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Ned Wicker
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Joined EzineArticles on Mar 12, 2008 Effects of Drug Abuse: Lost Time and Lost Relationships
Health and Fitness: Drug Abuse • Published: January 21, 2011
The real tragedy of drug addiction is the devastation it has on personal relationships and more often than not, there are no happy endings. Cara is one of the many that has learned that hard way, harder than most, that the real meaning and joy of life is in the relationships with people, especially your own children.
The Myth of Marijuanna
Self Improvement: Addictions • Published: December 10, 2010
People are always going to believe what they want to believe. It's human nature. I want to think something is the way I want it to be, so I choose to believe a certain way. That's always been at the center of the marijuana argument. Some people say it's harmless and it's non-addictive. Seldom do people view marijuana as the first step in the journey to addiction and death.
Addiction: No Common Sense or No Choice
Self Improvement: Addictions • Published: December 10, 2010
So many of the questions we receive on a daily basis center around the choices that people make in their lives. They "choose" to drink, or use an illegal drug, or abuse prescription medication. Family members want to know why they do this, or they ask for some insight into the reasons why their loved one's personality has changed so dramatically.
From Addict to Murderer
Self Improvement: Addictions • Published: November 30, 2010
One of the unseen effects of alcoholism is how the disease turns an otherwise law-abiding teen into a murderer. When a nineteen year old drunk driver left the scene of an accident, he had no intention of getting into another accident a few minutes later. But after fleeing the scene, he killed a six year-old boy.
Real Men of Genius
Self Improvement: Addictions • Published: November 30, 2010
At two in the morning, police pull a man over on a 55-mph, two-lane county highway. They had been following for a while and noticed that the brake lights were on continuously, so they decided to check it out. A 44 year-old man and his 12 year-old son were in the car, only it was the boy behind the wheel, not dad.
He Remembers NOTHING!
Self Improvement: Addictions • Published: November 29, 2010
It's the all-American excuse. "I'm not responsible for my own actions because I was drunk." A friend of mine once told me of a man who allegedly was found to be innocent of fondling his neighbor's wife, because the judge said he was too drunk at the time to formulate criminal intent.
The Drug Problem In Mexico Is Ours
News and Society: Pure Opinion • Published: November 29, 2010
The news is filled with reports from Mexico of drug cartels murdering scores of innocent people, assassinating government officials or holding entire towns captive in fear of open warfare against the military and police. The violence is so common that we in America are numb to it.
Pain Killer Addiction - The Controversy Wages On
News and Society: Pure Opinion • Published: November 22, 2010
Many opiate based pain killers in the body the same way as heroin. Like heroin it was introduced as an effective pain management tool with few addiction risks. Heroin had found its way to this country in the late 19th Century from Germany, when scientists came up with an alternative to morphine, which was also touted as a kind of miracle drug to treat pain without fear of addiction.
DUI - More Debate On Laws
News and Society: Crime • Published: November 12, 2010
When elections were right around the corner, I waited for some Wisconsin candidate to bring up the subject of drunk driving laws. It's always an issue in the Badger state, where we lead the nation and the two candidates for attorney general have their own opinions. However, the focus is always on laws concerning punishment for repeat offenders. There is a total lack of political will to offer treatment as an option.
Alcohol Detox - The Other Side of the Story
Health and Fitness: Drug Abuse • Published: July 9, 2010
A person is taken to the hospital for alcohol detox and they may or may not want any medical intervention. Treatment might be available for their disease, but they refuse.
War on Drugs is a Joke
News and Society: Pure Opinion • Published: July 9, 2010
Last summer we saw grizzly images of murders in Mexican boarder towns, as drug lords rule despite the efforts of local police, killing at will with no regard for human life. Their business is selling drugs and when law enforcement, or regular people get in the way, death follows. If a drug deal goes bad, people die. The business of drugs is death.
Misdirected Blame
News and Society: Pure Opinion • Published: July 1, 2010
It's interesting to me that by popular demand alcoholic beverages were legalized again, but the same attitude towards the consumption of alcoholic beverages has not necessarily changed. People still demonize the alcoholic beverage, not the drinker.
Troubled Teenagers - Likely Victims For Drug Abuse
Home and Family: Parenting • Published: June 17, 2010
A teen in trouble could live in your house. They participate in school plays, play in the band, score touchdowns on the football field, or excel in mathematics competitions. They are the boy and girl next door, the kids who were brought up the right way by the right kind of parents. Teens in trouble are common.
Treating the Whole Person and the 12-Step Approach
Health and Fitness: Mind Body Spirit • Published: June 17, 2010
For the most part, the push back on 12 Step centers on what people perceive as a narrow or rigid way of approaching the problem. What is interesting to me is that there are many ways to solve any problem, but as some approach what may be considered "Christian" there is a kind of push back that not only shuts the door, it slams it.
Bi-Polar Disorder and Drug Abuse, a Chemical Crap Shoot
Self Improvement: Addictions • Published: June 2, 2010
The bi-polar medication effects the central nervous system, and when you are on your normal dosage, it is not uncommon to appear slightly slower, muffled. In combination with marijuana, or other illegal street drugs, you run the risk of serious consequences.
Substance Abuse Or Just Being Smart?
Health and Fitness: Drug Abuse • Published: June 2, 2010
The CBS News 60 Minutes presentation on the use of prescription medication to boost brain power and results on college campuses was certainly an eye-opener for me. We often associate these medications for the treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), they are being used by students, who desire the effects of the drug to enable them to focus for long periods of time, to do research papers or cram for exams.
Drug and Alcohol Use - Pain Management
Health and Fitness: Drug Abuse • Published: June 2, 2010
The good that the drugs are capable of delivering are all too often negated because people make bad decisions for their own, selfish reasons. Opioids are the "most commonly prescribed" medicines in this country and that the rate of prescriptions for this class of drug has risen 800% in the past ten years.
Alcoholic Liver Disease - Beyond Mere Alcoholism
Self Improvement: Addictions • Published: May 18, 2010
75% of liver disease is entirely avoidable. There are three alcohol-related liver conditions. The first is a fatty liver, which can be completely reversed if the person doesn't drink anymore. Fatty liver is not necessarily a trigger for disease.
Common Question - Should We Tell the Kids?
Home and Family: Parenting • Published: May 18, 2010
Functional alcoholic, should the kid be told that their dad is a functional alcoholic? If goes to work and seems relatively normal why should it be discussed?
College Drinking Increases in Coed Dorms
Self Improvement: Addictions • Published: May 18, 2010
The article says colleges are looking at this to see if the coed dorms actually contribute to binge drinking. If this is considered a problem, maybe the old ways are better-separate them by buildings.
Poverty and Addiction
Self Improvement: Addictions • Published: May 18, 2010
Drug addiction and alcoholism do not discriminate based on economic status, social standing, educational level or any ethnicity. Poverty can be a contributing factor, especially in situations where someone uses drugs, or drinks to "feel better" about life.
Teen Addiction - Talk to Your Kids, Show Them You're on Their Side
Home and Family: Parenting • Published: March 12, 2010
Kids can be a challenge, especially teenagers. As a baseball and football coach, I deal with high school athletes and I can tell you from experience, there are a lot of kids who think they have a handle on life, who think they know the answers, but in reality they are clueless.
Depression Symptoms - Are You Depressed Or Just Sad?
Health and Fitness: Depression • Published: March 5, 2010
If you or someone you love battle with what you may feel is "depression" or trouble just dealing with everyday life, don't be too quick to make an uneducated diagnosis. We are in an area of inexact science here, but there is a vast body of knowledge out there. Your best bet is to seek help from a professional.
A Drug Overdose - The Emptiest Feeling Ever
Self Improvement: Addictions • Published: February 26, 2010
It was one of those horrible days. You see it on television, or read about it in the newspaper, wishing and hoping it never happens to you. Yet, Carla knew that the possibility of tragedy was looming over her son's head.
Binge Drinking - A Lonely Road to Nowhere
Health and Fitness: Drug Abuse • Published: February 12, 2010
In our young adult years, people loved the life of the party guy, who wore lampshades and told funny stories. As we get older, we know the guy who is always buying a round, whose Give everybody a drink is a signal of success or accomplishment. But it all gets old.