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You may remember hearing a little while back that the son of famed hip-hop producer and star “Dr.Dre” died.  Now results are coming back and pointing to an unfortunate conclusion.  Autopsy results show that twenty year old Andre Young Jr., Dre’s son, died of an overdose of heroin and morphine according to E! Online:

“The case was subsequently closed after the young man’s death was ruled an accident.

Young’s mother, Jenita Porter, found him unconscious in his bedroom in their Woodland Hills, Calif., home on the morning of Aug. 23. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Porter told authorities her son had been out with friends but that she heard him snoring in his room at around 5:30 a.m.”

This is another sad chapter in the book of people effected by drugs.  I remember hearing that winning the lottery won’t solve your problems, in fact it will magnify them.  An example given was “if you are a small drug user, you will be a big drug user after you get the money.”  I think there is some truth to this statement in terms of celebrities and the wealthy.  People that are looking for comfort and enjoyment in drugs who also have the means and plenty to afford large quantities of what they are looking for can be a lethal combination as it was in the case of Dre’s son. 

For more information about drug and alcohol recovery, contact Mark Houston Recovery today

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These words are the the famous line spoken by Charles Barkley in a commercial some years ago, and as it turns out, they are prophetic in their honesty.  Barkley is becoming known as much for his problems off the court and for his glory days on it.  A recent gambling debt coupled with the latest embarisment of a DUI arrest is making Barkley look less and less the role model type. 

On Wednesday the 31st of December Barkley spent the night partying the former New York Giant Michael Strahan and Jaleel White (tv’s Urkel).  Barkley ordered hundreds of dollars worth of alcoholic beverages before getting into his car and turning the keys.  Barkley was then pulled over for running through a red light but not before he picked up a woman from the side of the road.  Barkley told the arresting officer that he was in a rush because the woman in question was going to perform oral sex on him.  When it became apparent that the arresting officer was serious about his intent to bring Sir Charles in, Barkley offered to have the officer’s name tattooed on his (Barkley’s) butt to keep from going to jail.  The ploy didn’t work and Barkley was taken in. 

This is why I don’t drink, and certainly why I would never drink and drive.  How many sober people offer to have someones name tattooed on their butt while picking up a prostitute during their arrest?  No Charles, you are not a role model, that is for certain.

For more information about drug and alcohol recovery, contact Mark Houston Recovery today

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Here’s a story that is depressing, sad, and creepy on several levels.  This story also provides a good reason to never let your kids use myspace.  It seems that 23 year old Charles H. Johnson has been sentenced to jail for heroin, specifically for providing heroin to a 16 year old girl who he met through a “social networking site.”  Wiscnews.com is reporting that the judge sentenced Johnson to jail time after the girl overdosed on the drug:

“Johnson stated in a criminal complaint that he met the girl on a social networking Web site and gave her a small amount of heroin when she came to his home in Horicon on March 16.

The girl told police that after she snorted the heroin, she dozed off and could not differentiate real events from dreams. She said her next memory was waking up in an ambulance after falling asleep.”

There are so many miserable aspects to this story.  What is a 23 year old doing with a 16 year old?  Why do parents still let their kids on these social networking sites?  Don’t the realize there is no one worth socializing with on them?  And why on earth would this guy give heroin to a child?  Apparently these were questions that Dodge County Circuit Judge Andrew Bissonnette was considering when he sentenced Johnson to one year in prison and five years probation.  Heroin is such a deadly and addictive drug, perhaps one year isn’t enough?

For more information about drug and alcohol recovery, contact Mark Houston Recovery today

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A great many people make a big deal about the Mexican border.  Detractors of increased border patrol view, I think I can rightly say, this type of exclusion as racist or elitist.  The point of view that these people take is that Mexican citizens are being unfairly turned away from this country because they are Hispanic outsiders.  The argument is also frequently made that no one raised much of a fuss when scores of Europeans came to the states more then a century ago.  Perhaps there is some truth to this, perhaps not.  What is true is that border patrol is essential, not only to strictly enforce actually citizenship of the United States, but also for this:

“On Tuesday at 6:42 p.m. at the Gateway International Bridge, CBP officers referred a white 1994 Nissan Frontier driven by Patricia Garcia Castillo, a 43-year-old Mexican citizen and resident of Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas-Mexico for a secondary inspection. During the examination, CBP officers noted discrepancies to the bed of the Frontier. CBP officers’ intensive inspection of the pickup revealed 40 packages with a combined weight of almost 106 pounds of marijuana hidden within the bed of the Nissan Frontier. “(Source: Rightsidenews.com)

Their can be no real arugment that protecting our borders means keeping out scores of drugs like marijuana, and cocaine that funnel up from Mexico and South America.  Perhaps this is the real purpose of looking after who and what is coming into our country: to keep hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegal drugs from hitting our streets.

For more information about drug and alcohol recovery, contact Mark Houston Recovery today

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When looking up the word cocaine on google news I found that within the first six articles, three had to deal with police/correctional officers or state officials who were busted for cocaine!  Article one from dailypress.com reads:

“Police say 45-year-old C. Cary Brown, an administrator in the city’s Department of Economic Development, was arrested Nov. 13 after a Nov. 4 traffic stop near Virginia Commonwealth University.

In Richmond Circuit Court records, a VCU police officer said he found six individually packaged white rock substances in a pack of cigarettes in Brown’s car. Those substances later were confirmed as 0.755 gram of cocaine.”

Article two from the monitor.com:

“Larrazolo, 35, the now former Texas Department of Public Safety trooper, is set to be arraigned next month on a count of possession with intent to distribute following his Dec. 18 indictment by a federal grand jury.

Larrazolo was arrested Nov. 21 in the parking lot of Best Buy in Brownsville as he was loading his car with cocaine. He had just received the cocaine from another man, who fled the scene, Brownsville police said.”

And Finailly, article three from the Chicago Tribune:

“Larrazolo was arrested Nov. 21 in the parking lot of Best Buy in Brownsville as he was loading his car with cocaine. He had just received the cocaine from another man, who fled the scene, Brownsville police said.”

Amazing!  It just goes to show that drugs, and cocaine especially, can suck people from all walks of life into their hold.  It must be very difficult to resist the temptation knowing all that is at risk for these individuals.  If you struggle with drugs or alcohol on this level, it would be best to seek recovery immediately.  Think of all that you have to loose!

For more information about drug and alcohol recovery, contact Mark Houston Recovery today

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Sadly, one of American’s new big “Mom and Pop” operations seems not so much to be a small general store, or a tailor shop, but rather; meth.  In Sampson County, North Carolina, local law enforcement and SBI agents have discovered what a large operation meth labs have become.  According to dunndailyrecord.com police have arrested eight people already:

“Craig Hobbs, 43, Adam Strickland, 23, Sabrina Royal, 23, Corey Harmon, 20, Samuel Faircloth, 42, William Paschall, 32, Steven McClenny, 51, and Ramon Singleton, 29, have been convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess methamphetamine. In addition, Mr. Hobbs, Mr. Strickland, Ms. Royal, Mr. Harmon and Mr. Paschall face additional time for keeping firearms to aid their drug trafficking operations. Sentencing for the group has been delayed until February or March, but at least five of the convicts could be dealt life sentences. The minimum penalty available is 10 years.”

Apparently these individual meth labs were close knit and provided each other with “ingredients” and know how for meth production.  The labs were producing meth using the Nazi method according to the dunndailyrecord.com article which, if I remember my police training, is one of the most common and easiest meth production methods.

It is quite remarkable that this scene is playing out in small towns across the country, independent drug makers teaming up to fuel a drug culture always looking for the next high.  Since the economy is in a down turn it seems likely that more and more people will take it upon themselves to become “home chemists” in the future.

For more information about drug and alcohol recovery, contact Mark Houston Recovery today

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When I think of Afghanistan I think of one drug: Herion.  Apparently the people of Afghanistan enjoy other things then the production and sale of poppy to produce this deadly drug.  In fact a large stash of a drug (not heroin) was found and destroyed by US and Afghan troops.  Here are a few hints:  The people who will be most distraught over this news are in their mom’s basement right now, their is a blacklight poster on the wall for Jimi Hendrix, “Touch of Grey” is blasting on their stereo, and they have a half eaten bag of oreos at their feet.  That’s right: potheads have a reason to be sad today as it is being reported that 2.5 tons of marijuana have been destroyed by troops in Afghanistan.

The AFP is reporting that the drugs were found in a school and destroyed:

“US and Afghan troops destroyed 2.5 tons of marijuana they found in an abandoned school in volatile southern Afghanistan, the US military said Sunday.

The massive drugs stash was uncovered on Saturday during a joint US-Afghan operation against Taliban rebels in the Arghistan district of Kandahar province, spokesman US Colonel Greg Julian told AFP.”

Afghanistan, apart from being a massive producer of heroin, is also the second biggest pot producer in the world.  Maybe that is why all of the modern day hippy types are against the war?  I thought it was about politics, but perhaps not, maybe it is about pot?

For more information about drug and alcohol recovery, contact Mark Houston Recovery today

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It seems that cocaine interdiction efforts, as well as the drug war in Mexico have actually caused a decline in the street availability of the drug.  According to the Los Angeles Times cocaine prices have shot through the roof because of the decline in availability:

“Cocaine availability continued to decline in many cities, a trend the report attributed to Mexico’s ongoing battles with traffickers and to increased seizures by U.S. authorities. The shortages have pushed the price of cocaine up 41% since 2006, from $87 to $123 per gram, the report said.”

This is the problem with the war on drugs.  It’s great that there are less drugs on the street, but does this mean that addicts now will not be able to get their fix?  Highly unlikely.  And since the cost of drugs is now up who do you think will be paying the cost?  The law abiding citizen.  If cocaine now costs 41% more then it did two years ago, that money is certainly going to be made up in the form of robberies.  With those robberies will come unintended, and intended homicides as well.  Milton Friedman calculated that the war on drugs costs the lives of 10,000 American citizens annually.  It is as if by solving one problem we simply create another.  The laws of economics don’t change just because the product being sold is illegal.  When supply goes down, prices goes up, and when prices goes up that money needs to come from somewhere to offset the rise.  Watch your wallets and pocketbooks…

For more information about drug and alcohol recovery, contact Mark Houston Recovery today!

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Heroin is often viewed as the last stop on the train known as the “drug lifestyle.”  Heroin is definitely not a “soft drug” but rather, it is the type of drug that parents worry that their children will end up on.  That is why it is so alarming that kids are ending up on heroin, and apparently they are doing so in quite large numbers.  With this in mind Long Island New York has started a program intended to help fight the war on heroin.  According to Newsday schools are now being notified in the following manner:

“A Nassau County law passed Monday requires police to notify school districts about heroin arrests. The police also will post a map on the department’s Web site detailing where heroin arrests are taking place. “

It seems odd that something like this isn’t already in place.  Certainly people have a right to privacy, but even when you get a job at a fast food restaurant inquiring minds want to know if you have a criminal record, so it only seems appropriate that our nations schools would be looking for this information.  So is heroin really such a large problem that this intrusion is called for?  Again, according to newsday: “Nassau Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey has said school officials are “in denial” about the growing use of heroin in the suburbs.”  Like cocaine before it, heroin seems to be making it’s way into middle class suburbs.  Is Long Island just taking steps that should be echoed around the country?

For more information about drug and alcohol recovery, contact Mark Houston Recovery today!

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Source: Sun.co.uk

In a recent article entitled Celebrity Drug Dealers Arrested I wrote about the suppliers/videographers of Amy Winehouse’s drug life.  Johnny Blagrove and his girlfriend were arrested for selling drugs to Winehouse.  They were also the people responsible for taping Winehouse smoking what appears to be crack cocaine, a video that made it’s way around the tabloids in a flash.  TMZ now has details about the sentencing of these dealers:

“Johnny Blagrove — the guy who sold footage of Amy allegedly smoking crack and snorting cocaine to a newspaper — was jailed for two years for admitting to offer to supply celebs, including Wino, with drugs like coke and ecstasy.

When police raided Blagrove’s home — which he shared with his girlfriend — they found a list of celebs they had planned to film taking drugs.

Johnny’s girlfriend received two years community service.”

So there you have it: Even elite celebrity drug dealers have to pay the piper sometimes.  Now the question remains as to Winehouse’s attempt at sobriety.  As I wrote in my last article, Winehouse’s husband Blake Fielder-Civil claimed that he wanted to leave Winehouse for her own good-to help her kick drugs.  Rumors have emerged that Fielder-Civil now wants 1 million dollars to not “spill the beans” about Winehouse’s secret, scandalous life.  Hopefully, whatever the truth, Winehouse will move on with her life and reclaim her career as a talented singer and songwriter, a facet of her life that has been greatly overshadowed by her personal demons, of late.

For more information about drug and alcohol recovery, contact Mark Houston Recovery today!

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