Drug Alcohol Rehab Alerts

This page focuses primarily on current events an what is in the news regarding drug and alcohol rehabilition. Check back often as we will be constantly updating this alerts page.

Check out our new Addiction Blog that will replace the news listings on this page.

News 2007

Celebrity addicts in rehab have become so commonplace now that one has to wonder if other motives are involved.
Interest in methadone has grown since Anna Nicole Smith's recent death and the discovery of the drug in her refrigerator.
A nurse in West Bend, WI has admitted to a pain killer addiction and taking drugs that were meant for patients.
A recent study by Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research states that those in faith-based rehab programs have a higher rate of recovery than those in other programs.
The PROMETA Protocol is an encouraging new method for treating those addicted to methamphetamines, cocaine and alcohol.
Country singer Keith Urban has checked out of rehab at the Betty Ford Center in Palm Springs, California. Urban plans a world tour of his music in April 2007.
In a week of tributes to deceased former President Gerald Ford, Chevy Chase gives credit to Betty Ford for inspiring him to seek help for his addiction to painkillers. Chase attended the Betty Ford Center in the mid-1980's for chemical dependency issues.
Former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Mike Tyson was arrested for DUI and possession of cocaine in Scottsdale, Arizona.

News 2006

Actress Tawny Kitaen enters drug rehab for cocaine in order to avoid jail time. Kitaen was offered a plea deal in Orange County, California Superior Court to suspend a possible three year prison sentence pending the outcome of her rehab treatment.
Miss USA, Tara Conner, a 21-year-old from Russell Springs, Kentucky has entered drug and alcohol rehab at the request of Donald Trump, co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization. Miss Conner will be admitted to a drug and alcohol rehab center at an undisclosed location.
Addiction recovery is especially challenging for the disabled. People with disabilities also represent a disproportionate percentage of substance abusers.
Actress and singer Lindsay Lohan has admitted to attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Lohan, who is under the legal drinking age, has been attending the meetings for about one year.
Pop singer Whitney Houston says she's leaving drugs and divorce behind her to team up with R & B star Akon to come out with a new up-tempo album. Houston entered drug rehab in 2004 and 2005.
Country singer Keith Urban continues in rehab despite published reports to the contrary. In October 2006, Urban checked himself into the Betty Ford Clinic in Palm Springs, California for alcohol abuse.
November 30 has been declared National Methamphetamine Awareness Day by the White House. The intend is to proclaim and underscore the dangers of using the illicit drug.
Candy is a movie about the heroin addiction of a husband and wife who will do anything to keep their addiction alive. This Australian tale, which opens Friday, December 1, is a cautionary tale about how lives can become so out-of-control.
In East Texas, judges are using the SCRAM alcohol ankle bracelet to promote accountability for offenders. The ankle bracelet monitors for alcohol intake and helps judges reduce sentences and bail providing remote monitoring occurs.
Livermore, California officials are banning medical marijuana dispensaries because of a disparity between state and federal law and the belief the the dispensaries introduce unwanted crime to the city. State law in California legalizes medical marijuana while federal law still considers it illegal.
Pete Doherty, front man and creator of the band, Babyshambles and fiance of supermodel Kate Moss is back in rehab in Portugal. Doherty was arrested on Saturday for possession of drugs. Doherty was also arrested earlier in the month for possession of crack cocaine.
One of the UK's top cops is advocating giving heroin to addicts in an effort to reduce crime. The controversial program is also being piloted in other European countries.
Hezbollah drugs are making the news since Israeli youth are cracking down on the terrorist regime by boycotting hashish. Hezbollah is the primary supplier of the illicit drug, hashish, which is smoked much the same way marijuana is. The crackdown on Hezbollah drugs is the Israeli youth's way to hit the terrorists where it hurts, the pocketbook.
Victor Edward Willis, known for being the Cop in the Villiage People has once again been sentence to drug rehab in lieu of prison and will serve a 30-day stay in the Betty Ford residential treatment center at Rancho Mirage, California and will also serve three years of probation.
A report issued by the Justice Policy Institute of Maryland says the state spends more money to send drug offenders to prison than to treatment centers despite the efforts from Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.
Haley Joel Osment was arrested for DUI and possession of marijuana after a car accident in which he injured his ribs and shoulder.
Robin Williams has checked himself into a drug and alcohol rehab center. After 20 years of sobriety, Williams has admitted to using alcohol once again and is taking a proactive stance in dealing with his sobriety.
Mel Gibson has chosen rehab after being arrested and making some angry, intoxicated outbursts. The actor is in hot water because his outbursts were anti-Semitic in nature. Gibson has chosen an outpatient rehabilitation clinic for his recovery.
A new report states that drug and alcohol rehab within the criminal justice system is the key to reducing the prison population. According to the Director of National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dr. Nora Volkow, 70-percent of those inside the crimial justice system qualify for treatment, yet only 20-percent receive any kind of rehab.
Victor Willis, who dressed up as the policeman in the 1970's disco group, the Village People, has been undergoing drug rehab treatment since his arrest in March 2006. Willis was released by a San Mateo Coutny judge into a residential drug rehab program stemming from his arrest in March for possession and false identification to a police officer.
Monday, June 26 is United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking and the Church of Scientology is promoting this heavily within their own ranks with their "Say No to Drugs, Say Yes to Life campaign to run concurrently.
On Monday, June 5, U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy left his drug rehabilitation facility saying he had completed his treatment. Kennedy, son of Massachusetts Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy, had checked himself into the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota after a car crash in early May 2006.
According to reports, singer Leif Garrett decided to ditch drug rehab and was handed a sentence of 90 days in prison and 3 years probation.
On May 5, U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy admitted to a drug dependency problem and said he would be checking himself into a rehabilitation facility at the Mayo Clinic. This followed after the Congressman had a car accident, running into a barrier, near the Capitol building.
In East Franklin, Pennsylvania, the Check Point Strikeforce Initiative has taken 76-percent more drunk drivers off the road than last year. The Initiative sets up checkpoints every weekend and randomly on weekdays. The arrests are also up because of the lowering of the legal definition for intoxication has been lowered from .10 to .08. The arrests are up and the alcohol-related crashes are lower than they have been in years.
Unable to shake the drug demons that derailed his once-dazzling career, Dwight "Doc" Gooden made a startling decision on Wednesday: He'd rather go to jail than face temptation on the streets. The former Mets and Yankees pitching great admitted in a Hillsborough County courthouse that he hasn't beat cocaine after a two-decade public struggle. Then, he picked prison instead of going back to rehab and staying on probation, where the threat of a five-year jail sentence loomed for any slipup.
California taxpayers saved nearly $2.50 for every dollar spent sending nonviolent drug offenders to treatment centers rather than jail under the state's Proposition 36, a UCLA study released Tuesday says. "The best we can project, based on the UCLA numbers, the state has saved $1.5 billion in five years," said study co-author M. Douglas Anglin, UCLA professor-in-residence of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences.
Pete Doherty, the enfant terrible of British rock music and former boyfriend of supermodel Kate Moss, on Wednesday breezed through a review of his sentence for possessing hard drugs despite twice failing drug tests last month. "You're doing quite well but you need to keep it up," magistrate Jane McIvor told the lead singer of the Babyshambles. "I will see you in five weeks."
Singer Boy George was spared a possible prison sentence today after a cocaine possession charge against him was dropped but he was ordered to go on a drug rehabilitation program. The Eighties pop icon was fined $1,000 under a plea bargain agreed in a New York court which saw him admit wasting police time by falsely claiming his apartment there had been burgled last year.
Narconon Louisiana-New Life Retreat plans to open a drug rehabilitation center on a 12-acre site in Denham Springs. Narconon paid $750,000 to Claude and Janice Penn Jr. at 35059 Bend Road, according to Livingston Parish Clerk of Court records. The rehabilitation center is expected to open at the beginning of March, said Cathy Davis, a spokeswoman for the center
Former 1970s teen idol Leif Garrett agreed Friday to enter a strict drug-diversion program for violating probation in a cocaine case even as he faces a new charge of heroin possession. Garrett, 44, agreed to enter the program during an appearance before a Superior Court commissioner who ordered him released from jail and commended him for choosing the option, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.
The Nigerian-born physician, Dr. Ajibike Salako-Akande of the Awele Foundation in Maryland, and lead U.S. researcher and Jamaican scientist, Dr. Henry Lowe, described a new approach in treating drug abuse as 'revolutionary', as it combines various supplements (bio-amino caps, bio-vitamins, calcium and magnesium) to detoxify, manage cravings and maintain drug abstinence.
Oprah Winfrey finally chimed in on the controversy surrounding the embattled book that she helped promote into a bestseller, James Frey's addiction memoir A Million Little Pieces, with a surprise phone call into Wednesday night's Larry King Live interview with the author. "What is relevant is that he was a drug addict ... and stepped out of that history to be the man he is today and to take that message to save other people and allow them to save themselves," said Winfrey, dismissing the charges that Frey embellished if not outright falsified episodes in the book as "much ado about nothing" and urging readers who've found inspiration in the author's tale to "keep holding on."
Doors to a Scientology-based drug rehabilitation center are expected to open near Leona Valley after county planners gave conditional approval Wednesday for the facility in rustic Bouquet Canyon. But first Narconon Southern California has to do more community outreach to the small community in the Leona Valley area about 10 miles from the proposed adult drug-and-alcohol center. Such outreach was among conditions imposed Wednesday by the county's Regional Planning Commission during a public hearing for a permit to develop the center on a 30.4-acre site.
Sandis Ozolinsh of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks has voluntarily entered a substance abuse program, the NHL and the players' union announced.
Brad Renfro was a no-show at his arraignment on a drug charge Friday for a good reason--he has entered a full-time drug rehabilitation program, his lawyer said. The actor's lawyer, Richard Kaplan, said outside court that his client is "doing fine" in the program and will return to court Jan. 18 for his arraignment. He remains free after posting $10,000 bail.

2005

Colin Farrell has checked himself into drug rehab. And, lest you think it has to do with his bad boy reputation, his publicist said Farrell's being treated for exhaustion and dependency on prescription medication. She said the medication was prescribed for a back injury. She isn't saying what rehab center Farrell's in or how long he'll be there.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court to try to get Joseph Hanas' conviction overturned on the basis that the rehabilitation program at Inner City Christian Outreach Center in Flint violated his constitutional rights. The pastor at the center could not be immediately reached for comment.
North Carolina's top health official paid a visit Wednesday to Durham's nationally respected two-year drug rehab program in hopes that TROSA's success can inform other mental health and rehab programs throughout the state. TROSA was the brainstorm of Kevin McDonald, a former heroin addict who recognized the need for a long-term residential substance abuse treatment program in Durham.
Pete Doherty, the former boyfriend of troubled supermodel Kate Moss, has reportedly checked himself into a rehabilitation clinic. Doherty checked into Arizona's Meadows Clinic Saturday, the same Arizona clinic that Kate Moss was in a few months ago, according to ananova.com -- after girlfriend Kate Moss refused to see him until he gets the monkey off his back.
CLEARWATER, FL /UCWE/ - The Race Directors of the Say No To Drugs Holiday Classic 5K/10K announced they will be holding their 17th annual race over the new Memorial Causeway Bridge in Clearwater on Saturday, December 17th, 2005 - the very first 5K/10K to run over the new bridge. Proceeds will go to organizations that foster drug-free lives such as the Boy and Girl Scouts of America, the Drug Free Marshals and others.
In New Hampshire, the owner of a sham drug and alcohol rehabilitation center has been sentenced to five to 10 years in prison on the first of 15 fraud charges. Joseph San Giovanni, 48, faces 14 more trials on charges he stole about $300,000 from patients and their families by promising treatment he failed to provide. His partner in the unlicensed St. Jude rehab center, Farid Kim Tari, 32, faces 14 similar indictments.
In 2004, only 27 percent of drug rehabilitation and addiction treatment centers offered non-hospital residential programs, despite evidence from research such as the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Studies (DATOS) that treatment success rates tend to be higher for inpatient settings. Data gathered from the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS) took a snapshot of addiction treatment programs and clients with statistics from March 31, 2004. Approximately 100,000 people in non-hospital residential drug rehab centers on that date accounted for only nine percent of all clients in treatment. In contrast, 22 percent of all clients receiving treatment were in methadone programs (240,000), which is an increase of 95,000 people in the last six years. Along with the increase in substitute drug replacement therapy has come more methadone-related deaths throughout the United States.
he state of New Mexico will loan $12.42 million over three and a quarter years to the producers of Funny Farm, which is set to star Robin Williams, Annette Bening, Kathy Bates and Malcolm McDowell. It is a comedy-drama about a drug rehabilitation facility and the interactions of random people brought together by a common thread. It is scheduled to start shooting after Thanksgiving and will be filmed in either Santa Fe or Galisteo.
Hearts of Hope, also known as "The Mom Squad," has announced that the fourth annual Kane County Drug Rehabilitation Court graduation ceremony will take place Wednesday. Judge Thomas Mueller and the Drug Rehabilitation Court will graduate about 60 candidates who successfully completed the two-year program. Featured speakers are DEA Special Agent Mark Warpness and Fox Valley philanthropist Bob Miller.
A release from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) earlier this month announced their partnership with education and health leaders to launch an ad campaign targeting parents. An open letter to parents titled "Marijuana Could Threaten Your Teen's Success," appeared in national and local newspapers, including The New York Times and USA Today, as well as in Time, Newsweek and People magazines. More than a dozen agencies and organizations have signed on in support of the campaign. While illicit drug use among teens is on the decline, marijuana is the most commonly used drug among 16- and 17-year-olds. Research shows that 1.3 million teens between the ages of 12 and 17 used marijuana for the first time last year.
An audience of former drug addicts screened a film about recovering from addiction and dealing with social ostracism. The screening on Sunday was part of a detox programme at the Nhi Xuan Job Creation and Vocational Education Centre, which rehabilitates drug users and finds them employment. The cast and crew of the film Chuyen Cua Chung Minh (Our story) were present at the screening and participated in a discussion with the audience after wards.
Eminem checks out of rehab, checks back into his studio for the Curtain Call. After roughly three weeks in the rehabilitation center and an additional three weeks serviced through the outpatient program, Mr. Marshall Mathers has completed his cycle for patients at-risk of drug abuse.
The Ambassador of Saudi Arabia Ali S. Awad Asseri called on the Prime Minister on Septembers 23, 2005 and handed over a cheque for $138,000\- as a contribution towards the running of a drug rehabilitation center in Islamabad. The Prime Minister thanked the Ambassador for this generous gesture and stated that the drug rehabilitation center played an important role in curbing the drug menace.
The Scottish Drugs Forum said addiction lay at the heart of the sex industry but fewer than 10 specialist services existed. Police estimate 95% of Glasgow's 1400 street prostitutes have a drug problem. The SDF will today call for better drug rehabilitation services at a conference aimed at exploring the issues surrounding drug use among prostitutes.
A suspended Grand Island elementary school principal, who admitted to drug possession, has escaped jail time. Frank Cannata, 41, was sentenced Wednesday morning by U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr. to two years of probation, plus drug counseling and testing. He could have received up to one year behind bars. The sentence includes no fines, however, Cannata will have to pay for part of his drug treatment.
Fashion industry insiders told The New York Sun that they were not terribly shocked to learn that Kate Moss, the model who epitomized "heroin chic" in the early 1990s, was photographed doing lines of cocaine. What surprised them was that she got caught in the act.
Rocker Courtney Love has been sentenced to 180 days at a drug treatment facility for violating probation in three criminal cases. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rand Rubin credited the 41-year-old singer-actress for 28 days she previously spent at a rehabilitation center and told her he was pleased with her progress.
Former Fairfield City Council member John A. English is looking at the likelihood of going to state prison because of his methamphetamine addiction. English made his first appearance Friday in the courtroom of Judge James F. Long since his second arrest for methamphetamine possession - less than two weeks after Long gave English a break in a previous methamphetamine possession case. Long originally suspended a state prison sentence, giving English probation and 30 days in a work furlough program. At the time, Long warned English not to "make him look silly" for the consideration. Long focused Friday's hearing on possibly sending the felon to the California Rehabilitation Center, a medium-security prison in Riverside County. The overcrowded prison, with nearly 6,000 inmates, offers a separate substance abuse program for some inmates.
Six people arrested in a July 28 methamphetamine raid in Penn Valley all are expected to enter a much-debated drug rehabilitation program established by Proposition 36. Some of those involved still face sentencing this week. California voters in 2000 approved Prop. 36, officially known as the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act. The idea behind the law is to give people a chance to get off drugs and receive counseling to help them put their lives back together.
Jack Duffy and Rick DiStefano each had nearly two decades of experience in drug treatment when they formed a partnership to respond to the urgent request of the Douglas administration to develop a long-term drug treatment center. A heroin epidemic had strained the state's treatment network. Hundreds of addicted Vermonters were sent out of state, many to Conifer Park, a 225-bed drug rehabilitation center in Glenville, N.Y., where Duffy and DiStefano worked. "The state wanted to be able to provide the kinds of services that were offered in New York to Vermonters in Vermont," DiStefano said. State officials reasoned that an in-state residential program would yield better results because it could make families part of treatment and link clients with local out-patient programs and support groups, increasing their chances of staying "clean and sober" after they returned home.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services just announced that illicit drug use among teenagers ages 12-17 declined by 9 percent in the last two years. The information is a result of the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which was released as part of National Alcohol Addiction and Recovery Month activities. In a release from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Administrator Charles Curie said, The news today is an indication that our partnerships and the work of prevention professionals, schools, parents, teachers, law enforcement, religious leaders, and local community anti-drug coalitions are paying off. Despite the good news, a growing area of concern is the continued increase of non-medical use of prescription drugs. Approximately 6 percent of young adults have abused these drugs within the last month and 29 percent in the last year. Narcotic pain relievers such as hydrocodone and oxycodone remain the most abused drugs in this area.

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