The trial for Dr. Conrad Murray, personal physician to Michael Jackson, and the inquiry into whether or not he knew Michael Jackson to be drug dependent has everyone tuned in. The basic question on the table is this: if Dr. Conrad Murray did not believe that he was feeding Michael Jackson’s addiction to narcotics, should he have? His legal team maintains that Jackson was doctor shopping in order to feed his addiction and that the drugs he used were received from multiple sources. The prosecution says that a lack of knowledge of the issues his patient was struggling with is not a defense but rather would constitute negligence on the part of Dr. Murray; they’re looking to bring forth evidence and experts who can say that any trained professional in the medical field should have identified and treated Jackson’s obvious addiction rather than feed it with more drugs.

Dr. Robert Waldman is a drug addiction specialist and took the stand recently. However, he could not state firmly that Jackson was addicted to narcotics – even though evidence has shown that the singer received large and regular doses of both Demerol, a narcotic painkiller, and Botox over the months before the died.

Said Dr. Waldman: “I believe there is evidence that he was dependent on Demerol.”

He went on to say that it was a possibility that Jackson was dependent on the painkiller but was unable to state that as a fact without doubt.

Jackson overdosed on propofol and though Dr. Murray admits to giving him daily doses of the drug in order to help the pop star win an ongoing battle with insomnia, he denies giving him the fatal dose the night of his death.

The defining difference between drug dependence and drug addiction is a crucial point in this case. Though it is clear that Jackson was physically dependent upon narcotics due to his daily use of the drugs, whether or not he was addicted is the big question. Addiction is defined by the patient’s self-destructive choices made with the sole function of furthering the addiction no matter what the consequences.

Dr. Murray is charged with manslaughter and could be sentenced with four years in prison if he is found guilty of the crime. He has pleaded not guilty.

Melanie Griffith has struggled with alcohol and drug addiction for years and years, famously going to rehab on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, despite repeated attempts at treatment, Griffith says that her ultimate triumph over painkiller addiction that developed after an accident on a ski trip in 2007 was due in part to a confrontation with her daughters.

Griffith’s Daughters Helped Her Enroll in Treatment

Griffith says that her 14-year-old daughter with husband Antonio Banderas and two grown children from previous relationships were all very concerned about her before she agreed to enroll in treatment in 2009: “I started on pain pills when I hurt my knee skiing and just kept taking them. The kids knew; Dakota and Stella called me on it. Antonio was in London at the time. I went away to rehab for three months; it took 10 days just to detox.”

Her daughters’ interest in her recovery and their concern for her wellbeing was enough to convince her to take the action necessary to recover.

For many, a child’s sincere wish for them to get better is enough of an intervention to make a difference. The fear and worry of a child is often more poignant than that of anyone else.

Support from Spouses

Though the support of your spouse can be a significant help during an intervention, these relationships are often so complicated after long-term addiction that it’s not always simple. Oftentimes, there is quite a bit of mistrust and anger on both sides. Any words of encouragement for treatment may be taken in a negative way; an avoidance of the issue may be viewed as cold and uncaring.

Though Banderas has been vocal in his support of Griffith during her long lasting struggle with substance abuse, Griffith feels as if he could have done more: “Antonio was supportive to the extent that he can be, but if you’re not an alcoholic or drug addict, and you find out that your wife is a bad one, it’s hard to deal with… I wish he would go to a meeting with me or to Al-Anon, but it’s very foreign to him. Addiction runs in my family but not in his.

“I don’t mean that against him. I would like him to do more, but it’s a difficult thing to have happen in any family, and in that way he has been totally by my side. He really is the greatest guy.”

Helping Yourself

If you are living with drug and/ or alcohol addiction, you don’t have to wait for loved ones to step forward and point you in the right direction. Get the help you need now at The Orchid. Call for more information.

People do desperate things when they are living with an active drug addiction, and one mother in Florida did the unthinkable in order to get $2000, potentially to feed her prescription drug addiction: sell the parental rights to her 5-year-old son.

According to reports, Pinellas County sheriff’s deputies arrested Jessica Marie Beers for allegedly attempting to sell her 5 year old child for $2000 to a couple who had been helping her with childcare and giving her money. It was the couple who tipped off police, telling them that the woman had offered them the money in return for parental rights of her child. The couple said that they had been helping Beers with childcare and money for months and had noticed that she had a prescription drug addiction. Over time, they said they watched her child more and more often. When Beers made them the offer, they were concerned that she would spend the money on drugs and contacted police.

The arrest happened when Beers met with the couple in order to make the exchange: the boy for the money. Beers was arrested and charged with sale of parental rights and violation of probation for grand theft, and her son was taken into custody by child protection services.

Desperation and Drug Addiction

It’s a story that flew across the country when it first broke and while many were shocked by the nature of the crime, others see it as more proof of how desperate an addiction to drugs can make anyone. Children are often the first victims when a parent is living with drug abuse. Though the incidence is more often neglect, it’s not uncommon for kids to be hurt when their parents are addicted to drugs. The only benefit of this story is the fact that it brought to light the addiction that the boy’s mother was living with and provided him with an exit to safer home while also putting her in a position to recognize the need for and to accept treatment. Many mothers live for years covering up their drug addiction to the detriment of their child. In this case, at least there is hope for the future.

Drug Addiction Treatment for Mothers

Many mothers avoid enrolling in drug rehab because their children need their care. The fact is that childcare provided from someone under the influence of drugs is not acceptable. The child will always be much better off staying with a relative until the mother is well again, then coming home to a place that is truly home where the child can feel safe and learn to respect their parents because their parents are behaving in a manner worthy of that respect.

If you would like to learn more about our drug addiction treatment program here at The Orchid, contact us today. We can help you determine the best place for your child while you get the help you need to be the mother you want to be.

Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers of Tudors fame was recently rushed to the hospital for a drug overdose. Though initial reports said that the overdose was a suicide attempt, it was later determined that Rhys Meyers’ overdose was inadvertent and was related to an ongoing prescription drug addiction that has had the star in drug rehab multiple times over. He’s been to rehab five times in the past few years and was famously banned from an airline for drunken misbehavior.

When he was found in his London home after overdosing, he initially refused treatment but an ambulance was called to help him anyway. He was soon released.

The Risk of Drug Overdose is Still a Risk With Long-Term Prescription Drug Addiction

Many active prescription drug addicts believe that if they have been abusing painkillers or anti-anxiety medications for a long time, they have little to no risk of overdosing. They believe they know their bodies well enough to risk inadvertently taking too much. Unfortunately, those living with a chronic prescription drug addiction are just as likely to experience an overdose as users who are new to the drug, for a number of reasons. Here are a few:

• Mixing prescription drugs with alcohol. Many think that it’s not a big deal to take a drink or two with their medication, but this is one of the most common causes of overdose. Even just a couple of drinks can overwhelm a body’s chemistry made delicate by years of addiction.
• Taking a break. Even the shortest break due to travel, spending a few days in jail, or simply running out of your medication with no resource for getting more can reset your body’s chemistry. Another common time for overdose occurs when tolerance is lowered through to non-use or less use of the drug of choice. An accidental overdose very often occurs just through taking the “normal” dose.
• Taking doses too close together. The longer you live with an active prescription drug addiction, the more difficult it is to work through the haze. Keeping up with days, times, conversations – it can be difficult. Many overdose when they take another dose of their medication too soon after the last dose.

Avoid Prescription Drug Overdose at Rehab

It’s not always possible to get treatment in time to survive a prescription drug overdose. The risk is simply not worth taking. If you are living with a prescription drug addiction, seek treatment immediately. Contact us today at Orchid Recovery Center.

In our last post, we talked about how one group of doctor’s is working to encourage Congress to make prescription drug training mandatory for all prescribing physicians. Dr. David Kloth is a spokesman for the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians. He says that this new certification and training should be mandatory because “physicians are busy and they don’t volunteer to do extra certification.”

What Should Prescription Drug Addiction and Overdose Training Include?

Doctors who don’t know how to identify prescription drug addiction or implement preventative measures to help patients to avoid developing a pill dependence would benefit from a mandatory training certification. Dr. Kloth says: “They would be educated primarily on medications - how they interact with other medications, on the metabolism, safe dosing, how to transition from one medication to another, how to monitor and look for signs of abuse, how to use your state’s prescription monitoring program.”

Why Aren’t Prescription Drug Databases Enough to Fight Addiction?

Of the 50 states, 38 of them have prescription drug databases that require pharmacies and doctors to input information about all addictive medications that are prescribed and filled in the state. The goal is to identify the problem when patients attempt to change prescriptions for higher dosages or amounts or ask multiple doctors for similar medications in order to augment their addiction. More states have passed legislation to implement prescription drug databases but don’t have the money to make it happen.

Dr. Kloth thinks these statewide databases should be implemented nationally: “We live in a highly mobile world. It’s too easy for a patient to go to other places and get medication. And these programs need to be interconnected, so a doctor can look at information from all states.”

Dr. Kloth points out that money shouldn’t be an obstacle. The amount of money saved in Medicaid costs for prescription drugs that shouldn’t be prescribed would more than cover the cost of administration of a database. Dr. Kloth describes the results of the prescription drug database in his state: “We have one of these monitoring programs in Connecticut. It costs under $300,000 for the year to administrate. We saved $600,000 on medications last year.”

Fighting Prescription Drug Addiction with Prescription Drug Rehab

If you or someone you care about has developed an addiction to prescription painkillers, anti-anxiety medications, or stimulant pills, take matters into your own hands and find a prescription drug rehab that can help. Contact us today to find out more about how we can help you here at Orchid Recovery Center.