Guest Column: Addiction recovery work benefits all of us
Mainstream Homes for Men is a member of AARCH, the Association of Addiction Recovery Care Homes of New York State, which is recognized by the state Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services, or OASAS. For the past six years I have been … Read more on Riverhead News Review

Ready access, low cost, pill-like high: Heroin's rise and fatal draw
"Heroin is pummeling the Northeast, leaving addiction, overdoses and fear in its wake," said James Hunt of the Drug Enforcement Administration's New York Office. A 2012 survey by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration … Read more on CNN

Philip Seymour Hoffman and the truth about curing addiction
Although the details are not yet clear, what is established is that Hoffman had been a heroin addict and had relapsed despite having been abstinent for many years. Once people stop using, the tolerance that they develop during the period of drug … Read more on The Guardian

Sources: Nearly 50 envelopes of suspected heroin in Hoffman's apartment
Prescription drugs, including the blood-pressure medication clonidine hydrochloride; the addiction-treatment drug buprenorphine; Vyvanse, a drug used to treat attention-deficit (hyperactivity) disorder; hydroxyzine, which can be used to treat anxiety … Read more on CNN

Types of Opioids Drugs That Are Abused

'Good drinking friend' killed during drunken rage
He said Carleton's time in prison for the first few weeks after his arrest had been a living hell as he suffered from terrible withdrawal symptoms. A now sober Carleton, who has cirrhosis of the liver and pancreatitis, was filled with remorse, shame … Read more on The Age

The PTSD crisis that's being ignored: Americans attacked in their own …
Chicago's Cook County Hospital has one of the busiest trauma centers in the nation, treating about 2,000 patients a year for gunshots, stabbings and other violent injuries. So when researchers started screening patients there for post-traumatic stress … Read more on Raw Story

Philip Seymour Hoffman Didn't Have to Die
Opiate drugs like heroin are highly addictive, but abuse of alcohol and tobacco causes more serious damage to the body. Heroin does not ravage the liver and does not cause lung cancer. While heroin addiction does have some negative … The addict also … Read more on Truth-Out

Pot is not 'more dangerous than alcohol'? Science lacking on Obama's claim
“Their offspring were more likely to seek out heroin that was offered to them and to exhibit withdrawal symptoms when not given the drug compared to those born to rats given a placebo.” All of the baby rats were raised by non-biological parents not … Read more on Boston.com (blog)

Why Philip Seymour Hoffman's Death Is So Scary
In a graphic titled “Extended Abstinence is Predictive of Sustained Recovery,” the National Institute of Drug Abuse says, “After 5 years—if you are sober, you will probably stay that way.” I unconsciously added a “forever” to the end of that sentence … Read more on The Slatest

Nonprofits consider partnership to house women recovering from drug addiction
A potential partnership between two nonprofit organizations could provide some of the north country's only support for women recovering from drug addiction. North Country Freedom Homes Inc., Canton, and New Hope Transformation House Ministries, … Read more on WatertownDailyTimes.com

The tragedy of Philip Seymour Hoffman: when 'clean and sober' addicts are …
We're hearing it from friends and fans of Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was clean for 23 years before apparently checking himself into rehab last year. To stay away … At Alcoholics Anonymous, the man or woman who's still drinking tends to stick out a mile. Read more on Telegraph.co.uk (blog)

Calendar for Monday
Eating Disorders support group, 6:30 p.m. St. Joseph Rehab, conference room across from Quilter's Cafe. Informal, peer-based group for … Alcoholics Anonymous, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Grimes St. Joseph Health Center activity room. 450-1750 or 936-662-0825. Read more on Bryan-College Station Eagle

Hoffman 'tried to help Heath off heroin'
"Phil was very active in the Alcoholics Anonymous fellowship and didn't hesitate for one second when Heath's people reached out to him to ask for his help getting him sober. They had been friendly for years and Philip spent hours talking to Heath … Read more on NEWS.com.au

My happiness is worth more than fart jokes
Of course I drank past that point of realization, which is how I knew I was really an alcoholic, and in May, I shipped myself off to rehab. These are the some of the letters I wrote home to the girls at Pizza Island. After rehab, I'd like to say my … Read more on Salon

Our View: Addicted Maine women will pay for treatment cuts
… houses are an important part of the process of recovering from addiction to drugs or alcohol. The residential programs offer addicts support in a sober setting as they build the skills needed to live and remain substance-free on their own … Read more on Press Herald

How Philip Seymour Hoffman Could Have Been Saved
“Everything” included eight residential programs and four outpatient programs. It's not … Richard Rawson, associate director of the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, says, “Failure to encourage patients to use these medications is unconscionable. Read more on TIME

Question by Ashlee: I cant remember the name of this book! Help?
I read a book in High School that I would like to read again, but I cant remember what the title was or even the author. It was about girl in high school, her step dad was a criminal in some way, I dont remember the details.. Anyway in the beginning of the book her step dad sets her up and she is sent to a jail/rehab of sorts.. I know my details are a little vague and probably not totally accurate.. Towards the end of the book she sets fire to the jail and escapes.. Does anybody have any idea what book I am thinking of??

Best answer:

Answer by tiandron
Shock Point by April Henry
“Cassie discovers that her stepfather, Rick, a teen psychiatrist, has been illegally prescribing a new behavioral drug to his patients—and three teens have died. Before she can report him, Rick commits Cassie to Peaceful Cove, a boot camp for troubled teens in Mexico. Cassie knows she has to get out now, before more teens die. But no one has ever escaped from Peaceful Cove alive—and even if Cassie gets over the walls and survives the Mexican desert, will anyone believe her story?”

“The wicked stepmother motif is altered to wicked stepfather in this contemporary chiller. Cassie, 16, has suffered a year of upheavals: her parents’ divorce, her mother’s remarriage^B and new pregnancy, and the discovery that her stepfather’s psychiatric practice revolves around an experimental drug that may have led to the suicides of several of his teen patients. Leading off is a horrific scene of Cassie’s abduction, masterminded by her stepfather, who planted crystal meth in her room and arranged for her to be taken to a juvenile “rehabilitation” center. Organization is a strong point here. In the first part, Henry effectively shuttles between Cassie’s imprisonment and the discoveries that lead to it. In the second part, Cassie must free herself and obtain evidence to save other teens from the deadly drug–all but impossible tasks in the Dickensian atmosphere of the teen facility. Along with solid plotting and suspense comes a likable heroine who’s a good match for the nefarious adults in her life”

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Ex-bulimic Demi Lovato talks drug abuse, rehab and smoking pot with Joe Jonas
Demi Lovato is doing well three years after going to rehab for drug and alcohol addiction, she told E! Feb. 3. Looking back, Lovato is grateful that rehab saved her life, and helped her realize she had to change if she wanted to live. "I don't think … Read more on Examiner.com

Iran not doing enough to address drug addiction
According to studies and surveys conducted by the Drug Control Headquarters issued last December, more than 600 drug rehabilitation centers are recognized across the country, most of which are based on the outskirts of cities. Because of the immense … Read more on Al-Monitor

Hoffman found with 50 bags of heroin, addiction meds: sources
Multiple law enforcement sources told NBC News that authorities found six bottles of prescription drugs — including the blood pressure medication clonidine hydrochloride; the addiction treatment drug buprenorphine; the attention-deficit disorder … Read more on NBCNews.com (blog)

Philip Seymour Hoffman Dead — Dies of Apparent Heroin Overdose … Needle …
Details surrounding his death are unclear … but the actor had struggled with drug problems … most recently checking himself into a rehab facility for heroin back in May. TMZ broke the story of Hoffman going to rehab. We were told he did it as a … Read more on TMZ.com