MARIJUANA DIVERSION PROGRAMS
Amidst concerns that U.S. prisons and jails are filling up with people who have committed drug offenses, most states now have alternatives called diversion programs. These programs allow low-level offenders – such as people who are arrested for possession of a small amount of marijuana or committed other non-violent crimes like shoplifting – to avoid […]
WHAT IS THE DEA?
When you hear “DEA,” odds are that your mind goes straight to movies or television shows, with officers wearing vests and windbreakers, brandishing weapons and kicking down the door of a crack house. While it’s true that there are DEA agents who do this sort of thing, there’s a lot more to the Drug Enforcement […]
CAN YOU BE ARRESTED FOR A DRUG OVERDOSE?
Anyone who’s ever watched a procedural cop drama or medical show knows that if you turn up in an emergency room with a gunshot or stab wound, the doctors are required to call the police. The same is true if someone appears to have been deliberately poisoned, or if there are any other signs of […]
DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG DEALERS
In March 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo to federal prosecutors, instructing them to pursue the death penalty in drug-related cases, including those where an individual was dealing in extremely large quantities of drugs. He also recommends seeking the death penalty for drug-related crimes that are connected to a murder. Statutes already exist […]
COURT ORDERED SOBRIETY
In 2016, a woman named Julie Eldred was arrested for stealing jewelry to pay for drugs. She was granted probation, but the judge set some conditions on her release. She was to complete addiction treatment and submit to periodic drug tests. She began an outpatient drug treatment program and started taking suboxone to help with […]
SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND VIOLENCE
The U.S. Department of Justice reports that 61 percent of domestic abusers have drug and/or alcohol addictions. Substance abuse can make people act more aggressively and cause irritability and paranoia, which often leads to arguments among spouses or family members. If problems already exist before drugs or alcohol are added into the mix, the substance […]
SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND UNEMPLOYMENT
Drug or alcohol abuse has undeniable ties to whether or not someone is employed, both because it might lead to job loss or because the drug use started as a result of unemployment. Approximately one in six unemployed people are addicted to alcohol or drugs – nearly twice the rate for full-time workers. When people […]
INSURANCE FOR SUBOXONE
For all the many reasons why it can be so difficult to make it through substance abuse recovery, being rejected by an insurance company is the last thing anyone should have to worry about. And yet it’s all too common, especially among private insurers, that they will deny coverage for a treatment facility or for […]
SMART RECOVERY
Self-Management and Recovery Training, or SMART Recovery, is a non-profit support program for people with substance use disorders. It also focuses on any co-occurring disorders like anxiety or depression. It is an alternative to 12-step programs like A.A. because there is no emphasis on religion or spirituality. Rather, the focus is on learning to manage cravings […]
OUTPATIENT REHAB PROGRAMS
There are two types of treatment options for drug addiction; inpatient treatment and outpatient treatment. Inpatient treatment has the patient stay in the treatment center for a certain period of time that can range from a few weeks to a month. Outpatient treatment is when the patient can come and go to the treatment center […]