It’s bad enough that a person risks their health and future by abusing an illicit drug, prescription drug or alcohol. But when they decide to mix their drugs, the effects can be – and all too often are – outright deadly.
This was the case with the actor Heath Ledger, who mixed six drugs classed as benzodiazepines (used primarily as anti-anxiety medication) or sleep aids. The combination of drugs slowed his body down so far that it caused his death. Anna Nicole’s death in 2007 was similar. The coroner in that case found nine different drugs in Anna Nicole’s body, including methadone, anti-depressants and a sleep aid. The combined effect of these drugs was to shut down her respiration and circulation. Even using heroin and alcohol can present dangers, as both tend to depress respiration and can cause death.
The Drug Awareness Warning Network that monitors emergency room visits due to problems with drugs reported that about one-third of all emergency room visits in 2006 involved mixed drugs or drugs mixed with alcohol. DAWN also reported a large jump in the number of visits caused by problems with prescription drugs mixed either with illicit drugs (up 36 percent) or alcohol (up 22 percent) in just two years. As of 2005, more people were being admitted to treatment for multiple substance abuse than abuse of a single drug.
“Around the country, millions of people are choosing to combine drugs or add alcohol to the mix,” stated Derry Hallmark, Director of Admissions and Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor at Narconon Arrowhead. Narconon Arrowhead is one of the country’s leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, located in Canadian, Oklahoma. “Some of them survive. More than a half a million a year are winding up in the hospital. Some of them also wind up dead. The only safety is in getting off all drugs for good. And that is where Narconon has helped many thousands of people.”
The Narconon program helps such people with a long-term rehabilitation program that uses no drugs in any part of the program. “One phase of the Narconon program is a deep detoxification that flushes drug residues out of the fatty tissues with the use of a dry-heat sauna and nutritional supplements,” described Mr. Hallmark. “We find that this dramatically reduces drug or alcohol cravings for many people. They are then in much better shape to focus on learning drug-free life skills in the later phases of the program. ” After completing this program, more than seventy percent of graduates live drug-free lives.
To find immediate help for someone who is having a problem with any kind of drug or alcohol, contact Narconon’s free addiction consultation and referral helpline at 1-800-468-6933 or visit their website at http://www.stopaddiction.com/. The Narconon program was founded in 1966 by William Benitez in Arizona State prison, and is based on the humanitarian works of L. Ron Hubbard. In more than 80 centers around the world, Narconon programs restore drug and alcohol abusers and addicts to a clean and sober lifestyle.
