Illegal drugs aren’t particularly difficult to come by, unfortunately. Especially the first dose. Maybe it was a medication for pain reduction after a surgery (looking at you OxyContin), or maybe it wasn’t. The unfortunate part is that, not only is it readily available, it’s pretty cheap. A six-pack of beer, for example, can cost between $6 and $10, but a single dose of cocaine can be as cheap as $3. Unfortunately, opiate addiction, alcohol addiction, cocaine addiction, adderall addiction… they’re all common. And incredibly dangerous.
More than 100 people die every day from drug overdoses. That number is triple what it was just 20 years ago. In 2011, there were over five million drug related visits to the emergency room. Almost twice that number admitted to driving under the influence of illicit drugs in the same year.
Unfortunately, opiate addiction, alcohol addiction, and the others all begin young. An overwhelming 90% of people that struggle with addiction began using some kind of illegal substance before they were 18. There are an astounding 20 million Americans under the age of 12 that have some kind of addiction. Over 24 million kids that were 12 years old or older in 2013 had used illegal drugs. That’s 9.4 percent of the population. That’s an increase from just ten years ago. In 2002, that number was “only” 8.3 percent. Considering how long many of these drugs have been around, that’s a significant increase in a very small window of time.
Fortunately, there are a few drug treatment programs that are specifically design to help treat addictions. There’s one new experimental substance available called ibogaine. It’s naturally occurring, and has the interesting effect of essentially “hitting a reboot on physical dependence.” For example, ibogaine therapy has had very positive results when used to treat opiate addiction. It has been able to alleviate an amazing 98% of withdrawal symptoms from opiate use. it’s also shown significant reduction in alcohol and stimulant cravings.
Ibogaine is far from a wonder cure, but tests have been incredibly positive. While not in use in most of the United States, there are places around the world — such as Cancun — that use it to help treat addiction.
