Drugs with street names like acid, angel dust, and vitamin K distort the way a user perceives time, motion, colors, sounds, and self. These drugs can disrupt a person’s ability to think and communicate rationally, or even to recognize reality, sometimes resulting in bizarre or dangerous behavior. Hallucinogens such as LSD cause emotions to swing wildly and real-world sensations to assume unreal, sometimes frightening aspects. Dissociative drugs like PCP and ketamine may make a user feel disconnected and out of control.

In addition to their short-term effects on perception and mood, LSD is associated with psychotic-like episodes that can occur long after a person has taken the drug, and PCP and ketamine can cause respiratory depression, heart rate abnormalities, and a withdrawal syndrome. Use of LSD and other hallucinogens by secondary school students has declined since 1998, but ketamine and LSD are becoming more widely used at dance clubs and all-night raves by older teens and young adults.

Hallucinogens are drugs that cause hallucinations – profound distortions in a person’s perceptions of reality. Under the influence of hallucinogens, people see images, hear sounds, and feel sensations that seem real but do not exist. Some hallucinogens also produce rapid, intense emotional swings.

Hallucinogens cause their effects by disrupting the interaction of nerve cells and the neurotransmitter serotonin. Distributed throughout the brain and spinal cord, the serotonin system is involved in the control of behavioral, perceptual, and regulatory systems, including mood, hunger, body temperature, sexual behavior, muscle control, and sensory perception.

LSD (an abbreviation of the German words for "lysergic acid diethylamide") is the drug most commonly identified with the term "hallucinogen" and the most widely used in this class of drugs. It is considered the typical hallucinogen, and the characteristics of its action and effects described in this Research Report apply to the other hallucinogens, including mescaline, psilocybin, and ibogaine.

Drugs such as PCP (phencyclidine) and ketamine, which were initially developed as general anesthetics for surgery, distort perceptions of sight and sound and produce feelings of detachment – dissociation – from the environment and self. But these mind-altering effects are not hallucinations. PCP and ketamine are therefore more properly known as "dissociative anesthetics." Dextromethorphan, a widely available cough suppressant, when taken in high doses can produce effects similar to those of PCP and ketamine.

The dissociative drugs act by altering distribution of the neurotransmitter glutamate throughout the brain. Glutamate is involved in perception of pain, responses to the environment, and memory. PCP is considered the typical dissociative drug, and the description of PCP’s actions and effects in this Research Report largely applies to ketamine and dextromethorphan as well.

Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is both the most abused and the most rapidly acting of the opiates. Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of certain varieties of poppy plants. It is typically sold as a white or brownish powder or as the black sticky substance known on the streets as "black tar heroin." Although purer heroin is becoming more common, most street heroin is "cut" with other drugs or with substances such as sugar, starch, powdered milk, or quinine.

Street heroin also can be cut with strychnine or other poisons. Because heroin abusers do not know the actual strength of the drug or its true contents, they are at risk of overdose or death. Heroin also poses special problems because of the transmission of HIV and other diseases that can occur from sharing needles or other injection equipment.

According to the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which may actually underestimate illicit opiate (heroin) use, an estimated 3.7 million people had used heroin at some time in their lives, and over 119,000 of them reported using it within the month preceding the survey. An estimated 314,000 Americans used heroin in the past year, and the group that represented the highest number of those users were 26 or older.

The survey reported that, from 1995 through 2002, the annual number of new heroin users ranged from 121,000 to 164,000. During this period, most new users were age 18 or older (on average, 75 percent) and most were male. In 2003, 57.4 percent of past year heroin users were classified with dependence on or abuse of heroin, and an estimated 281,000 persons received treatment for heroin abuse.

A variety of effective treatments are available for heroin addiction. Treatment tends to be more effective when heroin abuse is identified early. The treatments that follow vary depending on the individual, but methadone, a synthetic opiate that blocks the effects of heroin and eliminates withdrawal symptoms, has a proven record of success for people addicted to heroin.

Other pharmaceutical approaches, such as buprenorphine, and many behavioral therapies also are used for treating heroin addiction. Buprenorphine is a recent addition to the array of medications now available for treating addiction to heroin and other opiates. This medication is different from methadone in that it offers less risk of addiction and can be prescribed in the privacy of a doctor’s office. Buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone) is a combination drug product formulated to minimize abuse.

There are hundreds of recovery, anti-drug, anti-alcohol, AA, NA and every other acronym you can find in the dictionary. Some of them provide resources and news articles, and others offer forums, chats and the most personal stories you’ll ever read online. Here (in no particular order) are what we believe to be the top ten recovery websites.

www.Dryblog.blogspot.com
With one of the most extensive recovery and sober website blogrolls, the DryBlog is dedicated to alcoholism, addiction and recovery. On DryBlog you’ll find support resources information about other recovery blogs and websites, music, online shops and more. 

www.Codependentdaughter.com
The recently revamped codependentdaughter.com is an extremely personal blog featuring essays, poetry, articles and more.

www.RecoveryTimes.com
The RecoveryTimes.com has message boards, articles, chats and personal stories dedicated to addiction and recovery. The Recovery Times describe themselves as “a journal for a new way of life”.

www.DrugStory.org
A wealth of information on drugs including: Cocaine, Ecstasy, Heroin, Marijuan, Methamphetamines and more can be found at DrugStory.org. Get quarterly updates on drug news and read true personal stories of former addicts in recovery.

www.AddictionAlchemy.com
Articles on addiction, resources on support and Internet radio shows on sobriety, love and romance are just some of the things you’ll find on AddictionAlchemy.com. AddictionAlchemy.com takes a holistic approach to recovery based on the “Medicine Wheel” model. 

www.SobrietyOnline.com
Philadelphia’s portal to recovery, SobrietyOnline.com is a non-profit organization that helps addicts and alcoholics achieve recovery. SobrietyOnline.com is dedicated to providing resources and information for those pursuing recovery.

www.12stepradio.com
Upload, buy and listen to recovery music 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 12StepRadio.com, founded in 2004.

www.Cleanandsoberlive.com
The main reason for CleanAndSoberLive.com is to help individuals remain free from the chains of addiction. CleanAndSoberLive.com isn’t meant to replace face to face meeting but to enhance recovery

www.Theserooms.blogspot.com\
Shares messages of spirituality, experience, strength and hope with all of its readers. Theserooms.blogspot.com: “A drinking life isn’t a happy life. Drinking cuts you off from other people and from God.

www.Up4more.blogspot.com
Wait. What? – That’s the tag line for Up4More.Blogspot.com, a heartfelt and personal blog about addiction and recovery. From Wait. What? – “My teen years brought teen angst with its self inflicted wounds to my outer shell I am sure it put stress on our relationship. In my late teens you stayed true through my first broken heart, when I wanted to die, you kept on with your consistent pitter patter, until I was able to wake from that haze of sadness and discover life again.”

Developed as an alternative to AA and other 12-step programs, Rational Recovery (RR) is a program developed by Jack Trimpey who declares that addiction recovery is not a group project, rather an individual responsibility.

Most doctors agree that addiction is a disease. Even the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) agrees that drug addiction shares many features with chronic illnesses including heritability. The NIDA classifies addiction as a disease comparable to cancer, type II diabetes or cardiovascular disease. However, Jack Trimpey doesn’t agree with the NIDA, in fact, Trimpey doesn’t agree with most of the recovery programs that exist which aren’t his own.

Jack Trimpey is adamantly against support groups claiming that “support” is nothing more, and nothing less than a plan to get loaded in the absence of support. He also proclaims that using drugs or abusing alcohol is absolutely voluntary and there is nothing in an individual’s past, genes, brain or personality that causes one to drink or use drugs.

It’s important to point out that Jack Trimpey is not a doctor. He is a licensed clinical social worker in the state of California who drank heavily for 20 years. Trimpey is also the author of several books on his self-proclaimed “revolutionary” method for overcoming alcohol and drug addiction.

"All of this ‘therapeutic’ activity is part of a convincing illusion that addicted people are somehow defective, or are afflicted with a disease that requires skilled, professional services and lifelong management and prevention.” Writes Trimpey. “In Rational Recovery, we take a rather old-fashioned view of the addiction as willful misconduct, voluntary and for the purpose of physical pleasure. As for ‘tough love’, we know it’s tough to love a drunk, so there’s no use pretending.”

Trimpey has taken his views on recovery online at www.Rational.org, where visitors can explore Rational Recovery (RR) and its unique views and guidelines for overcoming addiction.

Developed as an alternative to AA and other 12-step programs, Rational Recovery (RR) is a program developed by Jack Trimpey who declares that addiction recovery is not a group project, rather an individual responsibility.

Most doctors agree that addiction is a disease. Even the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) agrees that drug addiction shares many features with chronic illnesses including heritability. The NIDA classifies addiction as a disease comparable to cancer, type II diabetes or cardiovascular disease. However, Jack Trimpey doesn’t agree with the NIDA, in fact, Trimpey doesn’t agree with most of the recovery programs that exist which aren’t his own.

Jack Trimpey is adamantly against support groups claiming that “support” is nothing more, and nothing less than a plan to get loaded in the absence of support. He also proclaims that using drugs or abusing alcohol is absolutely voluntary and there is nothing in an individual’s past, genes, brain or personality that causes one to drink or use drugs.

It’s important to point out that Jack Trimpey is not a doctor. He is a licensed clinical social worker in the state of California who drank heavily for 20 years. Trimpey is also the author of several books on his self-proclaimed “revolutionary” method for overcoming alcohol and drug addiction.
The notion that it takes years to become an addict and hit bottom is just that – a notion.

The vision of an elder man staggering on the street in rags while clutching a bottle is an outdated perception and a very small fraction of the population that struggles with alcohol and drug addiction. The truth is the bulk of people who are addicted to drugs or struggling with substance abuse are younger – much younger. In fact, 90% of the clients that enter the doors of SouthCoast Recovery, California’s leading drug and alcohol treatment center, are under the age of 25.

SouthCoast Recovery understands that peer pressure and the need to belong are just a couple of factors that lead many teenagers to drug and alcohol abuse. Research shows that the younger a person is when they start drinking or using, the greater the chances he or she will become addicted to alcohol or drugs. Chances escalate for teenagers that start experimenting under the age of 15. Contrary to popular belief, alcohol or drug dependency does not always take years to develop. The potency of street drugs like meth (methamphetamines, crystal meth, crank) and heroin can lead to instant addiction with devastating results.

Several teenagers and young people in their 20s that enter the doors of SouthCoast Recovery struggle with the idea of lifelong sobriety at such a young age. Yet, the disease of addiction is not selective. Addiction affects people of all ages, sex, race and culture on a global scale. SouthCoast Recovery is proud to be nation’s foremost drug and alcohol rehab center fighting the war against addiction with specialized 30, 60, 90-day and 6 month residential treatment programs in southern California. SouthCoast Recovery has eight residential homes throughout Orange County, and offers the finest clinical and medical care available with advanced holistic treatment methods and individualized attention for overall well being. One-on-one clinical therapy, acupuncture and massage as well as educational modules and 12-step support all designed to work in a synergistic manner, helping teens, young people and adults get sober and stay sober.