Substance Abuse Information
By Ned Wicker It’s called “Purple Drank,” a mixture of codeine and Promethazine, found in cough syrup, a sweet soft drink (Sprite is popular) and chunks of Jolly Rancher candies. This sugary concoction has been around for several years but has recently been the subject of headlines involving sports figures. Two NFL players, former Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell and Green Bay Packers defensive tackle John Jolly have both been arrested for possession of a controlled substance and face possible criminal prosecution. Russell is currently without a job after flopping as a highly-touted new star, but Jolly is a well-paid starter and is being counted on to be a major contributor to his team. Russell was looking for a job, but probably won’t get one in light of this development, while Jolly stands to loose tens of millions if he goes to trial and is convicted. Abusers drink this because it reportedly gives them “an altered level of consciousness” and a sense of drowsiness. Whether it’s a narcotic high, or an amplified sugar buzz, it seemingly has been gaining in popularity. The term comes from the purple hue of the drink once the ingredients are mixed together. The soda used can be interchanged. The aforementioned Sprite can be replaced with 7Up, and sometimes Dr. Pepper is used. The history of this drink seems to date back to the 1960’s and 1970’s, but more recently producer DJ Screw brought it into the hip hop consciousness, and it has been considered the inspiration for what is called the “chopped and screwed” style of hip hop. The term itself comes from the 2000 release “Sippin’ on Some Syrup” by the group Three 6 Mafia. Some of their other songs refer to the use of this illegal drink. Other forms of the concoction are names after their colors, such as “yellow syrup” and “pink syrup.” Sometimes some over-the-counter brands of cough syrup are used to make a form of the drink. Like other illegal drugs, this one is glorified in the popular culture, making it yet another dangerous substance for attracting young users. Perhaps the illegal mixture is in keeping with hip hop culture, or perhaps the hip hop culture is just a way to promote another dangerous and illegal activity. It’s another example of how prescription medication is abused and begs the question of how this medication is obtained. To get enough cough medicine to produce a high, or to get enough to partake on a regular basis, would require multiple prescriptions. One can understand why it would be popular. The mixture would not have any kind of “bite” to it, as even a rum and coke has that liquor taste to it. With all that goes into making cough medicine palatable, the combination of sweet ingredients would make this stuff taste like candy. Drowsiness can be caused by beer or liquor, which can also produce an “altered level of consciousness” but it must be the combination of the sweet taste and the narcotic high that makes this so popular and so desirable that a person would put millions of dollars on the line just to use it. Even if Russell, who was a complete bust, might have been able to get a job as a third-string quarterback someplace, which would have paid him seven figures. Jolly is one of those players who firmly believe he is worth well into eight figures, but even that takes a backseat to the lure of this drug. In either case, both of these guys are in jeopardy of losing it all. There are, of course, serious side effects to this substance. Even a sugary sweet drink can be fatal. Respiratory depression is chief among the negative side effects, and the consequences of overdose also include heart failure. When alcohol is a part of the concoction, the risks are even greater. DJ Screw, the glorifier of the drink, died on November 16, 2000, overdosing on the drink mixed with alcohol. Rapper Big Moe had a heart attack and died in 2007. Another rapper, Pimp C died that year, but also had other medical issues that might have caused his death. Another NFL notable, Terrance Kiel of the San Diego Chargers, as arrested trying to send a case of cough syrup to a friend via FedEx. He was charged with two felonies. No good comes of using this substance. The sword still hangs over Jolly’s head and more might be known by the time training camp starts later this month. Russell will go to court on July 20. Because both of them are first-time offenders, they might get off with probation. Hopefully the lesson will be learned.
12-Step Recovery and More Substance Abuse InformationIntroduction to the
12-Step Recovery
ProgramDrug addiction is such a lonely disease!As they become more dependent on their drug of choice, people isolate themselves, cutting themselves off from family, friends and activities they used to enjoy. Even when they want to come out of that world, they think they can or must do it alone. Not true!The last thing a person needs at the very beginning of recovery is to be alone. The addict will say, “I’ll cut back,” or “I just have to have the will power to stop doing drugs.” One addict told me that the only way for him to get clean was for him to do all of the work, there was no other way. What he was not considering is that as human beings, we are not wired that way. We are wired for relationship. We are not meant for isolation. Moreover, what if I told you that you can’t do it all on your own strength, that you need something from somebody else? The Substance Abuse Information and 12-Step process for recovery was first created in the 1930’s, by Alcoholics Anonymous, but over the last 70 plus years, over 250 self-help groups have adopted these steps.Why? Because they work!In my group discussions at a residential drug rehab center, we discuss how people are body, mind and spirit. Granted, our spirits can be strong and our determination staunch, but the greater power is outside of us. That is the power that only God can provide.
Learn how addiction is like drowning, read more…
Substance Abuse Information and 12-Step — What is it like?Imagine yourself in the kitchen to make yourself a piece of toast. You have everything you need. But when you push down the lever to lower the bread into the toaster, nothing happens. You have done every correctly, so you double check — bread, butter, jam, knife, plate – and you see that everything is in place. But there is one item missing. You have no power to make the toaster work. After a brief “ah ha” moment you plug the toaster in and shortly thereafter enjoy your toast.The Substance Abuse Information and 12-Step process is similar to making toast in one respect, you have to plug into a power source, and when you do, everything can start to work. We believe that people are not meant to be alone, to handle the everyday challenges of life. It follows that people are certainly not meant to be alone during the very hard times. Whatever the power source, it is vital to the process.Substance Abuse Information and 12-Step HistoryTo appreciate the roots of the addiction 12-Step program we need to spend a moment to look into the personal history of Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson. Click here for History of the 12-Step program
Please consider using the addiction 12-step program There are an abundance of web sites and books written about the addiction programs, and we’ll share a few of them with you to give you a broader base of understanding and point you to a few excellence resources. The 12-Step program is steeped in tradition and firmly supported by spiritual truth, give us all a model of humanity that points us to a better life, a stronger relationship with our neighbors, and an eternal loving relationship with the one who made us.As you look through the Substance Abuse Information and 12-Step program, think of them as a process. Like a path you walk on to go from A to Z, only you must take all of the steps and go through each in order, otherwise the path does not lead to your final destination. You go at your own pace and move forward as you see fit. Along the way, remember that these steps were written by people just like you, who needed help and had the courage to accept the help. Regardless of your addiction, 12-Step offers improvement for the human condition.Enjoy your reading. Maybe you like Rev. Buchman and Bill Wilson will go through a spiritual experience of your own. The 12-Step Program and Substance Abuse InformationPlease review each step and try to either begin following them yourself or enroll in a local program. Let’s take a look at the steps. You will see quickly that the process includes others and that we are not meant to go through this alone.These 12-Steps were written for alcoholics. When you see alcohol, insert your drug of choice.
Step One: We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol–that our lives had become unmanageable.
Step Two: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Step Three: Make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understand Him.
Step Four:Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Step Five:Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Step Six: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Step Seven: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Step Eight:Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Step Nine: Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Step Ten: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
Step Eleven: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Step Twelve: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts and to practice these principles in our affairs.
I tried 12-Step. It didn’t work.
I am on Step 3 and don’t know what to do.
My addiction causes me to be depressed and I’m thinking of suicide.
Still Don’t Understand it?
Still have trouble understanding 12-Step? Click here for some humor that may help!
and http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org
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Substance Abuse Information Substance Abuse Information Substance Abuse Information Substance Abuse Information Substance Abuse Information Substance Abuse Information Substance Abuse Information Substance Abuse Information This site contains five MAIN pages that EVERYONE should read:
ABOUT…
Read these five pages and learn what you need to know to spot drug addiction in: Yourself… Your Family… Your Friends… Your Community…The rest of the pages are there for your reference to explain important topics in more detail.
Finally don’t miss the Spiritual and 12-step sections to fully explore how understanding THE SPIRIT can lead to recovery! 
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