The pending closure of important Georgia drug treatment programs aimed at helping women break free from drug addiction has a number of people worried. Because the need for addiction treatment has not lessened, many are concerned about the impact to the community when help is no longer available – as well as the impact to the women themselves and the wellbeing of their families.

The good news is that private rehabilitation is available and can provide an even more comprehensive level of care and treatment for women who are ready to stop drinking and abusing drugs.

Federal Funding Cuts

Federal funding provides the backbone of support to a number of treatment facilities in Georgia and with the revocation of those funds, many will be unable to keep their doors open. The ones that advocate for female addicts and their children are in the spotlight right now because their far-reaching programs extend beyond the addict herself to the family she supports. Such programs offer long lasting results and could potentially save the state – and the country – hundreds of thousands of dollars in the future when mother and children get the help they need early on.

In total, about 14 outpatient programs and 80 openings in residential treatment programs may be cut from Georgia rehabilitation centers.

Neil Kaltenecker is the executive director of the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse. Kaltenecker says: “Nationally, we know that about 13 percent of all state costs are because of addiction, whether that’s crime, whether that’s emergency room visits, healthcare, kids in foster care, unemployment, homelessness, all of those sort of social costs. That safety net just [will not be] there for these folks.

“We know that addiction is a family illness, it affects the families. So what we do in these programs is have therapeutic childcare where you’re teaching kids [and] kind of shoring up their strengths so they don’t have to go down the same road [of addiction].”

The Private Drug Rehab Option

Many who qualify for treatment at facilities that rely heavily upon federal funding may not think that they would be able to afford care at a private drug rehab. The fact is, scholarship programs are available as is sliding scale treatment for those with middle to low incomes. There are also financing options for those who can afford some now but prefer to make payments on treatment later.

If you are interested in traveling to The Orchid and experiencing our drug rehabilitation programs for women here in Florida, contact us today for information about how you can get started on the enrollment process.

Things aren’t going so well for the former Miss Russia, Anna Malova: she recently found herself back in jail after being dismissed from a rehab for assaulting another patient in the program.

Malova was crowned Miss Russia back in 1998 and later moved to the United States. However, in 2010, Malova was faced 44 charges ranging from theft to forgery and illegal purchase and possession of illicit substances. She pled not guilty to all charges but was arrested again this spring and ultimately ended up incarcerated.

Bad Decisions = Criminal Charges

It seems that the alleged charges may be a result of a long standing issue with drugs and alcohol. Her attempt at a year-long drug and alcohol addiction treatment program were court-mandated and her inability to stay in the program due to an altercation with another patient s well as breaking a few other rules. Her initial 44 charges were pending based on her ability to complete the program. Unfortunately, her expulsion meant that she was not cleared of those charges. When she stands in front of the judge, she could be looking at up to seven years in prison – or she could be offered the chance to go back to rehab.

Second Chances

There are a number of reasons why a court-mandated drug rehab may not end happily for the patient and expulsion is one of them. People get thrown out for bringing drugs into the facility, for relapsing, for leaving the program, and for breaking other rules – like in the case of Miss Russia who reportedly assaulted another patient, read someone’s diary, and stole food from the refrigerator. Other than the assault, some of these rules may seem unimportant but they all help the patient build toward a life structured by respect for rules, respect for others, and a respect for self.

In some cases, the courts may offer second chances and, those who are lucky, will find that the rehabilitation center, too, is open to offering the patient a chance to return to the program. There may be a period where demonstrating commitment is required and certain limitations may be imposed, but if the ultimate result is sobriety – and avoiding incarceration – it’s well worth it.

Would you like to learn more about the recovery program options available at The Orchid? We offer a range of options for women ready to fight against drug and alcohol addiction. Call now for more information.

Women are more likely to develop an addiction to drugs and alcohol than are men when they begin to experiment or abuse drugs casually, and they tend to develop that addiction more quickly and on lesser amount of their drug of choice. That’s the bad news. The worse news is that women are less likely to seek treatment than are men who are living with similar drug and alcohol addictions. Why? Perhaps it’s the stigma of drug addiction that they wish to avoid. Maybe it’s because they feel that they can’t leave children who are dependent upon them. No matter what the reason, the hardest part for women is recognizing that they have an addiction issue that is significant and requires drug rehab and then getting them the drug addiction treatment they need to heal.

But what about after drug rehab? What chances does a woman have at full recovery after addiction? What kind of life can she create for herself after addiction?

Statistics Show that Women Succeed in Drug Addiction Recovery

The good news for women battling a drug or alcohol addiction is they are more likely to recover if they seriously seek treatment. Research has proven that the relapse rates for women are less than for the male population. Experts speculate this is due to the fact that women are more likely to use the group therapy offered in rehab to their advantage. Women are better able to form bonds and create a support network with their peers in counseling than men. These statistics demonstrate that relapse prevention needs to be approached differently between the genders in rehab.

The Benefits of a Network of Support in Drug Addiction Recovery

It’s true that women fare better after drug rehab when they have a group of gals to lean on. In general, women are social creatures by nature and get more from the benefits of sharing their feelings or venting and thus avoiding a relapse and/ or being there for others in a supportive capacity. Creating a community in recovery can help patients to remain accountable for their actions and their commitment to staying clean and sober. It can be extremely positive, and though the mechanism of group therapy and support groups are helpful for men as well, they are an especially positive choice for women in recovery.

Drug Rehab for Women

Many drug rehabs offer extended care for female graduates, woman-centered therapies, and women-only treatment. Orchid offers drug addiction treatment solely for women. Contact us today to find out more about our program.

Heroin addiction is a problem across the United States but for years, Baltimore City has been called the Heroin Capital of the US. The latest research says that a great deal of progress has been made in the last few years in terms of lowering the number of those living with active heroin addictions, those admitted to the hospitals for heroin overdoses or heroin-related accidents, and those admitted to heroin rehabs in search of treatment.

Unfortunately, the number of Baltimore City residents needing help for heroin addiction is still higher than almost any other city in the country – but a number of help measures have decreased the number in need dramatically.

Some of the Heroin Addiction Help Measures Baltimore Implemented

Baltimore may not have wiped out the problem of heroin addiction in Baltimore City, but they’ve gone from having a heroin overdose death rate that exceeded their extremely high homicide rate to investing heavily in heroin addiction treatment. Their work shows:  increased funding meant increased care and more 18,000 admissions into heroin rehab increased to 30,000 over five years. A heroin overdose prevention and care system was implemented, which also helped to decrease the number of Baltimore City resident deaths due to heroin addiction. Drug courts were increased and expanded to include more addicts in treatment. Suboxone treatment for heroin addiction was offered on a wider basis, providing more active addicts with an outpatient means of treatment. The end result has been a strong heroin addiction recovery community in Baltimore City and hundreds of saved lives.

Why Heroin Addiction Wasn’t Wiped Out

With all the increased funding and availability of treatment, why isn’t heroin addiction a thing of the past in Baltimore City? Unfortunately, despite the increase in services, it still is outmatched by demand. Waiting lists are months long in some cases and there was limited funding for the area of highest need: uninsured heroin addicts in need of treatment.

Finding Help for Heroin Addiction

If you need help for heroin addiction and the services are lacking in your town, opt for a private heroin rehab that can give you what you need without the long wait list. At Orchid Recovery Center, we offer women a comprehensive heroin detox and addiction treatment program. Call now to find out more about how we can help you fight heroin addiction and learn how to live without drugs of addiction.

In 1992, Cornelia Whitner was sentenced to eight years in jail because her baby tested positive for cocaine at birth. Since then, a nationwide debate has raged about the legality of the South Carolina court’s actions that sentenced her. Should Whitner have received a criminal punishment for her drug addiction, a medical disease and not technically a crime? Or are her actions criminal because they amount to child endangerment, just as if she had given a child outside of her womb a drug of addiction like cocaine?

Very few people seem to agree on this issue. There are so many points to discuss that it’s almost difficult to know which one comes first. Here are just a few:

1. Drug addiction is a medical disease and not a moral failing. It’s also not a “crime” that anyone has ever stood trial for. While patients with an active drug addiction may have stood before a judge on counts of drug possession or for the behavior they chose while under the influence, the act of putting a drug into their body was never among the charges. That changed in this case – and only in potential other cases like this.
2. When a fetus becomes a child and therefore a person with rights. This is disputed in every state across the country, and it has a significant impact on this debate. If a child is not a child until after birth then there is no endangerment that the mother can inflict during pregnancy that is actionable. If a child becomes a child in the womb, at what point exactly and when does the mother become responsible for protecting that child above the dictates of her disease?
3. If a baby testing positive for a drug – and not necessarily being addicted to any substance – is a punishable offense, what else deserves prosecution? Should mothers who smoke cigarettes while they are pregnant receive judicial punishment? What about those who drink alcohol? At what point should they be prosecuted? After one cigarette or upon discovery of regular smoking? After just one drink or regular, daily drinking?
4. With the risk of prosecution comes the increased risk that mothers who know they are living with an addiction will not seek the help and care that they and their growing child needs. If living with an active addiction is a crime, and continuing to feed that addiction during pregnancy is a crime, then is it also a crime to risk pregnancy with unprotected sex during addiction? Will mothers even seek out the prenatal care that they and their child needs?
5. One statistic states that black women are 10 times as likely to be prosecuted for abusing drugs during pregnancy than are white women. Is this a racist issue or is it a true concern for all babies?

Though few would say that it’s okay to take any kind of drug or alcohol during pregnancy and continue to live with an active drug addiction without seeking treatment both before and after the baby is born, incarceration that takes that mother away from the child and limits access to drug treatment is good for no one.

What do you think?