Addiction Treatment Dictionary

There are many addictive drugs, and treatments for specific drugs can differ. Treatment also varies depending on the characteristics of the patient.

Problems associated with an individual's drug addiction can vary significantly. People who are addicted to drugs come from all walks of life. Many suffer from mental health, occupational, health, or social problems that make their addictive disorders much more difficult to treat. Even if there are few associated problems, the severity of addiction itself ranges widely among people.

A variety of scientifically based approaches to drug addiction treatment exists. Drug addiction treatment can include behavioral therapy (such as counseling, cognitive therapy, or psychotherapy), medications, or their combination. Behavioral therapies offer people strategies for coping with their drug cravings, teach them ways to avoid drugs and prevent relapse, and help them deal with relapse if it occurs. When a person's drug-related behavior places him or her at higher risk for AIDS or other infectious diseases, behavioral therapies can help to reduce the risk of disease transmission. Case management and referral to other medical, psychological, and social services are crucial components of treatment for many patients. (See Treatment Section for more detail on types of treatment and treatment components.) The best programs provide a combination of therapies and other services to meet the needs of the individual patient, which are shaped by such issues as age, race, culture, sexual orientation, gender, pregnancy, parenting, housing, and employment, as well as physical and sexual abuse.

Drug addiction treatment can include behavioral therapy, medications, or their combination.

Treatment medications, such as methadone, LAAM, and naltrexone, are available for individuals addicted to opiates. Nicotine preparations (patches, gum, nasal spray) and bupropion are available for individuals addicted to nicotine.

The best treatment programs provide a combination of therapies and other services to meet the needs of the individual patient.

Medications, such as antidepressants, mood stabilizers, or neuroleptics, may be critical for treatment success when patients have co-occurring mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, or psychosis.

Treatment can occur in a variety of settings, in many different forms, and for different lengths of time. Because drug addiction is typically a chronic disorder characterized by occasional relapses, a short-term, one-time treatment often is not sufficient. For many, treatment is a long-term process that involves multiple interventions and attempts at abstinence.

Alcohol

An ingredient in a variety of beverages including beer, wine, liqueurs, cordials and mixed or straight drinks. Pure ethyl alcohol gives about 80 calories per ounce.

Ambien

Zolpidem tartrate, is a non-benzodiazepine hypnotic of the imidazopyridine class and is available in 5 mg and 10 mg strength tablets for oral administration. It is used to treat insomnia and other sleep disorders.

Ativan

tranquilizer (trade name Ativan) used to treat anxiety and tension and insomnia.

Bi-polar

(Manic depression) a mental illness causing someone to change from being extremely happy and excited to being extremely sad.

Club Drugs

A drug such as MDMA (Ecstasy), GHB, Rohypnol, ketamine, methamphetamine, and LSD that is used by young adults at all-night dance parties such as "raves" or "trances," dance clubs, and bars.

Use of club drugs can cause serious health problems and, in some cases, death. No club drug is benign. Chronic abuse of MDMA, for example, appears to produce long-term damage to serotonin-containing neurons in the brain. Because some club drugs are colorless, tasteless, and odorless, they can be added unobtrusively to beverages by individuals who want to intoxicate or sedate others. In recent years, there has been an increase in reports of club drugs used to commit sexual assaults.

Codeine

A drug made from opium which is used to reduce pain.

Cocaine

A narcotic (alkaloid) extracted from coca leaves; used as a surface anesthetic or taken for pleasure; can become powerfully addictive.

Crack Cocaine

Chemically purified, very potent cocaine in pellet form that is smoked through a glass pipe and is considered highly and rapidly addictive.

Demerol

A synthetic narcotic drug (trade name Demerol) used to treat pain.

Dual Diagnosis

Refers to those who have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder and alcohol or substance addiction at the same time. Drug/alcohol problems and mental illness often go hand-in-hand, with the substance abuse sometimes disguising depression or other psychiatric issues.

Ecstasy

More commonly known today by the street name Ecstasy ,MDMA (Systematic name :3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine ) is a synthetic drug of the phenethylamine family whose primary effect is to stimulate the brain to rapidly secrete large amounts of serotonin, causing a general sense of openness, energy, euphoria, and well-being. Tactile sensations are enhanced, making general physical contact with others more pleasurable, but contrary to popular mythology it generally does not have aphrodisiac effects. Its ability to facilitate self-examination with reduced fear has proven useful in some therapeutic settings, leading to its 2001 approval by the United States FDA for use in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Though there are no known overdoses from MDMA specifically, acute dehydration is a risk among users who are highly physically active and forget to drink water , as the drug may mask one's normal sense of exhaustion and thirstiness. Another danger comes from other more dangerous chemicals (such as PMA or methamphetamine ) which are often added to ecstasy tablets to increase manufacturer profits. Long-term effects in humans are largely unknown and the subject of much controversy.

GHB

Known in Europe as Gamma-OH, this is gamma hydroxybutyrate, a colorless and odorless drug used illicitly for "recreational" purposes and for "date rape." GBH is a central nervous system depressant. It tends therefore to increase sociability and function as something of a transient antidepressant. Some persons who have sustained adverse effects of GHB have reported being given the drug surreptitiously (e.g., having it slipped into their drink), while others have admitted to intentional use.

Gambling

A: to play a game for money or property
B: to bet on an uncertain outcome

Hallucinogens

Substances that produce altered sense-perceptions or states of consciousness . More specifically, they are characterized by classes of pharmacological agents which in different ways can change the subjective qualities of perception ,thought and emotion . All these classes interact with specific brain sites, often as neurotransmitter analogs or blockers, similar to many prescription drugs. The effects of hallucinogens are clearly different from stimulants like cocaine or amphetamine although they do often increase alertness or activity. The broad term "hallucinogen" is often used as a synonym for the class of psychedelics (LSD, magic mushrooms, mescaline), especially in the current scientific literature.

Heroin

Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive drug. It is both the most abused and the most rapidly acting of the opiates. It is typically sold as a white or brownish powder or as the black sticky substance known on the streets as "black tar heroin."

Although purer heroin is becoming more common, most street heroin is "cut" with other drugs or with substances such as sugar, starch, powdered milk, orquinine. Street heroin can also be cut with strychnine or other poisons. Because heroin abusers do not know the actual strength of the drug or its true contents, they are at risk of overdose or death. Heroin also poses special problems because of the transmission of HIV and other diseases that can occur from sharing needles or other injection equipment.

Heroin is processed from morphine, a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seed pod of the Asian poppy plant. Heroin usually appears as a white or brown powder. Street names associated with heroin include "smack," "H," "skag," and "junk." Other names may refer to types of heroin produced in a specific geographical area, such as "Mexican black tar."

Interventions

To intentionally become involved in a difficult situation in order to improve it or prevent it from getting worse.

Legal Involvement

Licensed DUI Counselor

A therapist who can assist with one's drug or alcohol problem, as it pertains to driving a motor vehicle under the influence.

LSD

A crystalline compound, C20 H25 N3O, derived from lysergic acid and used as a powerful hallucinogenic drug. Also called acid.

Marijuana

1. The cannabis plant. 2. A preparation made from the dried flower clusters and leaves of the cannabis plant, usually smoked or eaten to induce euphoria.

Methamphetamine

Amphetamine used in the form of acrystalline hydrochloride ;used as astimulant to the nervous system and as an appetite suppressant.

Morphine

Morphine, a narcotic, acts directly on the central nervous system. Besides relieving pain, it impairs mental and physical performance, relieves fear and anxiety, and produces euphoria.

Opiates

A medication or illegal drug that is either derived from the opium poppy, or that mimics the effect of an opiate (a synthetic opiate). Opiate drugs are narcotic sedatives that depress activity of the central nervous system, reduce pain, and induce sleep. Side effects may include over sedation, nausea, and constipation. Long term use of opiates can produce addiction, and overuse can cause overdose and potentially death.

Oxycontin

OxyContin contains oxycodone, a very strong narcotic pain reliever similar to morphine. OxyContin is designed so that the oxycodone is slowly released over time, allowing it to be used twice daily. You should never break, chew, or crush the OxyContin tablet since this causes a large amount of oxycodone to be released from the tablet all at once, potentially resulting in a dangerous or fatal drug overdose.

Percocet

Percocet's active ingredients are oxycodone, a narcotic (opiate) pain medication (analgesic), and acetaminophen (a non-narcotic pain medication), which relieves pain better than either medication taken alone. Oxycodone acts on the central nervous system and smooth muscle tissue, slowing the central nervous system. It is not clear exactly how acetaminophen works to ease pain.

Percodan

Percodan is a narcotic drug. When a narcotic is injected, the user feels a surge of pleasure, then a state of gratification into which hunger, pain, and sexual urges do not intrude.

Prescription Drugs

Medications prescribed by a physician for treatment of a malady or disorder.

Relapse Prevention

Strategy to train alcohol and other drug abusers to cope more effectively and to overcome the stressors or triggers in their environments that may cause relapse into drug use and dependency.

Steroids

Drugs used to relieve swelling and inflammation.

To Read an article on Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids, Please click here.

Valium

Valium is a medication for the treatment of anxiety and alcohol withdrawal. First entering the U.S. market in 1963, Valium became controversial as a widely prescribed tranquilizer and widespread abuse.

Xanax

This is a prescription drug used to treat anxiety. It is a central nervous system depressant, and can therefore have a negative impact on coordination and mental alertness. Side effects typically include drowsiness and/or mood changes.

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