American Addiction Centers Blog

Teen Suicide in America Suicide is an increasing problem in the United States. It is the tenth leading cause of death overall, claiming the lives of over 47,000 people.1 Shockingly, suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents aged 10 to 24 years old.1 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, […]

“Meth makes you a monster. I’m not going to sugar coat it.” These are the thoughts of someone who knows. A former meth addict, the woman behind these words fought her way to recovery and to tell her story. In this sense, she is one of the lucky ones. She managed to break free from […]

A judge has recently ruled Philadelphia’s first safe injection site to be legal. The decision is the first of its kind and will likely spark conflict with the Justice Department. Safe injection sites remain illegal under the Controlled Substances Act, and the Justice Department is already set to appeal the ruling. Just what is going […]

With a trial looming, Big Pharma companies are seeking the removal of Judge Dan Polster. Set to oversee the landmark trial over Big Pharma’s role in fueling the opioid epidemic, the defendant drug companies alleged that Polster’s “unusual level of commitment” to reaching a settlement was affecting his decision making. Polster is likely to deny […]

I spent a lot of years responding to other people’s emergencies; many  were about addiction in one form or another. I struggled with addiction and kept the struggle to myself for many years. I was privy to many candid discussions about the people we were called to treat. Again, and again, and again the question […]

Is the opioid epidemic that is ravaging the United States going global? The epidemic has the potential to spread overseas to countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands. Early research suggests these countries may be at particular risk due to an increasing number of opioid prescriptions. Yet, preliminary observations suggest that the United […]

It’s official: Purdue Pharma, makers of the notorious opioid OxyContin, filed for bankruptcy this past Sunday. The filing comes as part of an ongoing legal battle for the Connecticut-based drug manufacturer. Just days prior, Purdue reached a tentative deal to settle thousands of lawsuits brought by states, counties, cities, Native American tribes, and other plaintiffs. […]

Fentanyl; the word alone has an ominous ring to it. What was once an obscure synthetic opioid, reserved almost exclusively for late-stage cancer patients in extreme pain, has become synonymous with the opioid epidemic. The drug, between 50 and 100 times more powerful than morphine, is fueling overdoses in the United States. How did this […]

Why hasn’t the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) been taking a greater role in resolving the opioid epidemic? Judging by a recent article on The Washington Post, it’s not for lack of trying. Instead, it appears the DEA has fallen victim to regulative restriction funded by and designed to protect opioid distributors and manufacturers. Early Warning […]

Life and death decisions shouldn’t be met with doors closed in your face. Yet, for some who battle the disease of addiction, it happens, such as in cases complicated by concurrent medical conditions, which can create additional roadblocks to recovery. Sometimes, not every door to recovery is the right door. But how do you know […]

Faced with the prospect of staying at rock bottom and likely losing his life, Recovery First alumnus Jonathan managed to click on a switch. He grasped a tool he had received in treatment to help gain power over addiction. It wasn’t easy, but he “played the tape through.” He thought about his situation, what was […]

For the first time since 1990, the number of Americans killed by drug overdose may have dropped from the year prior. Preliminary data released in July by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that drug overdose deaths declined by about 5 percent in 2018. The CDC puts the number of deaths at […]