American Addiction Centers Blog

Did Lynette Scavo deserve the moniker “desperate” in the former TV series Desperate Housewives? You bet ya’. Here’s a case in point. In “Running to Stand Still,” during the first season, this mother of young children had way too much to do in a compressed amount of time. How did she accomplish her must-do tasks? […]

Memorial Day weekend is here, and we know that holidays and family gatherings can be difficult for those struggling with addiction. Old family feuds, drama between family members, or disapproval of things that have happened in the past tend to come up during family functions. All of this can be extremely stressful. There is no […]

When we last left Purdue Pharma and its Sackler family owners, they were deliberating a new line of products. It was the year 2014, marked by massive numbers of users addicted to Purdue’s OxyContin pills and other opioids. The team recognized the crisis they helped make; however, rather than seek ways to stave it, they […]

Is the opioid crisis a recent phenomenon or did it unfold over time? According to a CNN timeline, the opioid problem surfaced in the 1860’s. During the Civil War, medics used morphine as an anesthetic when treating fighters wounded in battle. As a result, many soldiers became addicted to morphine. The next major date in […]

It can be days, weeks, months, or years before you notice your loved one has an addiction problem. It can take even longer to get them to check into a drug or alcohol treatment center. The day finally comes, and your loved one is in rehab. Your hopes are high. It’s such a relief. But after all […]

New Charges in the Opioid Arena  As the United States continues to endure the worst of the opioid epidemic, the nation has reached the point where it starts asking difficult questions. Like all those who’ve found themselves in crises of various types throughout history, there’s a watershed moment where one pauses, considers their situation, and […]

What is Enabling? The Definition Enabling means the family or friends of an addicted person help that person continue their addiction, often by not allowing that person to experience the consequences of their addiction. Enabling can be spending money on a person with an addiction or buying them things that allow them to spend more […]

Although national studies show that underage alcohol use has steadily declined since 2002, there were still 7.4 million drinkers between the ages of 12 and 20 in 2017.1 With this in mind, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is leveraging Alcohol Awareness Month in April and National Prevention Week May 12-18 to bring […]

In April 2016, rock legend Prince, suffering from intense hip pain, consumed a Vicodin for relief. Shortly afterward, he overdosed and died at his Paisley Park estate. Investigators determined that the pill was counterfeit and laced with fentanyl and that Prince, in all likelihood, did not know it. That incident brought attention to fentanyl on […]

Well, the time has come at long last; the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has stepped in to the opioid epidemic arena. And it did so by prescribing firm action regarding opioid research. The agency issued a mandate that applies to all manufacturers of opioid drugs. It requires them to conduct long-term studies for one express […]

Oh, the pain….whether it comes from an accident, surgery, or other cause, the narcotic painkiller du jour prescribed by doctors far and wide was OxyContin. Available legally by prescription, this substance came on the market in 1996 from its maker, Purdue Pharma. And when it did, an aggressive sales and marketing strategy touted its benefits. […]

At first glance, the opioid epidemic seems like an insurmountable problem. According to the CDC, over 70,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2017, nearly 50,000 of which were opioid related. Meanwhile, a recent SAMHSA survey found that nearly 20 million people struggled with some form substance use disorder (SUD) in 2018. And yet, there […]