Drug Rehab Centers Info | Drug Rehab Guide » Drug Rehabilitation Glossary

Alcohol Detox

drug rehab — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 04:24:16 +0000

Alcohol Detox: is the initial part of the alcohol addiction recovery process. Alcohol detox involves stopping the consumption of alcohol and giving the body the time it needs to cleanse itself of the harmful toxins associated with wine, liquor or beer. During alcohol detoxification process, the individual may experience a series of withdrawal symptoms.

Withdrawal symptoms during alcohol detox include:
• Depression and anxiety
• Sharp mood swings
• Sweats or chills
• Relapse into alcohol use
• Irritability
• Seizures or blackouts (in severe cases only)

The alcohol detox process generally last several days to two weeks. The withdrawal symptoms above are known to reach their peak after the first few days into the process.

Definition of Addiction

drug rehab — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 20:44:04 +0000

Another word for addiction is “dependence.” There are two kinds of substance dependence:

Psychological dependence occurs when a person feels he or she needs the drug to function or feel comfortable (e.g., needing to drink alcohol to feel relaxed in social situations, or needing to be high to enjoy sex). Some people come to feel they need a substance just to be able to cope with daily life.

Physical dependence occurs when a person’s body has adapted to the presence of a drug. Tolerance has developed, which means that the person needs to use more of the drug to get the same effect.When drug use stops, symptoms of withdrawal occur.

Source: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Residential Treatment Program

drug rehab — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 13:05:18 +0000

Residential treatment programs can also be very effective, especially for those with more severe problems. Treatment Within the Criminal Justice System can succeed in preventing an offender’s return to criminal behavior, particularly when treatment continues as the person transitions back into the community. Studies show that treatment does not need to be voluntary to be effective. Research suggests that treatment can cut drug abuse in half, drastically decrease criminal activity, and significantly reduce arrests.

Facts About Ecstasy

drug rehab — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:22:43 +0000

When most people refer to Ecstasy they are usually referring to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA. Patented in Germany before World War I, MDMA was not tested on humans until the 70’s. Chemically, it’s structurally similar to both amphetamine and mescaline, a hallucinogen.
In 1985, the Drug Enforcement Administration ordered that MDMA be classified as an illegal drug. However, that did little to stop its spread on the black market. By the mid-90’s, Ecstasy had become a popular “club drug” in Europe, the U.S., and other parts of the world.
A dangerous trend has become pervasive and often proves fatal: In attempts to prolong the effects of the drug and enhance the “I love everyone” feelings, “stacking”–using multiple doses in one night–or combining Ecstasy with alcohol or other drugs is becoming increasingly widespread.
Medical experts are also alarmed by commonly used impure forms of Ecstasy (laced with other drugs), as well as look-alike pills. Other critical concerns include the drug’s capacity to accelerate dehydration and overheating, which, especially at crowded dance clubs, has been the cause of death in some cases.

Ecstasy (MDMA)

drug rehab — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:15:27 +0000

MDMA (3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a synthetic, psychoactive drug chemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. Some of the slang terms for Ecstasy include:

Disco biscuit
Essence
Go
Hug Drug
Love drug
Scooby snacks
Sweeties
Wheels
”X”

Research in animals indicates that MDMA is neurotoxic; whether or not this is also true in humans is currently an area of intense investigation. MDMA can also be dangerous to health and, on rare occasions, lethal.

MDMA exerts its primary effects in the brain on neurons that use the chemical serotonin to communicate with other neurons. The serotonin system plays an important role in regulating mood, aggression, sexual activity, sleep, and sensitivity to pain.

Health Hazards

Cognitive Effects

Chronic users of MDMA perform more poorly than nonusers on certain types of cognitive or memory tasks. Some of these effects may be due to the use of other drugs in combination with MDMA, among other factors.

Physical Effects

In high doses, MDMA can interfere with the body’s ability to regulate temperature. This can lead to a sharp increase in body temperature (hyperthermia), resulting in liver,

MDMA (3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a synthetic, psychoactive drug chemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. Street names for MDMA include Ecstasy, Adam, XTC, hug, beans, and love drug.

Drug Rehabilitation Glossary of “G”

drug rehab — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:29:33 +0000

Ganja: the Jamaican word for Marijuana (street drugs slang names)

GC-MS: An abbreviation of Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy for the instrumental technique which couples the powerful separation potential of gas chromatography with the specific characterization ability of mass spectroscopy.

Gear: Heroin (street drugs slang names)

Get Off: feel a drug’s effects (street drugs slang names)

Get On: use drugs for the first time (street drugs slang names)

Glass: Crystal Meth (street drugs slang names)

Gluey: a glue sniffer (street drugs slang names)

Glutamate: A neurotransmitter associated with pain, memory, and response to changes in the environment.

Gold or Gold Seel: Marijuana, also called Acapulco (street drugs slang names)

Goods: drugs (street drugs slang names)

Goofballs: Barbiturates (street drugs slang names)

Gram: a metric measure of weight (street drugs slang names)

Grass: Marijuana (street drugs slang names)

Green: Marijuana (street drugs slang names)

Gun: equipment for injecting drugs (street drugs slang names)

Drug Rehabilitation Glossary of “F”

drug rehab — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:07:52 +0000

Families Anonymous: A 12-step, self-help recovery and fellowship of support groups for relatives and friends of those who have alcohol, drug or behavioral problems. They share their like experiences, strengths and hope with each other and with new members.

Fentanyl: A medically useful opioid analog that is 50 times more potent than heroin.

Drug Rehabilitation Glossary of “E”

drug rehab — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:43:49 +0000

Eating Disorder: A broad group of mental disorders characterized by abnormal and potentially harmful eating behaviors and habits, such as anorexia nervosa, binge-eating disorder and bulimia nervosa.

Ecstasy:

Enabling: Allowing irresponsible and destructive behavior patterns to continue by taking responsibility for others, not allowing them to face consequences of their own actions.

Enzyme: Biological chemical, protein in nature and produced by living cells that can influence the rate of body processes. Enzymes can act independently of the cells that produce them.

Ethanol: Ethyl alcohol or the beverage type of alcohol.

Drug Rehabilitation Glossary of “D”

drug rehab — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 23:39:12 +0000

Depressants: Drugs that reduce the activity of the nervous system (alcohol, downers, and narcotics).

Designer Drugs: Illegal drugs are defined in terms of their chemical formulas. To circumvent these legal restrictions, underground chemists modify the molecular structure of certain illegal drugs to produce analogs known as designer drugs. Most are related to amphetamines. This can cause neurochemical damage to the brain.

Detection Limit: Lowest concentration of a drug that can be reliably detected.

Detoxification: A process of allowing the body to rid itself of a drug while managing the symptoms of withdrawal; often the first step in a drug treatment program.

Dissociative anesthetic: Compound, such as phencyclidine or ketamine, that produces an anesthetic effect characterized by a feeling of being detached from the physical self.

Dopamine: a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that regulate movement, emotion, motivation and feelings of pleasure.

Downers: Barbiturates, minor tranquilizers, and related depressants.

Drug Abuse: Pathological use of a prescribed or unprescribed chemical substance.

Dual Diagnosis: Substance abuse or chemical dependency in addition to or co-existing with a psychiatric disorder

DXM: Common street name for dextromethorphan.

Drug Rehabilitation Glossary of “C”

drug rehab — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:06:19 +0000

CAADE: California Association for Alcohol and Drug Educators. This non-profit association consists of substance abuse educators in higher education. Has developed a model drug alcohol studies curriculum widely used by agencies throughout the state.

Cannabinoids: The psychoactive substances found in the common hemp plant, or Cannabis Sativa. Most of the psychological effects are produced by delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol.

Central nervous system: CNS. Consists of the brain and the spinal cord.

Cerebral cortex: Region of the brain responsible for cognitive functions including reasoning, mood, and perception of stimuli.

Chain-of-Custody: Procedures to account for the integrity of each urine specimen by tracking its handling and storage from point of specimen collection to final disposition of the specimen. Documentation of this process must include the date and purpose each time a specimen is handled or transferred, and identification of each individual in the chain-of-custody.

Chemical Dependency: A physical and psychological habituation to a mind-mood altering substance such as alcohol or drugs.

Chromatography: Any of a variety of techniques used to separate mixtures of drugs and their metabolites and other chemicals into individual components based on differences in their relative affinities for two different media: a mobile phase and a stationary phase. In gas chromatography, the mobile phase is inert gas such as nitrogen or helium and the stationary phase is a high-boiling liquid bound to fine particles packed in a glass column, or bound to the inner surface of a glass capillary column.

CLIA-waved: Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments — Congress passed the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) in 1988 establishing quality standards for all laboratory testing to ensure the accuracy, reliability and timeliness of patient test results regardless of where the test was performed. Some government and judicial department must only use CLIA-waved tests.

Co-Dependency: The condition in which people allow the behavior or sickness of another to affect them to the extent that they lose their own sense of identity and their own life becomes unmanageable. Co-dependency is characterized by trying to control the behavior of another and having unrealistic expectations about the power of that control.

Cocaine: An alkaloid, methylbenzoylecgonine. Obtained from the leaves of the cocoa plant. It is both a stimulant and an appetite suppressant. Highly addictive and can be smoked, inhaled, or used intravenously. It is a central nervous system stimulant that produces euphoric excitement.

Confirmatory Test: A second analytical procedure to identify the presence of a specific drug which is independent of the initial drug test and which uses a different technique and chemical principle in order to ensure reliability and accuracy.

Craving: A powerful, often uncontrollable desire for drugs.

Cutoff Level (Threshold): The defined concentration of an analyte in a specimen at or above which the test is called positive and below which it is called negative. This concentration is usually significantly greater than the sensitivity of the assay.

Drug Rehabilitation Glossary of “B”

drug rehab — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:40:21 +0000

Barbiturates: A class of drugs used in medicine as hypnotic agents to promote sleep or sedation. Some are also useful in the control of epilepsy. All are central nervous system depressants and are subject to abuse.

Behaviorism: A branch of psychology that bases its observations and conclusions on definable and measurable behavior and on experimental methods, rather than on concept of “mind.”

Benzodiazepine - A class of sedative medications sometimes used to treat anxiety disorders.

Binge Drinking: The consumption of five or more alcoholic drinks in a row on at least one occasion.

Biofeedback: Use of a signal, such as muscle tension or brain slaves, to control a normally involuntary physiological process.

Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC): The amount of alcohol in the bloodstream measured in percentages. usually expressed in percent by weight.

Bulimia: Recurrent episodes of binge eating (rapid consumption of a large amount of food in a discrete period of time, usually less than two hours). It also includes “consumption of high-calorie, easily ingested food, which is usually done in an inconspicuous maimer. These episodes may be terminated by abdominal pain, sleep, social interruption or self induced vomiting.”

Buprenorphine: A mixed opiate agonist/antagonist medication for the treatment of heroin addiction.

Drug Rehabilitation Glossary of “A”

drug rehab — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:01:49 +0000

Abuser: A person who uses drugs in ways that threaten his health or impair his social or economic functioning.

ACOA: Adult Children of Alcoholics. A self-help organization for individuals who have suffered and suffer as the result of the alcholism of one or both parents.

Affinity: The strength with which a drug binds to its receptor is termed its affinity. The degree to which a drug activates its receptors is termed its intrinsic activity. Affinity for a receptor and activation of the receptor are two different qualities of a drug. A drug can have high affinity for a receptor but not activate the receptor (e.g., an antagonist). Mu opioid agonists, partial agonists, and antagonists can vary in their affinity.

Acid: Common street name for LSD.

Addiction: A chronic, relapsing disease, characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use and by neurochemical and molecular changes in the brain. The disease of addiction is chronic and progressive, and the craving may apply to behaviors as well as substances.

Addictive Personality: An addictive personality is a trait, or set of traits, that develops in response to habit-forming drugs/alcohol or compulsive behavior (gambling, overeating/undereating, sex). It is not present prior to an addiction. One cannot predict an individual’s predisposition to develop an addiction by looking for an addictive personality.

ADP (or DADP): State of California Department of Alcohol and Drugs. Their mission is to provide leadership, policy direction and administration of a statewide system to eliminate alcohol and drug problems.

Alcoholic: Someone who as the result of their alcohol consumption, either excessive or habitual, suffers or has suffered physical, psychological, emotional, social or occupational harm.

Agonist: A chemical compound that mimics the action of a natural neurotransmitter.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA): A voluntary fellowship founded in 1935 and concerned with the recovery and continued sobriety of the alcoholic who turns to the organization for help. A voluntary, anonymous, self-help organization of individuals who have a problem with their consumption of chemicals whether drugs or alcohol. Abstinence is achieved through a 12-step process and a setting of one alcoholic sharing his/her like experiences with another alcoholic.

Alcoholism: The Journal of the American Medical Association defines alcoholism as “a primary, chronic disease characterized by impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking.” According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, alcoholism is the popular term for alcohol dependence. Note that there is debate whether dependence in this use is physical (characterised by withdrawal), psychological (based on reinforcement), or both.

Alcoholism also can be defined by its symptoms. These include loss of control or intermittent control over drinking; continued use of alcohol despite negative consequences; impaired emotions; distorted cognitive judgment and preoccupation with drinking and all that surrounds it. Denial of problems with alcohol is emblematic of the condition. Although nobody knows for certain, it is generally agreed that biological predisposition, environment and individual temperament influence the development and manifestation of alcoholism.

Amphetamines: Synthetic amines (uppers) that act with a pronounced stimulant effect on the central nervous system.

Analog: A chemical compound that is similar to another drug in its effects but differs slightly in its chemical structure.

Analgesic: Medication to treat pain.

Angel dust: Common street name for PCP.

Antagonist: A drug that counteracts or blocks the effects of another drug.

Drug Rehab Centers Info | Drug Rehab Guide » Drug Rehabilitation Glossary

Alcohol Detox

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