Drummer Patty Schemel once played for the band Hole and is the focus of a new documentary called Hit So Hard: The Life and Near Death Story of Patty Schemel. Now screening at film festivals across the country, the documentary tells the tale of Schemel’s experiences in a famous band and her struggles with heroin addiction which she eventually overcome.

Building a Foundation for Hole… and Heroin Addiction

Schemel grew up in a small town and soon found that most of the world was not as receptive of her gay identity as her supportive parents were. According to Schemel, her mother told her “There’s such a huge world out there for you,” and with the support of her family, Schemel went out to find it. She soon found “her people” and began to play music more and more. It wasn’t long before she was introduced to Courtney Love and other members of the band, Hole… and heroin.

Schemel’s Heroin Addiction

Her heroin addiction was not at all connected to her identity as a lesbian. Though many gay and lesbian youth turn to drug and alcohol addiction as a way to escape the pain and guilt that they feel for the discrimination they face, this was not Schemel’s experience. For her, heroin started out as something to try, but she had a genetic predisposition for the development of addiction so experimental use quickly turned into something more serious.

Heroin Addiction Treatment for Schemel

After a few years of living with an active heroin addiction and continuing to tour with Hole, Schemel soon lost control. She left the band and began the process of seeking treatment for heroin addiction – but it was a long road.

When asked what helped her to finally start living a clean and sober life, Schemel said: “The small things like the small estimable acts like taking time to help and teach drum students or teach rock and roll camp for girls and that got me back to being around music. Now I do all kinds of stuff with music. It was a slow return, you know?”

Schemel hopes that the documentary will remind viewers to be careful of what they wish for. Also, because she lost a lot of friends along the way to heroin addiction, she hopes that the documentary may inspire viewers to make the changes necessary to kick their own habits.

Women who are interested in heroin addiction treatment can call The Orchid today and learn more about our woman-centered heroin rehab program. Call now.

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?

In England, one small town was famous for one thing: it’s red light district and the five women who died selling sex on the streets. The murders of those women was a tragedy but one good thing came out of it: the events encouraged many of the street women to get clean and sober and change the lives they were leading.

One woman who kicked her heroin addiction and crack addiction during this period with the help of the local police department and a local nonprofit said: “Due to my drug addiction, it was an endless circle of clients, scoring drugs, popping in an alley to do your drugs, seeing another client.”

But no longer. This small town has become an example to other towns in England also plagued by the problems of prostitution and drug addiction. Police departments are taking note on how to identify just how great is the need in their town and address that need by providing services that are effective, including drug addiction treatment.

This doesn’t mean that there is no longer an issue with prostitution or that women are no longer selling sex in order to afford crack or heroin. What it means, though, is that the problem is no longer on the street, which provides the women with more protection from those who would hurt them or abuse their marginalized status. Though there are still massage parlors and call girls, residents feel much relieved by the changes that have been made.

There’s something to be said for making the most out of a tragedy. When we hear about what happens to those who live without getting the treatment they need for drug and alcohol addiction, it can be saddening but it can also serve as a call to action. Looking inward and taking an accounting of all the damage caused by a personal drug addiction can reveal that treatment is needed immediately. Sometimes it takes a serious incident or tragedy to provide the catalyst for treatment and real change.

What made you get the treatment you need? If you haven’t yet gone to drug rehab, what made you consider it as an option? How did you know it was time?

If you are thinking about choosing a drug rehab to fight heroin addiction or crack addiction, consider our program here at The Orchid. Designed for women no matter what their history with drugs and alcohol, we provide personalized treatment for those in need. Call now to find out more.

Too often, alcohol and sex go hand in hand, whether you’re a college student on spring break or a professional woman having wine on a dinner date. Unfortunately, when alcohol addiction or alcoholism is in the equation, sex can take a morbid turn for both men and women. Diseases, unwanted pregnancies, planned pregnancies that end in miscarriage and the inability to get pregnant if you are trying are among the issues that women face when they struggle with alcoholism without treatment at an alcohol rehab facility.

Alcohol Addiction, Sex and Disease

You first heard it in grade school and afterschool specials: women who drink are more likely to have sex and regret it later than those who remain sober. Women who are addicted to alcohol are more likely than others to contract sexually transmitted diseases like Chlamydia, HPV, Hepatitis C, gonorrhea, and HIV. They are also more likely to experience unplanned pregnancies and those pregnancies, even if planned, can go dangerously awry if active alcoholism continues without treatment.

All of the sexually transmitted diseases listed above cannot only be life changing, they can all be passed to another partner before you even know you have it. Some of them are deadly; there is no cure for Hepatitis C or HIV at this time. Though it may seem easy enough to use protection, the fact is that when alcohol is a part of the equation, preventative measures are too often forgotten.

Alcoholism and Fertility

Unlike men, women don’t suffer as many reproductive issues while under the influence or actively an alcoholic. Women who are naturally reproductively challenged may have difficulties implanting a healthy pregnancy if they drink heavily and many have miscarriages early on if they drink a substantial amount on a daily basis, but in general, men will find that they are the ones who suffer from the greatest fertility issues due to alcoholism: reduced sperm count, reduced circulating testosterone, lower motility of remaining sperm and the chance of irreversible damage without abstinence attained through an evidence-based alcohol rehab program.

However, alcoholic women are more likely to be unhealthy in general and therefore may find their fertility challenged as a result.

Alcoholism, Alcohol Rehab and Pregnancy

A woman’s pregnancy is greatly affected by the amount of alcohol she drinks, especially if she is physically addicted and regularly abusing the drug. Miscarriage is the first risk: women in their first two trimesters who continue to drink heavily will experience a greater risk of losing the baby. Children who survive the pregnancy of an alcoholic mother will have a low birth weight and may have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and be developmentally disabled both physically and mentally. Mothers who continue to drink heavily after their children’s birth and are unable to care for them as a result may have their children taken away from them.

Alcohol rehab is the only way to safely abstain from drinking, especially during a critical period like a pregnancy. At an alcohol addiction treatment center focused on women and their needs, you will find the resources necessary to not only stop drinking but remain clean and sober after you return home. Get more information about alcohol rehab for women today at The Orchid.