A USA Today article references statistics dealing with the problems that are associated with pain clinics in the Sunshine State. The statistics for prescription painkillers distributed within the state has decreased as regulations have been tightened.

Physicians in these clinics had the ability to prescribe high-powered pain medication to their clientele. Now that Florida does not allow these services, patients are forced to cross state lines to obtain prescriptions for such drugs as oxycodone and hydrocodone that were once readily available.

Prior to opening a pharmacy, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) must approve the application before the owner can receive their business license. Agents saw an increase in applications for fly-by-night pharmacies to be able to fill prescriptions for these types of drugs. After background checks, individuals who applied for licenses to open these pharmacies often ended up withdrawing their application.

Officials also saw a significant drop in the number of doctors who purchased oxycodone in the state of Florida after the change in regulation.

The change in legislation which may prove helpful to states that now crackdown on pill mills, but for border states that have no such laws, law enforcement there can expect heightened problems when it comes to obtaining these highly sought after pain meds.

UN experts have compiled official numbers that show figures involved in the sales, production and trafficking of U.S. drugs to total over $500 billion. Although, this is an approximate figure it is staggering. Ivanov claims these figures only reflect the incomes of criminal gangs that are involved in this profitable industry and the damage our world economy is facing is much worse.

Drugs not only cause health damage to individuals but are also a public safety issue, says Ivanov. The Russian believes the Eurozone crisis and the increase of drug production in countries like Afghanistan are interrelated. In the past decade, Afghan heroin consumption has grown by ten times while the cocaine market in Latin America has grown only twofold. Ivanov believes this is the ideal drug weapon, fighting against the Euro.

Obviously, efforts to end these financial problems around the globe are linked greatly to attempts to decrease drug production and trafficking.

Dependence upon alcohol and major depression are linked via brain chemistry. While the precise brain chemistry for both disorders is not fully understood, it is well known that both alcoholism and depression have genetic components. While it is theorized that depression involves serotonin, a neurotransmitter that naturally occurs in the brain, alcoholism, at least for some alcoholics, is a biochemical affair linked to the actions of other brain chemicals. When both alcoholism and depression are present, the disorders are said to be co-morbid.

Alcohol is classified as a central nervous system (CNS) depressant and an irritant. This means that alcohol slows down the functioning of the CNS: heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure are all reduced or slowed down (i.e. depressed). In terms of moods and emotions, the immediate effect of drinking alcohol may be a lessening of inhibitions and a sensation of lightness or mood elevation, and some relief from anxiety. However, the overall impact of alcohol on mood is a depressing one. So if drinking makes depression worse, why does it feel like drinking is the only thing that helps? Possibly because drinking is numbing. It can numb the pain of depression and mask the feelings of helplessness and hopelessness that accompany depression.

Further, that reducing of inhibitions and the damaging impact alcohol has upon judgment means that often people do this while drinking that they regret upon sobering up. If you become intimate or sexual with someone while drinking as a way to reduce your loneliness or sadness, and then realize upon sobering up that the person was a poor choice for connection, you make your feelings of low self worth and shame and guilt worse. Thus the drinking and the depression work hand in hand to cement each other’s position in your life.

That drinking and depression can exacerbate each other and turn into a vicious cycle of drinking because you’re depressed and sinking into a deeper depression because of the havoc and chaos drinking has brought into your life is probably no big revelation. How to break the cycle is also no great surprise: you must stop drinking and get help. Continuing to drink will continue to increase the depression. This can even be explained on a cellular level: In addition to its actions as a CNS depressant, alcohol is also an irritant. What does this mean? Think of how it feels when you put rubbing alcohol on a cut or scrape? That stinging is an irritant action upon cells. Or that feeling that hard liquor creates in the back of your throat? That’s the irritant action of alcohol killing cells in your throat. The irritant action of alcohol impacts every cell in your body, including your brain. All those neurotransmitters that you need to be working smoothly so that you can minimize your depression will be negatively impacted by the presence of alcohol.

In order to be emotionally available for treatment of your depression, you must address your addiction. In order to have the energy to weather the stresses of early recovery, with all of the physical discomforts of detoxification and withdrawal and then cravings, you need support for dealing with your depression. Alcoholics Anonymous is an excellent place to seek and receive such support. Other community groups, mental health associations, or church based groups are also helpful. Reach out and ask for help; in the beginning you will need it.

As you take the first few steps into stopping your alcohol use, you may find that the depression intensifies. Be ready for this and have friends lined up to support you. Be honest with yourself and with your loved ones: if you have thoughts or feelings about hurting or killing yourself, go to an emergency room immediately. Tell people what’s happening and be honest. Feeling terrible in early recovery when you are struggling with depression is common: other people have been through similar struggles and can support you if you let them know what you are feeling.

While the cycle can be vicious in terms of depression and alcoholism both working in tandem to bring you down, the cycles of healing in recovery can be amazing. Being around positive, sober people can help lift your mood and keep you focused on enjoying a sober lifestyle. It can be really tough at first, but it’s worth it.

The study involved 2,500 lung cancer patients and over 3,000 colorectal patients and followed their smoking habits from the time of receiving their cancer diagnosis and through several months of cancer treatment. When lung cancer patients first received their diagnosis, about 38 percent were still actively smoking and 15 percent of the colorectal patients were still smoking when they were told they had cancer.

One might assume that such a diagnosis would be enough to scare patients away from cigarettes, but in fact, when patients were checked five months later 14 percent of lung cancer patients were still smoking and nine percent of the colorectal patients had failed to cease smoking. The figures highlight just how difficult it is for people to quit smoking even after they are told they have cancer.

There are a plethora of cessation products from which to choose: patches, lozenges, gums, hypnosis, acupuncture and drugs such as Chantix. Although there are so many cessation programs and products from which to choose, the rate of success using them remains low.

For these cancer patients part of the reason they fail to quit may be attributed to feelings of guilt and a sense of helplessness. Active smoking is to blame for 90 percent of lung cases and those who receive the diagnosis blame themselves and feel tremendous guilt. Such feelings are compounded with fatalistic attitudes which prevent them from believing it is worth while to stop.

There is plenty of reason to quit. There is a definite link between quitting smoking and an increase in the effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Quitting could also double a patient’s likelihood of surviving cancer. Thus, the study authors emphasize the need to develop more aggressive cessation programs and the need to encourage cancer patients to avail themselves of them.

Perhaps most contended are changes proposed to the definition of depression. Currently, depression is defined with an exclusion for bereavement based on the judgment that it is normal to experience grief, even intense grief, over the loss of someone dear. The proposed new definition for depression, as highlighted in a recent article, would not exclude grieving. Critics of the suggested change say that including grief under the definition of disorder will create a number of problems beginning with an inaccurate diagnosis. It may also lead to people receiving medications they do not need, which creates further problems such as trouble sleeping and reduced interest in sex.

Those in favor of the new definition say that grief frequently leads to depression and ignoring this fact is to do disservice to the millions of people who struggle with grief and depression every year. Tension between accurately diagnosing mental health conditions and concern over people falling outside of diagnostic criteria and therefore unable to receive the help of insurance to pay for treatment is rising to the surface as the DSM revisions are finalized.

Other suggested changes are also spawning vigorous discussion. Whereas the proposed changes to the definition of depression are expected to increase the number of people with the diagnosis, other changes would reduce the number of those receiving diagnoses due to tightened definitions. The new DSM V is due to be finalized by the end of this year.

But so may the mid-level manager who feels pressure from the employees under him/her at the same time pressure is felt from the executives above leaving him/her feeling pinched in between. Just about anyone who feels that their job or home life is a source of stress may turn to alcohol in order to calm the inner sense of pressure and unease.

Drinking to find a sense of relief is not a healthy coping mechanism, but a 2010 issue of Working Mother magazine reported that the number of women in their 30s who abuse alcohol has increased twofold since the year 2000. The trouble is that when a person begins to drink in order to cope with perceived stresses in life, pretty soon it becomes a habit until the person feels they need a drink to get through just about every day.

There are questions a person may ask themselves which can help them know if they have become trapped by a habit of stress-related drinking:

1. Does the number of drinks you consume rise with your perceived stress level?
2. How frequently do you have six or more drinks?
3. Do you find it difficult to stop drinking once you start?
4. Do you ever experience guilt or remorse over your drinking?
5. Do loved ones around you ever suggest that you should cut back on your drinking?

These questions, highlighted in a recent online article, can help you determine if you fall into the trap of drinking as a coping mechanism, a practice that can lead to alcohol abuse.

Many individuals who have a gambling problem often report that they struggle with other problem behaviors, such as abusing alcohol or other substances. Recently, a group of researchers examined the alcohol-related choices of those enrolled in treatment for gambling addiction (Rash et al., 2011).

The researchers analyzed the behaviors of 163 participants in a randomized clinical trial involving the use of psychotherapy to treat gambling addiction. The analysis was limited to those participants who reported alcohol use during the trial, which equated to 56 percent of the subjects.

Participants were asked to complete an exercise called the timeline followback procedure at the beginning of the study, then again at an 8-week and 24-week follow-up following treatment. The exercise asked for information about the participants’ alcohol use 12 weeks before treatment and at the 24-week follow-up.

The research team placed participants in either of two groups based on their responses. Ever-risky drinkers drank at least four drinks per day or 14 drinks each week for males, and at least three drinks per day or seven drinks per week for females. Non-risky drinkers never met the criteria for ever-risky drinking at any point during the study. There were 76 ever-risky drinkers and 87 non-risky drinkers.

The results of the analysis showed that amid risky drinkers, there was a decrease in alcohol consumption before entering treatment, but alcohol consumption increased after treatment was complete.

There was a notable change in at-risk standing for many of the participants. While 55 participants met criteria for at-risk drinkers before beginning treatment, 26 of those participants did not drink at a risky level after beginning treatment. In addition, 19 percent of those who were not considered as at-risk drinkers before beginning treatment engaged in at-risk drinking behaviors after treatment began.

The study’s findings show that those who seek out gambling treatment may be likely to decrease alcohol consumption while in treatment. However, there was also evidence that a small number of participants seemed to increase drinking while eliminating gambling behaviors. This may represent a situation in which participants are trading one addiction for another.

It was no secret that Winehouse had a serious addiction to drugs and alcohol. In the case of Winehouse, even her doctor had advised she cut back on her alcohol. According to family and friends, the singer simply quit cold turkey. In her efforts to get sober, the singer might have actually put herself in even more jeopardy.

There are nearly two million Americans that experience symptoms of alcohol withdrawal every year, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. They experience a whole gamut of symptoms from depression and hallucinations to seizures, nausea and heart palpitations. Some medical experts like Dr. Robert Schwartz with the University of Miami, speculates that Winehouse may have asphyxiated on food and choked because of seizure symptoms related to alcohol withdrawal. Another theory is that the seizures could have caused her to fall and strike her head.

There are a number of possibilities to how the process of detoxing can cause dangers. Without a doctor properly watching a patient’s health, those withdrawing from alcohol could also suffer from heart arthymias, as well as kidney or liver dysfunction. Over an extended period of time, an alcoholic’s body forms a functioning relationship with alcohol. Schwartz says when the alcohol is removed during detox the body’s balance is upset.

Alcoholics need to understand that detox is not a process that happens in one day and should be regulated by a physician. It takes about 90 days of professional treatment to kick the addiction and additional years of support with groups like Alcoholics Anonymous.

Prescription drug abuse has outpaced illegal drug abuse in recent years, and private drug rehab treatment programs have noticed that many of their clients are now dealing with addiction to such opiates as Vicodin and OxyContin as well as anti-anxiety medications such as Xanax.

"There is no question that the rate of addiction to prescription painkillers and anxiolytics has increased over the past ten years," says David Sack, M.D., an addiction psychiatrist and CEO of Promises Treatment Centers.  "We have seen clients present with a much more complex psychiatric  issues as well. Many have been abusing prescription drugs for years as a way to ameliorate negative feelings associated with depression, bipolar disorder, and trauma."

The goal of the most progressive private drug rehab programs is to address the underlying psychiatric issues with a comprehensive arsenal of tools: therapy, alternative medicine (e.g., acupuncture), specialized therapeutic treatments (e.g., neurofeedback, EMDR, equine-assisted therapy), and assessment for non-addictive psychopharmacological treatments.

By addressing the underlying psychiatric issues with such a comprehensive, holistic treatment program the client can begin to feel some real relief from negative affect and find healthier ways to cope with depression, anxiety, and pain.

"Those first 30 days in private drug rehab treatment are critical. If you do not address the underlying issues that first led the client to abuse prescription drugs, they are at extremely high risk of relapse," explains Dr. Sack. "You can’t send people home from rehab without giving them effective, research-driven tools that can help them ameliorate those symptoms without altering their mood with addictive drugs."

The name-brand painkillers that contribute to heart disease in these patients are Aleve, Advil, Motrin, and Celebrex.

This study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Society.