Does Someone You Love Have an Alcohol or Drug Addiction Problem?

Today’s news is difficult for you to hear. After reading about a suggested change in the town of Shreveport, Louisiana, you worry. After hearing about a suggested change in Great Britain you worry. In fact, although you went through alcohol detox almost eight years ago now, you still tend to worry when you hear about changes that you fear will make the risk of alcohol abuse more prevalent. Alcohol detox was the last chance for you, and you are thankful that you have been able to stay away from your previous habits, but the news of changes to laws in the U.S. and other countries always make you worry.
According to the Shreveport newspaper The Times, a new law that could go into affect within the next few months would permit 18 year olds admittance into Shreveport bars, if the city’s laws are changed. As of now, no one under the age of 21 can enter a Shreveport establishment that has as its primary focus serving alcohol. You feel, of course, that is as it should be. Your worry and your fear is that once an underage teenager is allowed in a bar, the next step to getting alcohol is just that much easier. Substance abuse facts that you have studied indicate the longer teenagers can remain unexposed to temptations, the more likely it is they will not develop an addiction that could require drug or alcohol detox.
The National Public Radio program talks of an even more concerning change in parts of Great Britain. As some cities bemoan the problem of more that 10,000 pubs closing in the last decade, city officials want to make a rule that no further pubs can close without city approval. As the price of beer in the area continues to climb, some nostalgic city residents think that like museums and pieces of architecture, pubs should be protected.
Really? How can that make sense?
To hear the proponents of the ordinance explain that a pub creates community, and that they end up with a supporting network with their fellow drinkers sounds strange to someone who had to work very hard in alcohol rehab to get away from just such a community and network. A pub can be a network alright. But for those with a tendency toward too much drinking, it is the wrong kind of network, the wrong kind of community.
And so, after listening to this morning’s news you find yourself worried. Worried for those who may be too much like you when you are at your worst. The worst you when the symptoms of substance abuse were apparent to everyone else but you.
Society’s Attitudes Toward Alcohol and Drugs Can be Part of the Battle That Addicts HAve to Face
As the U.S. sees legislation this fall that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in at least five more states, the staff members of substance abuse treatment centers may find themselves even more busy. Like laws that decrease the age of who can enter a bar in Louisiana or try to make it illegal to close a pub in Britain, for individuals who are prone to drug and alcohol addiction the temptations can be too much to handle. Easier and legal access to marijuana will be too great of a temptation for some who will not have the power to limit their use.
For the family members of addicts, easier access to alcohol and drugs can become a major worry. Studies indicate that people with drug and alcohol addictions not only have those battles to fight, they also are more susceptible to other problems. In fact, people with substance use problems are up to three times more likely to have a mental illness. In fact, more than 15% of substance abusers also have a co-occurring mental illness. Mental illness combined with addiction is a difficult cycle to break without the intervention of the best drug and alcohol detox centers.
Substance abuse has cost the Canadian health care system more than $8 billion. A problem for both men and women, statistics indicate that men have higher rates of addiction than women, but women have higher rates of mood and anxiety disorders. Does your loved one need help?