.
http://www.abttc.net/
Phone: 800.971.1586
Fax: 800.401.8464
24 Hour Addiction HelpLine
Tel. (800) 396-9389 (7 days 24 hours)
e-mail: info@24houraddictionhelp.com
http://www.24houraddictionhelp.org/

HOLIDAY BLUES TRIGGER INCREASED ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE

Dan Chapman NEWS RELEASE
(800) 757-9867


HOLIDAY BLUES TRIGGER INCREASED ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE


MURRIETA, Calif., Dec. 12, 2007 ― A Better Tomorrow has seen a 50 percent increase in requests for drug and alcohol interventions across the country since October, a spike clinic therapists attribute to the holiday blues.

“Families are usually the biggest stressors around the holidays because mental health problems often have their roots in difficult family relationships,” said Dan Chapman, director of A Positive Outcome Intervention Services at A Better Tomorrow in Murrieta. “People use more alcohol and drugs as a coping mechanism, and that sets the stage for a crisis. We see this happen every year as we approach the holidays. It’s a good thing people are calling, of course, because this means more people who need help are getting into treatment.”

Addicts usually deny that they have a problem, even when their addictions are tearing apart their families or leading them down a path toward unemployment or financial ruin. Addicts typically will not listen to advice from their families, either. That’s why a professional interventionist is often needed to convince the addict to seek professional counseling and treatment.

A Better Tomorrow provides professional intervention services as well as residential and outpatient treatment programs for alcohol abuse as well as addiction to illegal and prescription drugs.

“People often try to minimize the significance of marijuana addiction as if it’s less damaging than cocaine or methamphetamines,” Chapman said. “But marijuana addiction still leads to employment problems, alienation from family members and other mental health problems.”

Addiction to prescription painkillers is also becoming an increasing problem, Chapman said, citing A Better Tomorrow’s clinical experience as well as a recent statistics compiled by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which found that nonmedical use of prescription drugs among young adults had increased from 5.4 percent in 2002 to 6.4 percent in 2006.

Based in Murrieta, Calif., A Better Tomorrow has the highest level of accreditation that can be obtained by a drug or alcohol treatment center. The clinic is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), placing it in the top 5 percent of drug and alcohol treatment clinics in California. For more information about A Better Tomorrow or A Positive Outcome, the clinic’s intervention division, please contact Dan Chapman at (800) 757-9867. Additional information is available on the clinic’s website at http://www.abttc.com/.

Christian-Based Drug and Alcohol Treatment Program

Jerrod Menz NEWS RELEASE
(800) 757-9867


A BETTER TOMORROW LAUNCHES A NEW DRUG AND ALCOHOL RECOVERY PROGRAM BASED ON BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES

MURRIETA, Calif., Dec. 12, 2007 ― A Better Tomorrow has added a new Christian-based drug and alcohol treatment program to its portfolio of treatment services.
The Christian program, launched earlier this month, is a 12-step program based on eight biblical principles. The program is modeled on the Celebrate Recovery curriculum, which was developed by Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif.

“The 12-step treatment programs that most people are familiar with was originally based on Biblical principles, but people got away from this when efforts were made to reach out to people who were not Christian,” said China Long, a Better Tomorrow therapist.

And while many churches throughout the Temecula Valley offer Christian-based recovery programs, none of them have the ability to accommodate recovering addicts in a protective residential setting. “We offer both residential treatment and Christian-based drug and alcohol treatment programs for those who feel most comfortable with this approach,” Long said.

Based in Murrieta, Calif., A Better Tomorrow has the highest level of accreditation that can be obtained by a drug or alcohol treatment center. The clinic is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), placing it in the top 5 percent of drug and alcohol treatment clinics in California. For more information about A Better Tomorrow, please contact Jerrod Menz at (800) 757-9867. Additional information is available on the clinic’s website at http://www.abttc.com/.

August 07 News Release ~ A Better Tomorrow

Jerrod Menz NEWS RELEASE
(800) 757-9867

MURRIETA DRUG REHAB CENTER IS OFFERING ONE MONTH OF OUTPATIENT TREATMENT AT NO COST TO A LIMITED NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO TURN IN THEIR BONGS, SYRINGES, INDOOR HORTICULTURAL LAMPS AND OTHER DRUG PARAPHERNALIA

MURRIETA, Calif., August 22, 2007 ― A Better Tomorrow is one month of free outpatient treatment to a limited number of addicts who turn in their bongs, syringes, indoor horticultural lamps and other drug paraphernalia.

“The treatment is being made available at no cost in evening sessions at our private facility in Murrieta as an act of community service,” said Charles Anderson, A Better Tomorrow’s CEO.

“Ironically,” Anderson added, “it’s often harder to open a drug and alcohol treatment center than it is to open a business that promotes the use of drugs and alcohol. It’s time somebody put the spotlight on these businesses because they’re leading our friends and family members onto a path of self destruction.”

Indeed, since A Better Tomorrow opened its doors over three years ago, the clinic has seen a dramatic increase in its local patient base.

While A Better Tomorrow offers treatment for alcohol, drug and gambling dependencies, including addiction to prescription painkillers, Anderson said addiction to illegal drugs continues to account for half of the clinic’s caseload. He added that while some states are now making it legal to use marijuana for pain management, the federal government still considers it to be an illegal drug.

In fact, a major study by the British Health Department this year found that
even infrequent use of marijuana can increase the risk of developing a serious mental illness by 40 percent. The study, which was published in The Lancet, examined 35 other studies that tracked the short- and long-term effects of marijuana use on the mental health of tens of thousands of people.

“While it’s hard to dispute marijuana’s ability to relieve the pain of the terminally ill, we know from experience and from the latest research that its use often leads to nothing but irresponsible behavior and even mental illness for everyone else,”

Anderson said, adding, “The best rule of thumb is to simply avoid marijuana and other illegal drugs at all cost, and to seek immediate treatment if you or a family member has developed an addiction to these illegal substances.”

Based in Murrieta, Calif., A Better Tomorrow has the highest level of certification of any drug or alcohol treatment center in southwest Riverside County. The clinic is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), placing it in the top 5 percent of drug and alcohol treatment clinics in California. For more information about A Better Tomorrow, please contact Jerrod Menz at (800) 757-9867. Additional information is available on the company's website at http://www.abttc.com/.