When I admit a new patient to the hospital (an inpatient chemical dependency and dual diagnosis program), I do an evaluation and ask a lot of questions about substance abuse. The new patients come here because they are out of control with drugs and/or alcohol, usually need medical detoxification, and also need rehabilitation to change the way they are living. To detoxify them safely I need to know what drugs they are using, how much and how often. The drugs are cocaine, methamphetamine, opiates (heroin, oxycontin, hydrocodone, etc.), benzodiazepines, hallucinogens, alcohol, and last but not least – marijuana. The patients are quick to identify their problem when it is shooting heroin daily, smoking $100 of crack per day, drinking a fifth of whiskey per day, or taking 30 Vicodin a day. I always ask “What else?” or “How much?” several times because most underestimate their amounts, and many are using 2 or 3 different drugs. When I ask, “Do you smoke pot?”, 90% answer “Yes.”

In going back through the patient histories, 85% started their drug use with pot and the other 15% started with alcohol. Marijuana is usually their first experience with a chemical high, and many move on to various other drugs searching for a stronger or better euphoria. If I don’t ask specifically, “Are you smoking pot?”, most will not mention it because they take it for granted, as they have usually been smoking since age 10, 11, or 16. They haven’t looked at it as the problem, but rather as a given in their life. It’s easier to see cocaine or alcohol as problems because behavior is disinhibited and dramatically out of control, involving car wrecks and fights. Marijuana is not so dramatic and in fact it causes people to sit on the couch, watch TV, and eat. How can that be a problem?

To find out why it is a problem, please read the rest of the article on marijuana published by Recovery Today Online.

These are the questions we ask ourselves when we experience an addiction-related loss. Yet instead of worrying over hypothetical “what-ifs,” let’s focus on a question that could prevent future losses: what should you do if someone you know appears to be abusing drugs or alcohol?

Talk to him or her about it. This is particularly important if they have been sober and recently relapsed. Tell that person that you’re concerned about their behavior, and that you’re afraid they might lose something truly important (a job, spouse, a long-term goal, etc.) The bottom line is: if you’re afraid of losing someone to addiction, let that person know.

Expect that person to get angry with you. After all, they have chosen to use drugs or alcohol at what they think is a “manageable” level—but for most of us in recovery, “manageable” use just isn’t feasible. In any case, you shouldn’t allow someone’s anger to prevent you from sharing your fears.

Don’t forget to take care of yourself; if you don’t want someone drinking or using in your company or in your house, tell them. There’s nothing wrong with drawing a line.

Finally, remind that person that no matter what happens, you’ll be there if problems arise and they want help getting sober again. You’ll support him or her in any way you can. You’ll do your best to help that person get the help they need.

I’ve had the terrible experience of not pushing someone who said he would get help for his addiction—he was dead two weeks later. The questions we ask ourselves are inevitable: Could I have stopped this if I had pushed harder? If I had taken him to treatment? In my friend’s case, I’ll never know the answer. Is this my fault? For that question, the answer is always no. We don’t cause addiction, and we can’t cure it. But we want to know that we did our very best to help the people we love before it’s too late.

Deni Carise, Ph.D.
Chief Clinical Officer
Phoenix House

It’s always exciting to share and discuss the latest addiction-related headlines and Phoenix House happenings with our more than 3,000 fans on Facebook—many of whom are Phoenix House clients, alumni, and their family members. On Twitter, it’s amazing to see how far one tweet can go—a client story from @PhoenixHouse, a quote from @PHouseHope, or a policy perspective from our President and CEO’s handle @HMeitiner can reach thousands of people and can truly make a difference.

On July 14, we co-hosted a lively Twitter chat with The Fix about the benefits and pitfalls of anonymity in recovery.  This hour-long debate generated about 400 tweets overall—a true testament to social media’s inspiring ability to bring together a community and call them to action. We hope you’ll join forces with us on our social media channels as we remove the stigma surrounding addiction and recovery by sparking dialogue, increasing awareness, and simply sharing stories.

All too often, people in recovery keep their stories quiet, due in large part to the stigma associated with addiction that still persists in our society.  I remember my own concerns when I was asked to go very public with my recovery story at the National Press Conference celebrating Recovery Month in 2008. But like Ainge, I recognized that sharing my journey was part of recovery and I believed that I had come far enough in my career that negative results from going public would be outweighed by the possible good it could do. Opening up, first to friends and family members, often communicated how best to support me in my recovery. (At parties, for instance, the people in my life know not to serve me alcohol.)  Later, when I told my story in a much more public forum, I did so because I felt I could serve as living proof that substance abusers can and do get better, sometimes much better.  The recovery community should applaud Ainge for helping to spread this important message.  The public already knows that people abusing drugs and alcohol do foolish, harmful things.  What they won’t know, if we don’t tell them, is that people in recovery can go on to do wonderful things.

Ainge’s story also helps us get the word out that addiction can affect anyone.  A talented young player from a famous football family, Ainge seemed to “have it all.”  Yet his drug use escalated from marijuana to alcohol and prescription medications and finally to cocaine and heroin.  During his rookie year with the Jets, he now admits he was taking 25 Percocets at a time. When he finally sought treatment, he says he was “on a one-way street to hell.” Although most of us aren’t sports stars, many of us in recovery can relate to Ainge’s experience because we too were at the height of promising careers when drugs took over our lives. Addiction, we discovered, does not discriminate based on a person’s achievement level or potential for success.

Fortunately, recovery doesn’t discriminate either. Those who find the help they need and commit to managing their recovery can go on to lead productive, rewarding lives.  For this reason, I’m optimistic about Erik Ainge.  Although he’s not sure about his future in football, he knows that his top priority is to maintain his sobriety, which is exactly where his focus should be.  “I want this to be the last time I ever have to try to get clean,” he says, “and I’m going slowly.” If he continues to put his recovery first, taking it one day at a time, he’ll come out a winner, no matter what the scoreboard says.

Deni Carise, Ph.D.
Chief Clinical Officer
Phoenix House

Last week, when I read on CNN that two Air Force soldiers had just been killed on a bus in Frankfurt, Germany, my anxiety level soared—my son is in the Air Force, and he is stationed in Frankfurt. Thankfully, I soon found out that my son wasn’t one of the victims of this tragedy. Still, the incident brought back painful memories of the previous year, when my son was doing a tour in Afghanistan. Every morning that year, I would go to my computer to check Google and CNN to see what was happening in the war, continuing to hope that my son was safe.

It seems as if few people are suffering the emotional scars of these two wars. Tonight, most people will be home relaxing, watching The Biggest Loser or Charlie Sheen’s on-screen ranting. Yet more than two million men and woman have been deployed to serve in Afghanistan and Iraq—and if you add their friends and family members, you can easily say that ten million out of 310 million are directly affected by these wars. The larger problem is that not all of those fighting for their country, or even those left at home, are able to deal with the experience in a healthy way. Many find that self-medication lessens their pain, makes it easier to sleep, or chases away their fears and memories. How else should one confront the image of one’s best friend being blown apart? How else can one forget the act of picking up scattered body parts to estimate the power of the IED that destroyed the people caught in its path?

A few of us from Phoenix House recently visited veterans from Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. These men and women have suffered extreme emotional damage. Because they were stationed where drugs were easily available, many of these veterans returned from combat already addicted to drugs. Meeting them and learning about their struggles helped us realize the desperate need for initiatives like Phoenix House’s Military Services Program. This program provides military personnel and their families with treatment and support services for a wide range of substance abuse and mental health problems, including Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The number of veterans and military personnel who need treatment is growing, and it is up to all of us to ensure that they get the help they need. If not, our society will face increased incidents of homelessness, family crisis, incarceration, and suicide. These consequences will not only affect our veterans and their friends and family; they will also affect the 300 million people who will be sitting on their couches tonight, waiting to find out who Donald Trump will fire next. It is our responsibility as a society to support our veterans, especially those with invisible wounds.

Tommy Gallagher
Phoenix House Military Services Advisory Board Member