Drug Addiction Information

Winning Against Addiction

2005-09-21T18:16:00.000-07:00

My win is being able to confront and handle drug addiction. I have been working at Narconon Arrowhead for over four years and recently moved into another job here at our organization. My new duties are so rewarding and I am constantly seeing improvements. I really feel like I am majorly contributing every day and even though it is challenging I know that with every person I help, I am literally saving their life and we are winning against the battle of drug addiction.

To think that 4 years ago I fell victim to heroin addiction. Today I can't believe how far I've come.

Sharing My Success With My Cousin

2005-08-02T17:37:00.000-07:00

Today I had a big win. Last week I got my cousin to agree to come into the Narconon Arrowhead program. He had been abusing drugs for over 10 years and had been in methodone for the last year. I went to check on him today and even though he has had a tough few days withdrawing from methodone he was in great spirits when I spoke with him. He told me that the staff at Narconon Arrowhead are the nicest people he has ever met and they have helped him so much. He also told me that he loves the sessions in withdrawal and that they are really helping him a lot.

I was so happy to hear that he is doing so well and making it through this and so proud of the staff here for the way that they have treated him. There is no other place like Narconon Arrowhead that cares so much about the people coming in here and getting off drugs.

The Road to Recovery (8)

2005-07-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

I hopped on a plane and was then driven to the Narconon center where I went through a drug-free withdrawal. I was so scared to kick again, that is the hardest thing for a drug addict to face, but because of the vitamins I was given, I got through it. I was finally ready to start on the road to recovery.

Going through my program I confronted everything I couldn’t confront for all those years. For four months I went through the hardest and most fulfilling thing I had ever done in my life. The program initially deals with the physical part of the drug addiction and then moves on to the mental. The Narconon program deals with all aspects of addiction by restoring the addict and giving them a new life.

One day I looked at myself in the mirror and for the first time I didn’t hate who I was. I was finally happy. I was content and I had won. I beat my addiction. The whole time I never needed drugs to take away pain and to make me feel good. Thanks to the Narconon program, I could finally do it all by myself.

Finally, I Got Help (7)

2005-07-20T15:18:00.000-07:00

After extensive research my dad found a rehabilitation center called Narconon. It was a non-traditional center that handled the physical cravings first, then the mental. It was also an extended 3 to 6 month program with a 76% success rate.

Based on the data my parents were convinced that this was what would save my life but I wasn’t. I had gone so long without being sober that I didn’t think I could do it. So, I refused. One morning, I woke up sick again, from another drug binge. I got to a phone and dialed the number that my mother had given me ‘just in case’. I spoke to a counselor who assured me that everything would be ok if I was just willing to try. Making that decision was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.

My Drug Addiction Was Winning (6)

2005-07-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

I called my parents who agreed to pick me up. It was time to kick again and I was scared. I started to get sick a few hours later at their home and I got so sick that I had to be hospitalized. I don’t remember much about the hospital except throwing up and crying and sleeping. Five days later I was released and my parents were in the car with my things. They drove me straight back to New Jersey where I swore I was going to start over.

I got a job and managed to not do heroin for one month. I began drinking all the time to curb my cravings and as soon as I got the change I relapsed. The first time I used I almost overdosed and began throwing up everywhere. I was in downtown Philadelphia with a friend and got really sick. He offered me support and then a crack pipe. For the next few weeks I went from drinking and taking painkillers to snorting coke and to snorting heroin to smoking crack. I would take any buzz that I could get to just avoid being in my own skin. I hated myself and what I had become. I couldn’t even look anyone in the eye and I had failed at confronting myself and my problem. My drug addiction was winning. And every time I tried to kick the physical craving would send me back for more.

While I was killing myself my parents were doing everything they could to help me. My father began researching drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers on the Internet. We were all scared because we knew of many 12-step, 28 day rehabs that others had tried and that didn’t work. My parents did not want to gamble with my life, and they knew it wouldn’t be long before I killed myself. I was slowly dying.

Bad Habits (5)

2005-07-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

By the time I realized I was addicted, snorting OxyContin was part of my daily routine. Instead of having to do 20mg to get off I had to do 80mg. I was stealing at least $100.00 per day from my grandparents at the family business. I needed something stronger because college was about to start and I couldn’t afford to be sick. Just as that thought ran through my mind, I was introduced to heroin. At $20 or $30 per bag it was a cheap, potent, alternative to OxyContin.
I would stop at nothing to get high. My dealer and I would travel to North Philadelphia on our days off to pick up heroin to distribute to pay for our habits. We bought bags for $10/each and then would distrubite them at three times their value. On days where we ran out, I would steal money and buy OxyContin or whatever I could get my hands on to avoid being sick. I somehow managed to get through another semester of college. By the end of it, I knew that I needed to leave or I was going to die. I moved to the state of New Jersey in hopes of getting my life together. On the way there, I got so sick that my family was frantic just watching me. I swore that I would never do heroin again.
After two weeks I thought I had beat my addiction and decided to go home and confront it. I was home for four hours and relapsed. The next two weeks I was on a heroin binge, snorting bag after bag until I couldn’t function anymore. I walked through life in a daze and nothing affected me. It was as if heroin had shut off all my emotions – I was numb. I was staying with my parents at the time and they gave me another ultimatum. I could either quit using or leave. I had no money so I took my car and drove to my grandparents. I robbed them and when I came out I realized that my parents had followed me and taken my keys. After a struggle to get the keys back, they put me in the car and tried to drive me home. When we got close to my dealers, we were at a red light and I hopped out of the car and ran. My parents called telling me to never come home but I didn’t care; I just wanted to get high. I did so much heroin that night that subliminally I think I was hoping that I would just die. I didn’t care about myself or anyone else. I fell asleep on a mattress and woke up the next day with only one thought in my head, “I can’t live like this anymore.”

Painkillers (4)

2005-06-20T07:07:00.000-07:00

A month after starting my new job I had to take a few days off to get my wisdom teeth out. After the operation, I was prescribed over the counter painkillers. I immediately began abuse them telling the doctor I was allergic in order to get more. I also found that my mother had some Vicodin left from an operation and was also taking Xanax on occasion to help her sleep. I began stealing pills from her and taking them all the time.
By December 2000 I had to quit my job, broke up with my boyfriend and moved into an apartment that was located on top of my parents business. I was going to back to college in the spring and decided to work at my parent’s restraint to save money. Soon, I began hanging out with the local crowd: drinking, eating painkillers, and smoking marijuana. I was introduced to OxyContin, a painkiller given to terminally ill cancer patients, and began using it on a regular basis. I would have to pop six or seven painkillers to get the same effect of snorting one 20 mg OxyContin that, chemically, is basically synthetic heroin. OxyContin was extremely potent but the withdrawal was like physical torture. At first, I didn’t understand why I was feeling the way I felt, coming off the drug, but I caught on as the sickness got worse. I was physically addicted.

Rollercoaster (3)

2005-06-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

I decided that on my own I had to get a hold of my drug and alcohol problem. I slowed down only drinking twice a week, but I continued to smoke marijuana and took painkillers on and off. I managed to do average in all of my classes that semester and was feeling stronger and more confident that I could overcome it. I stayed at college in the summer and made up the classes that I had failed the first semester. I was still using marijuana and drinking recreationally but felt that it was ok because I had stopped using the hard drugs.

That next year things were pretty calm. I had a steady boyfriend that I really cared about and I was supressing my drug addiction. I began to do really good in school and finished the next two semesters. In order to graduate with an associate degree, I needed two more classes so I stayed another summer to finish. At the end of June I graduated with an Associate of Communication.

My boyfriend and I moved to a college town in Pennsylvania because he had finished his education. I began an internship at a local magazine where I worked as a writer and photographer. Things seemed pretty calm. I was still using marijuana and drinking on occasion but while I was supressing it, my addiction was doing push-ups.

College (2)

2005-06-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

One month prior to my high school graduation, I moved into a party house with one of my friends. Every night the house would be filled with people who were 'tripping' on LSD, drinking, smoking marijuana, and snorting coke. I slept on a mattress in a small room. At night I was so paranoid that I would just sit and stare at the TV unable to talk or more for fear that I was going to die from all the cocaine I snorted and marijuana I smoked. One night during one of my binges, I blacked out and awoke with blood all over my face and vomit coming out of my mouth. By some miracle I pulled myself away and cleaned myself up. I got into the car, shaking drove to my parent's house. I climbed into bed with my mom and cried. I somehow managed to graduate high school. My parents felt that my only hope was to leave my environment, so they set it up for me to go to college three and a half hours away.

I arrived at college with the intention of doing well, but once again my drug and alcohol problem consumed me. I continued to drink and smoke marijuana every day but did stop using cocaine, and only ate LSD on occasion. Every night I was up late partying and hardly ever went to class. I managed to pass three classes that semester and when grades came out I got an ultimatum from my dad. I had one more chance to do well in school or I had to come home and work. I was afraid to go back to that environment because while at home over Christmas break I had been using cocaine again.

My Personal Drug History

2005-05-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Psychotropic Drugs

2005-05-12T13:24:00.000-07:00

Schools wouldn't be able to deny enrollment, services, or participation in activities to children that refuse to take mood-altering drugs to treat mental disorders under a bill passed unanimously Thursday by the House and sent to Gov. Jeb Bush.

Before schools refer to students for psychological evaluations, parents would have to be informed that behavior problems could be result of physical conditions. They also must be told that they might want to consult a medical doctor, they can decline the evaluation and results may become part of the student's school record.

Actresses Kirstie Alley and Kelly Preston last month testified in support of the bill (HB 209).

"It's going to be a model for this country and I'm proud to sent this to the governor," said it's sponsor, Rep. Gus Barreiro, R-Miami Beach.

‘Rehab’ Gets a Facelift

2005-05-06T17:04:00.000-07:00

The Narconon Arrowhead program seeks to set new standards in the drug rehabilitation and education field

Confronting the drug problem in the Unites States and overseas in this day and age is a task that few are able to stand up to. While there are thousands of public and private organizations that provide drug addiction treatment and prevention services, some are more successful than others.

Traditional treatment practices have been in existence for decades, but the results have yet to help a majority of people overcome their substance abuse issues. A new documentary on HBO called “Rehab” claims that 80% of individuals who seek treatment for their addiction to alcohol or other drugs relapse and cannot stay clean.

There is a non-traditional program called Narconon Arrowhead that continues to break this mold and is setting a new standard for drug rehabilitation and education.

As the largest center an international network of non-profit rehabilitation and prevention groups, Narconon Arrowhead uses the effective drug-free rehabilitation methodology developed by American author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard. The program was actually founded by a former heroin addict named William Benitez in 1966 in Arizona State Prison.

Unlike most other treatment programs, approximately 70% of Narconon Arrowhead graduates become drug free. It is a success rate that has yet to be surpassed on any large scale, but restoring life to addicts is only part of the battle.

Whereas there are some programs that use a defeatism approach to drug education by trying to minimize harm done by using drugs “safely”, Narconon Arrowhead teaches abstinence from drugs in the form of awareness and prevention. This is done through a team of drug education specialists that personally speak to tens of thousands of people per year across the country on the true dangers of what alcohol and other drugs do to a person’s mind and body.

Narconon Arrowhead also engages in a massive anti-drug media campaign to continue to promote a drug-free society through websites, newspapers and radio and television stations. From live on-air interviews to written articles and public service announcements, the organization helps millions of people each year get the message that drug addiction can be overcome and that it is the responsibility of everyone in the community in order to make a better society for all.

Through all of the community services Narconon Arrowhead receives e-mails and phone calls from approximately 1,000 people every week who are seeking more information about drugs and addiction. From students doing school papers on drugs to reporters doing stories about drugs in their areas and from individuals looking for local treatment centers to families wanting the longer-term rehabilitation program, experienced and professional Narconon Arrowhead staff members do everything in their power to help.

Getting back to its roots, Narconon Arrowhead is also working with prison officials in the United States and other countries to help with the reform of drug addicted offenders. In April the center was visited by Indonesian dignitaries, who have seen the positive effect components of the program have had and can have in their area.

To find out more information or to get help for a loved one in need, contact Narconon Arrowhead today at 1-800-468-6933 or log on to www.stopaddiction.com.

The 2 Main Reasons Addicts Cannot Stop Using Drugs or Alcohol

2005-04-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

The two major causes for addiction have been identified and are thoroughly and completely addressed and treated successfully on the Narconon Program.

These two major reasons are:

Mental and physical cravings caused by drug residues which remain in the body even long after a person quits using the drug.
The "Biochemical Personality" -- the "way of thinking" that is caused by drug addiction and the lifestyle an addict adopts to get drugs and live with a drug habit.

Don't Let Congress Fund Orwellian Psychiatric Screening of Kids

2005-04-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

Every parent in America should be made aware of a presidential initiative called the “New Freedom Commission on Mental Health.” This commission issued a report last year calling for the mandatory mental health screening of American schoolchildren, meaning millions of kids will be forced to undergo psychiatric screening whether their parents consent or not. At issue is the fundamental right of parents to decide what medical treatment is appropriate for their children.

Forced mental health screening simply has no place in a free or decent society. The government does not own you or your kids, and it has no legitimate authority to interfere in your family’s intimate health matters. Psychiatric diagnoses are inherently subjective, and the drugs regularly prescribed produce serious side effects, especially in children’s developing brains. The bottom line is that mental health issues are a matter for parents, children, and their doctors, not government.

Unfortunately, however, the mental health screening initiative received funding from House and Senate appropriators in the 2005 federal budget. This funding allows states to create or expand mental health screening programs with your tax dollars. More importantly, the commission recommends a broader federal program in the near future.Last fall I introduced an amendment to eliminate any funding for the proposal in a year-end spending bill. Although the amendment failed, the response to my office was overwhelming and highly supportive. The notion of federal bureaucrats ordering potentially millions of youngsters to take psychotropic drugs like Ritalin strikes an emotional chord with American parents, who are sick of relinquishing more and more parental control to government.

Accordingly, the first bill I introduced this year bill forbids federal funds from being used for any mental-health screening of students without the express, written, voluntary, informed consent of their parents. The bill is known as “The Parental Consent Act of 2005,” or HR 181. This legislation strikes a vital blow for parents who oppose government interference with their parental authority, and strengthens the fundamental right of parents to direct and control the upbringing and education of their children.

It is important to understand that powerful interests, namely federal bureaucrats and pharmaceutical lobbies, are behind the push for mental health screening in schools. There is no end to the bureaucratic appetite to run our lives, and the pharmaceutical industry is eager to sell psychotropic drugs to millions of new customers in American schools. Only tremendous public opposition will suffice to overcome the lobbying and bureaucratic power behind the president’s New Freedom Commission.

Your help is needed. Please tell everyone you know about HR 181, and ask them to call their representatives and senators in Washington to voice strong opposition to forced mental health screening. Demand that the Department of Health and Human Services receive no tax dollars in this year’s appropriation bill for screening programs, and that states receive no federal dollars for programs of their own. Refer to my congressional website for articles from September 2004 about mental health screening, and sobering statistics about anti-depressant drugs and kids in the text of HR 181. Most of all, talk with your friends, family, and colleagues about the underlying issue of whether the state owns your kids. Remind them that freedom can be maintained only when state power is limited, especially when it comes to fundamental freedoms over our bodies and minds.

this information brought to you by http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2005/tst013105.htm

“ADHD” & “Learning Disorders”

2005-04-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

In many parts of the world, there are few families and teachers whose lives have not been interrupted by the prescription of mind-altering drugs to children.

In the U.S. alone, these drugs are prescribed to at least 6 million children for supposedly educational reasons; 2 million children take antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs.

In Australia, the stimulant prescription rate for children increased 34-fold in the past two decades.

In Britain, the rate increased 9,200% between 1992 and 2000.
Between 1993 and 2001, methylphenidate (generic form of Ritalin) sales in Mexico increased 800%.

German methylphenidate sales increased 400% between 1995 and 1999.
Significant increases are also reported in France, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland.
Commonly, a psychiatrist or psychologist tells parents that their child suffers from a Learning Disorder (LD) – also labeled Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), or most often today, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). “Brain disease” or a “chemical imbalance” of the brain may also be mentioned, but parents are always told that this is a well-recognized “medical problem” demanding continuous, prescribed medication. Don’t believe it.

Unlike medicine, there is no scientific basis for any of these “psychiatric disorders.” In this section we answer the most frequently asked questions about this subject and provide information about the risks of drugs prescribed for “learning disorders.” It also refers you to CCHR publications and other recommended reading.

Information provided by Citizens Commission on Human Rights

Recovery from Drug Addiction Doesn't Have to be a Life-Long Battle

2005-04-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

Alcohol and other drug addictions are fought on many fronts. From scientists conducting genetic research and pharmaceutical companies pushing new drugs as treatments to faith based organizations offering counseling and law enforcement working on the reduction of the supply.
For the last few decades the majority opinion has been that addiction is a brain disease that cannot be cured, that recovery is a life-long battle, and that relapse is a part of the recovery process.

Regardless of what philosophy or treatment model a person may subscribe to, the most important factor is the results that are produced, meaning is the former addict now drug-free or is he or she is still on some type of drug.

Billions of dollars have been spent on researching unproven theories and treatments by some groups and the government, while others have found something that works and are busy actively stopping addiction on a daily basis.

One of the groups effectively doing something about the problem is Narconon Arrowhead. As one of the nation’s largest and most successful drug rehabilitation and education centers, Narconon Arrowhead utilizes the proven drug-free rehabilitation methodology developed by American author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard.

The Narconon® Drug Rehabilitation Program is comprised of an extensive sauna detoxification protocol and a series of life skills courses that provide addicts with the tools to apply to overcome the barriers to living a clean and happy life.

Not only does the organization achieve results from its rehabilitation program, in fact 70% of their graduates are drug-free two years after completion, but they have a massive awareness, education and prevention campaign as well. Over the last three years they have worked to personally educate over 100,000 kids on the truth about drugs and have reached millions of people with anti-drug messages through the Internet, radio, television and print media.

Without results we are simply throwing more money and lives down the drain on ineffective treatment concepts. With our country’s treatment and rehabilitation system focused on results and accountability, and with effective solutions that Narconon Arrowhead provides in schools, the workplace, correctional facilities and of course at its drug rehabilitation center, we can make a serious and positive impact on the state of our nation.

For more information on Narconon Arrowhead or to get help for a loved one in need call 1-800-468-6933 today or log on to www.stopaddiction.com.

Alcoholism

2005-03-30T18:03:00.000-08:00

Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence, includes the following four symptoms:

Craving--A strong need, or urge, to drink.

Loss of control--Not being able to stop drinking once drinking has begun.

Physical dependence--Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety after stopping drinking. Tolerance--The need to drink greater amounts of alcohol to get "high."

Awareness

2005-03-21T13:29:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the Narconon Arrowhead drug and alcohol rehab program, I have been off drugs for 2 1/2 years. I can see things for what they are for the first time and I am very happy with everything in my life. I am stable and compliant and very aware of things going on around me. I love this feeling!

Get rest

2005-03-14T13:25:00.000-08:00

REST
"Get rest. Although many times in life one has to work beyond normal sleep periods, a person's general failure to get proper rest can make him or her a burden to others. Tired people are not alert. They can make mistakes. They have accidents. Just when you need them they can dump the whole workload on one. They put others at risk. Insist that people who do not get proper rest do so."

L. Ron Hubbard
Founder
From the book The Way to Happiness [1981], English hardcover page 29.

Attention and Admiration

2005-03-07T15:35:00.000-08:00

I believe that someone overcoming addiction needs a force to help pursuade them to find the help they need. Not everyone can do it alone. Some of us need some backup or force to get pushed onto the right direction.

This is one of my favorite quotes.

"Reason which is afraid of force and reason which is -- exists to keep force from hurting one, is not reason. That, too, is a form of slavery. But reason which exists to go up from the level of force must be first able to confront force. Only then can such reason take responsibility for those things which reason alone can produce."
-L. Ron Hubbard
Founder
From the lecture Specific Parts of Self-Determinism. Spacation, in the Philadelphia Doctorate Course, lecture of 3 December 52. Research and Discovery Series volume XIII, page 234.

Losing the Beer Goggles

2005-03-01T13:11:00.000-08:00

Have you ever stopped to think about the state of our society today? Ever wondered why we have so much violence on our streets, why healthcare costs are so high and why states continue to spend too much tax-payers’ money on criminals and not nearly enough on education for our children? The truth is that these situations and countless more can typically be traced back to a single source — drugs.
The “War on Drugs” is such a played-out cliché that several generations have become apathetic to the notion that it could one day be won and people are taught that addiction is an incurable disease. Losing the Beer Goggles: And Seeing the Truth for the First Time is a collection of social and political commentaries and criticisms and the correlation of a young man overcoming related barriers in his life. The truths he discovers for himself are also demonstrably applicable to the tens of millions of Americans that are caught in the trap of alcohol and drug use, providing solutions to many of the problems we face as a nation.

I saved someone

2005-02-21T13:41:00.000-08:00

This week I got a call to go and handle a girl that wanted to leave the Narconon program.

When I got down to see her, she was very upset and told me that she was leaving the program as this was not the place for her and there was nothing I could do to change her mind.

I asked her what was going on in order to handle the situation. We went through all the things that were going wrong and why she wanted to leave. I handled each thing with her one at a time. This took over an hour and I had to run this step several times but finally all her considerations were handled.

After that I asked her what the worst thing about being on drugs was. She replied that she was scared all the time and I knew this was her biggest problem.

She finally decided that she wanted to stay and do the program. We called her family and she told them that she wanted to give it a shot.

The fact that I was able to save her life was a huge win for me.

L. Ron Hubbard's Technology

2005-02-14T10:54:00.000-08:00

I am very thankful that I found L. Ron Hubbard's technology and I am able to use it in my life.

Before finding this technology I was totally lost. I was not even able to help myself and definitely not able to help others. This technology, which is the basis for the Narconon Arrowhead Drug Rehabilitation and Education Program, gave me answers to questions I had and showed me which route to go.

I now use it every day to help myself and others lead better lives. I don't know where I woudl be without Mr. Hubbard and am so thankful for his work!

ADHD is a FALSE LABEL

2005-02-07T14:30:00.000-08:00

Despite claims of irrefutable science, there are absolutely no objective criteria by which Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can be confirmed to exist. This is not science.

Nor is there any scientific evidence proving that a chemical imbalance in the brain is responsible for the symptoms attributed to ADHD, or that ADHD is a “brain-based disease”. Yet this is repeatedly claimed as fact by psychiatrists.

In fact, the diagnostic criteria to determine of a child has ADHD were voted on in committee by members of the American Psychiatric Association, by a show of hands. There are many reasons why a child might be displaying behavioral or educational problems. Drugging only masks the real cause.

“If there is no valid test for ADHD, no data proving ADHD is a brain dysfunction, no long-term studies of the drugs’ effects, and if the drugs do not improve academic performance or social skills and the drugs can cause compulsive and mood disorders and can lead to illicit drug use, why in the word are millions of children, teenagers, and adults… being labeled with ADHD and prescribed these drugs?”
Author, No More ADHD

Drug-Free

2005-02-01T13:49:00.000-08:00

The Narconon Arrowhead drug and alcohol rehabilitation program is the largest, most successful private program in the country.
The Narconon program uses the drug-free methodology of American Author and Humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard to achieve a 70% success rate.
The program’s drug free approach is partially why it’s so successful. The program also handles the physical aspect of addiction as well as the mental and emotional components.

For more info log on to www.stopaddiction.com or call 800-468-6933

Treatment Info blog

2005-01-26T13:14:00.000-08:00

www.pcsup.blogspot.com
This is a link to a blog about drug treatment and rehabilitation.

New Beginnings

2005-01-25T13:12:00.000-08:00

Recently a news article was published about a man named Mel Bacon. Mr. Bacon has been helping people trying to overcome problems in their lives by providing employment.

Bacon said he became a Christian eight years ago while he was having trouble with a former business partner. "I was trying to be a good Christian, trying to figure out God's will," Bacon said. "One morning I had a strong feeling I should hire a different kind of people."

Not long after, federal immigration officers told Bacon that 90 of his employees - nearly half of his workforce at the time - had fraudulent green cards. Some of the workers he hired off the streets to replace them sold drugs, he recalled. So Bacon began recruiting employees among jobless people seeking food and money from area churches. He soon discovered that many of them were recently paroled from prison or were struggling to overcome drug addictions.
He hired a minister to help interview job applicants and began voluntary Bible studies during the morning break. Sober-living houses came soon after.
This story is very similar to the history of the Narconon Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Program.

A man named William Benitez actually started the program in the early 60’s. Benitez, who was a habitual criminal and heroin addict, read a book by American author and humanitarian L. Ron. Hubbard. Through the technology in this book he was not only able to handle his own drug addiction but also started to help others struggling with addiction.

Today Narconon has over 100 programs in 38 different countries. While Mr. Bacon implements religion into his daily routine, the Narconon Arrowhead Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Program is a secular program that achieves a 70% success rate.

For more information please visit www.stopaddiction.com.

Struggling with Addiction

2005-01-14T11:57:00.000-08:00

Heroin is the drug that I primarly used while I was dealing with addiction. Physical dependence develops with higher doses of the drug. With physical dependence, the body adapts to the presence of the drug and withdrawal symptoms occur if use is reduced abruptly. Withdrawal may occur within a few houseaftere the last time the drug is taken. Symptoms of withdrawal include restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps, and leg movements. Major withdrawal symptoms peak between 24 and 48 hours after the last dose of heroinand subside after a week. However, some people have shown persistent withdrawal signs for many months.
If you have a heroin addiction or any other drug or alcohol addiction problem, please contact Narconon Arrowhead today at 1-800-468-6933. It saved my life, it can save yours too.

Drug-free methodology

2005-01-11T13:59:00.000-08:00

The Narconon Drug Rehabilitation and Education program is an entirely drug-free social education model.

The addiction treatment program has been used successfully by thousands of people around the world to rid themselves of the need for drugs and to regain control of their lives.

No one WANTS to be an addict or an alcoholic, but this doesn't stop people from getting addicted. The question most commonly asked by firends, family and addicts themselves is simply:

"How? How did this happen?"

This is followed by "Why can't I (or he or she) stop?"

These questions and more can be answered by contacting Narconon Arrowhead. You can call today at 1-800-468-6933.

Drug Users Skyrocket

2005-01-03T13:12:00.000-08:00

Presently there are millions of people addicted to drugs or alcohol in the U.S. Some of them choose traditional programs while others choose non-traditional programs like the Narconon Arrowhead drug and alcohol rehabilitation program which has a 76% success rate when treating hardcore addictions. For more information please log on to www.stopaddiction.com.

Drug-free

2004-12-28T08:21:00.000-08:00

I have been free of drugs and alcohol for three and a half years now thanks to the Narconon Arrowhead Drug Rehabilitation and Education Program.

For seven years I struggled with an addiction to alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, Oxycontin and other painkillers. I never thought I would be able to dig myself out fo the hole I put myself in, but I finally go the help I needed and now and happy, stable and drug-free!

Thank you Narconon Arrowhead!

Marijuana Most Widely Used Drug

2004-12-13T08:43:00.000-08:00

According to information from the National Institute of Drug Absue, marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug among America's youth. The statistics show that some of the drugs being abused more frequently are those that are falsely believed to be safe. We are facing a tremendous knowledge gap about the very real dangers of drugs like ecstasy and marijuana.

The use of marijuana can produce adverse physical, mental, emotional and behavioral changes and, contrary to popular belief, it can be addictive. Ecstasy has proven to cause brain damage and both drugs damage the levels of serotonin, dopamine and endorphins in the brain causing depression in users.

"The scariest thing is that most people start using drugs like ecstasy and marijuana then get hooked on drugs like cocaine and heroin," says Roger, a graduate of the Narconon Arrowhead drug rehabilitation and education program.

Through the Narconon program, which uses technology developed by American author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard, Roger was able to overcome his addiction two years ago.

Now more than ever, we need to help those struggling with addiction. If you or someone you know needs help call Narconon Arrowhead today at 1-800-468-6933.

My Success Story

2004-12-10T14:05:00.000-08:00

At 13 years of age I took my first drink, by the age of 21 I checked into my first rehab. It began by the usual experimental drinking in a small rural town in Pennsylvania. Being that I was shy, alcohol was a gateway to communication for me and I felt that I was more fun when I was drunk. Soon after I was introduced to marijuana. From the moment I took the first hit I was hooked. For those who think marijuana isn't a gateway drug keep reading. LSD quickly fell into my hands and I became addicted, eating it like candy. My LSD habit escalated to using it two to three times per week for the next three years. Between the alcohol, LSD and marijuana there wasn't a moment of a day that I was actually sober.

By the time my senior year of high school rolled around my drug and alcohol problem was out of control. Three months prior to my high school graduation I was hanging out at a friend's house smoking marijuana when someone pulled out a bag of cocaine. Snorting cocaine quickly became a daily habit. At times I would do so much that I had to smoke marijuana to bring myself down. While other kids were concerned about their senior pictures and prom dresses I was consumed with the worry of running out of cocaine and falling flat on my face. I was stealing money from my parents business and from my grandparents on a daily basis to support my alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, and LSD habits.

One month prior to my high school graduation I moved into a party house with one of my friends. Every night the house would be filled with people who were 'tripping' on LSD, drinking, smoking marijuana, and snorting coke. I slept on a mattress in a small room. At night I was so paranoid that I would just sit and stare at the TV unable to talk or move for fear that I was going to die from all the cocaine I snorted and marijuana I smoked. One night during one of my binges I blacked out and awoke with blood all over my face and vomit coming out of my mouth. By some miracle I pulled myself awake and cleaned myself up. I got into the car, shaking drove to my parent's house. I climbed into bed with my mom and cried. She cried as well knowing how desperate I had become because of my drug addiction. I somehow managed to graduate high school. My parents felt that my only hope was to leave my environment so they set it up for me to go to college three and a half hours away.

I arrived at college with the intention of doing well, but once again my drug and alcohol problem consumed me. I continued to drink and smoke marijuana every day but did stop using cocaine, and only ate LSD on occasion. Every night I was up late partying and hardly ever went to class. I managed to pass three classes that semester and when grades came out I got an ultimatum from my dad. I had one more chance to do well in school or I had to come home and work. I was afraid to go back to that environment because while at home over Christmas break I had already been using cocaine again.

I decided that on my own I had to get a hold of my drug and alcohol problem. I slowed down only drinking twice a week, but I continued to smoke marijuana and took painkillers on and off. I managed to do average in all my classes that semester and was feeling stronger and more confident that I could overcome it. I stayed at college that summer and made up the classes that I had failed the first semester. I was still using marijuana and drinking recreationally but felt that it was ok because I stopped using any hard drugs.

That next year things were pretty calm. I had a steady boyfriend that I really cared about and I was suppressing my addiction. I began to do really good in school and finished the next two semesters. In order to graduate with an associate degree I needed two more classes so I stayed another summer to finish. At the end of June I graduated with an Associate of Communication.

My boyfriend and I moved to a college town in Pennsylvania because he had finished his education. I began an internship at a local magazine where worked as a writer and photographer. Things seemed to be pretty calm. I was still using marijuana and drinking on occasion but while I was suppressing it, my addiction was doing push-ups.A month after starting my new job I had to take a few days off to get my wisdom teeth out. After the operation I was prescribed over the counter painkillers. I immediately began abusing them telling the doctor I was allergic in order to get more. I also found that my mother had some Vicoden left from an operation and was also taking Xanax on occasion to help her sleep. I began stealing pills from her and taking them all the time.

By December 2000 I had quit my job, broke up with my boyfriend and moved into an apartment that was located on top of my parents business. I was going back to college in the spring and decided to work at my parent's restaurant to save money. Soon I began hanging out with the local crowd drinking, eating painkillers, and smoking marijuana. I was introduced to OxyContin, a pain killer given to terminally ill cancer patients, and began using it on a regular basis. I would have to pop six or seven painkillers to get the same effect of snorting one 20 mg OxyContin that, chemically, is basically synthetic heroin. OxyContin was extremely potent but the withdrawl was like physical torture. At first I didn't understand why I was feeling the way I felt, coming off the drug, but I caught on as the sickness got worse. I was physically addicted.

By the time I realized I was addicted, snorting OxyContin was part of my daily routine. Instead of having to do 20 mg to get off I had to do 80 mg. I was stealing at least $100.00 per day from my grandparents and the family business. I needed something stronger because college was about to start and I couldn't afford to be sick. Just as that thought ran through my mind I was introduced to heroin. At $20 or $30 per bag it was a cheap, potent alternative to OxyContin.

I would stop at nothing to get high. My dealer and I would travel to North Philadelphia on our days off to pick up heroin to distribute to pay for our habits. We bought bags for $10/each and then would distribute them at three times their value. On days where we ran out I would steal money and buy Oxy or whatever I could get my hands on to avoid being sick. I somehow managed to get through another semester of college. By the end of it I knew that I needed to leave or I was going to die. I moved to the state of New Jersey in hopes of getting my life together. On the way there I got so sick that my family was frantic just watching me. I swore that I would never do heroin again.

After two weeks I thought I had beat my addiction and decided go home and confront it. I was home for four hours and relapsed. The next two weeks I was on a heroin binge, snorting bag after bag until I couldn't function anymore. I walked through life in a daze and nothing affected me. It was as if heroin had shut off all my emotions – I was numb. I was staying with my parents at the time and they gave me another ultimatum. I could either quit using or leave. I had no money so I took my car and drove to my grandparents. I robbed them and when I came out I realized that my parents had followed me and taken my keys. After a struggle to get the keys back they put me in the car and tried to drive me home. When we got close to my dealers we were at a red light and I hopped out of the car and ran. My parents called telling me to never come home but I didn't care; I just wanted to get high. I did so much heroin that night that subliminally I think I was hoping that I would just die. I didn't care about myself or anyone else. I fell asleep on a mattress and woke up the next day with only one thought in my head, " I can't live like this anymore."

I called my parents who agreed to pick me up. It was time to kick again and I was scared. I started to get sick a few hours later at their home and I got so sick that I had to be hospitalized. I don't remember much about the hospital except throwing up and crying and sleeping. Five days later I was released and my parents were in the car with my things. They drove me strait back to New Jersey where I swore I was going to start over.

I got a job and managed to not do heroin for one month. I began drinking all the time to curb my cravings and as soon as I got the chance I relapsed. The first time I used I almost overdosed and began throwing up everywhere. I was in downtown Philadelphia with a friend and got really sick. He offered me support and then a crack pipe. For the next few weeks I went from drinking to taking painkillers to snorting coke to snorting heroin to smoking crack. I would take any buzz that I could get to just avoid being in my own skin. I hated myself and what I had become. I couldn't even look anyone in the eye and I had failed at confronting myself and my problem. My addiction was winning. And every time I tried to kick the physical craving would send me back for more.

While I was killing myself my parents were doing everything they could to help me. My father began researching drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers on the Internet. We were all scared because we knew of many 12-step, 28-day rehabs that others had tried and that didn't work. My parents did not want to gamble with my life, and they knew it wouldn't be long before I killed myself. I was slowly dying.

After extensive research my dad found a rehabilitation center called Narconon. It was a non-traditional center that handled the physical cravings first, then the mental. It was also an extended 3-6 month program with a 76 percent success rate.

Based on the data my parents were convinced that this was what would save my life but I wasn't. I had gone so long without being sober that I didn't think I could do it. So I refused. One morning I woke up sick, again, from another drug binge. I got to a phone and dialed the number that my mother had given me 'just in case.' I spoke to a counselor who assured me that everything would be ok if I was just willing to try. Making that decision was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

I hopped on a plane and was then driven to the Narconon center where I went through a drug-free withdrawal. I was so scared to kick again, that is the hardest thing for a drug addict to face, but because of the vitamins I was given I got through it. I was finally ready to start on the road to recovery.

Going through my program I confronted everything I couldn't confront for all those years. For four months I went through the hardest and most fulfilling thing I had ever done in my life. The program initially deals with the physical part of drug addiction and then moves on to the mental. The Narconon program deals with all aspects of addiction by restoring the addict and giving them a new life.One day I looked at myself in the mirror and for the first time I didn't hate who I was. I was finally happy. I was content and I had won. I beat my addiction. The whole time I never needed drugs to take away pain and to make me feel good. Thanks to the Narconon Program I could finally do it all by myself.