The Progression from Marijuana through Opiates and to a Destroyed Life
According to a study conducted at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, scientists found that marijuana can lead to the use of harder drugs. The study showed that the use of marijuana affected natural chemicals in the brain and provided a sense of “reward” which could make a person vulnerable to the use of harder drugs later. Some may call this “chasing the high.” Russ found this to be true. He started using marijuana when he was twelve or thirteen and by the time he was nineteen, he said he had used just about every drug.
Russ said, “I was pretty hardcore on drug use. I was using a lot of Ecstasy and a lot of Xanax, cocaine, and OxyContin. My life had just gone down the tubes.” Addiction causes many harmful effects in addict’s life. Russ added, “When it came to my family, I didn’t have a relationship anymore. I didn’t see them anymore. I didn’t care about seeing them which was the worst part.”
Russ found Narconon Arrowhead and decided he was going to get off these drugs that were destroying him. A Narconon facility offers a comprehensive drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. There are dozens of centers all over the world that deliver this innovative method of coming off drugs for good.
In Rob’s case, he wasn’t required to do a medical wean down from the drugs he was on and was happy to discover that he wouldn’t be given substitutes as part of his recovery. He said, “When I got here I was definitely skeptical about the drug-free rehab. But when I got into withdrawal, everybody was great. They treat you really nice. They do everything they have to do to make you comfortable. That was the best part about withdrawal. It was laid back. They were taking care of you.”
The next major step is the Narconon New Life Detoxification. By employing daily moderate exercise, nutritional supplements of vitamin and minerals and time in a sauna, this program eliminates the drug residues that have accumulated in the tissues. When Russ talked about this part of the program, he said, “It gave me the cleanest body. It was wonderful! My skin was baby-soft. I felt drug-free and completely clear. My head was clear and my body was clean. I felt great!”
The final step of Narconon recovery is life skills training. The knowledge and tools provided give a recovering addict what he or she needs to go back home and maintain a drug-free life. Russ was asked what his favorite part of the program was and he replied, “My favorite part of this program is really the whole program. You get through the sauna portion and it takes care of your body and your mind—cleans it out. Then the rest of the program gets you prepared for the world. It gives you the information you need to know in order to be confident about going out there in the real world and not use drugs. And I believe I have all the information I need to put it to use. It’s going to be great. I’m very confident about it.”