A Calgary man, said to be addicted to the powerful painkiller Oxycontin was recently given an 8 1/2  year sentence after being convicted for committing a string of robberies involving eight pharmacies in a span of several months. The convicted man blamed his drug addiction to the powerful drug Oxycontin for the reason he committed the crimes.

The man became addicted to Oxycontin after being prescribed the drug after being in a car crash more than ten years earlier. As with many with drug addiction problems the man turned to crime, in this case robbing pharmacies in order to be able to feed his addiction. The man and his accomplice turned themselves in only to be released on bail and continue with the crime spree, threatening violence to anyone who did not cooperate in handing over the drug. The court system is not allowing drug addiction to be used as a plea for defense in committing the crime.

“Drug addiction often finds the drug abuser turning to crime in order to fill the desperation they are feeling when needing their next fix,” stated Mr. Nick Hayes, a representative of the effective drug rehab center Narconon Trois-Rivières. “Thankfully, there is help available for those who want to end the cycle of drug abuse and start a new clean and sober life. Over the years, we have successfully helped many people from Alberta to overcome their drug and alcohol addiction,” added Mr. Hayes.

For more information about the program Narconon, visit their website at http://narconon.ab.ca/ or call 1-877-782-7409.

© 2009 Narconon Trois-Rivières. All Rights Reserved. NARCONON is a trademark and service mark owned by Association for Better Living and Education and is used with its permission.

Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada – Family intervention is a successful means of getting an addict who is not willing to receive help, to turn around and want to do something about their addiction.  The Narconon drug rehab program supports this because it is another option for families in need to help their loved ones.  With the continued popularity of the hit show Intervention on A & E, families can rest assure that a drastic approach like intervention can work and save a drug addict.  “Intervention has helped many of our clients successfully enter our rehabilitation program, and it has helped many families handle their loved ones addiction before it got completely out of control,” commented Nick Hayes, a representative of Narconon Trois-Rivieres.

Recently last month, intervention made the news headlines when an Intervention Specialist was interviewed on CNN, and asked to give insight into how intervention could have helped the Jackson family during Michael Jackson’s possible drug problems.  It was noted during the interview that a properly conducted family intervention could help curb family enabling and help the addict in general get into a drug treatment center.  “Drug and alcohol intervention is not normally an easy process,” said Hayes.  “It can be difficult for a family whom has normally enabled an addict to finally let go and set a bottom line.”  Typically professionally trained intervention counsellors, who are fully capable to counsel and educate the family and help the addict come to an understanding of wanting to get help, conduct drug intervention.

If you are someone you know is addicted to drugs or alcohol, call the Narconon drug rehab at, 1-877-782-7409, or visit the website at, http://narconon.ca/

© 2009 Narconon Trois-Rivières. All Rights Reserved.

NARCONON is a trademark and service mark owned by Association for Better Living and Education and is used with its permission.

Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada – It was no more then three years ago when the Narconon Trois-Rivieres video production team released one of its first drug addiction stories.  This video has later been followed by other very compelling stories and interviews all giving a real life insight into the destruction a drug addiction can have.  The most recent was a recorded interview of a young woman who over came a heroin addiction; she described how the addiction took away her youth and her family.  “When this original drug addiction story was released it became a big hit on You Tube,” said Nick Hayes, a representative of Narcocon Trois-Rivieres.  “It was an in-depth interview with a former crystal meth addict, gang member, and criminal, who turned his life around while attending the Narconon drug rehab program.  The video was an inspiration to everybody who was struggling with an addiction.”

The Narconon crystal meth video became a powerful message and joined the ranks of other effective drug prevention videos helping to deter people from getting started into an addiction.  Crystal meth addiction has become a destructive problem throughout the United States, and unfortunately Canada has become one on the larger distributors of these types of synthetic drugs, according to the 2009 World Drug Report.  Statistically, crystal meth can be a very difficult drug to recover from.  For example, according to a ‘Drug use in Toronto, Canada’ survey, it was found that 37% of Toronto street youth were using crystal meth.  This number is based on a specific population, but the Canadian Association of Mental Health does not report an increase within the general population.  “Regardless of how it is looked at, crystal meth addiction is a serious problem, and needs to be treated right away,” said Hayes.

If you or someone you know is battling a drug or alcohol addiction, call the Narconon drug rehab program at, 1-877-782-7409, or visit the web site at, http://narconon.ca/

For more drug addiction stories, visit http://addiction.narcononrehab.com.

© 2009 Narconon Trois-Rivières. All Rights Reserved.

NARCONON is a trademark and service mark owned by Association for Better Living and Education and is used with its permission.

Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada – The Narconon Trois-Rivieres drug and alcohol rehabilitation center has been seeing an ongoing demand of people looking for the proper help handling a pain medication addiction.  Within the recent months there has been much news discussed and published about different pain medications destroying the lives of those who are abusing them.  “This has become a major problem throughout Canada and the United States.  Many of the people who are looking for help and are abusing pain medication have to go through a medical detox just to prevent any major health complications from occurring,” commented Nick Hayes, a representative of Narconon Trois-Rivieres.  “Some of these pain medications are so destructive, it keeps the addict in complete fear of ever getting clean, due to physical pain the withdrawals can cause.”

During the month of June, the Narconon drug rehab program helped support the United Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking by hosting a live drug rehab graduation.  When the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime released the 2009 Drug Report, it talked about opiates still being a concern throughout most of the modern world.

Last month the Food and Drug Administration started to make specific drug makers to put warnings of potential overdose on specific pain medications.  For example, it was stated by the Food and Drug agencies Center for Drug Evaluation and Research that between 1969 and 2005, there was a reported 91 deaths due to an overdose caused by pain medications containing propoxyphene.  “These are excellent preventative steps to help warn people of the possible risks involved if these drugs are abused,” said Hayes.  Drug treatment centers across the country have been developing unique and new approaches to help curb this problem and save the lives of those abusing pain medication.

If you or someone you know is battling an addiction to pain medication, call the Narconon drug treatment center at, 1-877-782-7409, or visit the web site at, http://narconon.ca/.

© 2009 Narconon Trois-Rivières. All Rights Reserved.

NARCONON is a trademark and service mark owned by Association for Better Living and Education and is used with its permission.

Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada – The Narconon Trois-Rivieres drug treatment center has created a new blog specifically talking about cocaine addiction.  This is no ordinary blog; in fact, this blog invites both cocaine users and those who beat cocaine addiction to tell their real life stories and have them published on the blog.  “This particular blog is very unique to the field of addiction, as it invites people to share their stories specifically about cocaine addiction,” said Nick Hayes a representative of Narconon Trois-Rivieres.  “We have a very talented team designing these blogs and this is one we are very proud of.”  It happens too often where people see cocaine use as being a fun thing to do.  It is often glamorized in the movies, but every now and then the real impact is shown.

Blogging is a fantastic way to get good and informative information out there and is a great way to help those who are battling a drug addiction.  There are some very interesting blogs about drug addiction available on the Internet, and many that talk about such a wide variety of topics.  The Narconon drug treatment center operates a few different blogs, but they are very excited about this one in particular.  “We wanted to try something different, but also keep readers interested and also involved, and this is what makes it unique for us,” commented Eric Boisvert, the creator of the blog.

The Narconon drug and alcohol treatment center is a residential and long-term treatment program, which offers drug prevention, detoxification, and rehabilitation.  For more information, visit the website at, http://narconon.ca/, or visit the blog at, http://cocaineaddiction.me/

© 2009 Narconon Trois-Rivières. All Rights Reserved.

NARCONON is a trademark and service mark owned by Association for Better Living and Education and is used with its permission.

Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada – The Narconon Trois-Rivieres drug rehab video production team was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to document a very touching story of a young woman’s struggle with a heroin addiction, and the emotional impact it took on her family.  Shown on a very popular Narconon drug rehab blog site, this full-length interview tells all and gets pretty emotional when heart-wrenching details start coming out.  “It was an absolute pleasure for the video team to work on a project like this, it really hit home with them,” commented Nick Hayes, a representative   of Narconon Trois-Rivieres.  “Working at a rehabilitation center you see so many families torn apart and brought back together again, a story like this is truly inspiring.”

This video release is part of a large Internet campaign dedicated to drug addiction stories, the stories that tell of real life events, or events based on true stories.  Some of these stories based on drug addiction are so compelling; it’s an emotional roller coaster when reading them.  The publishing team is working with a great deal of talented writers and they are also working on speaking and getting these stories from the actual people that have been there, experiencing the pain of addiction and accomplished life long sobriety.  “It’s important that articles with this subject matter be written; many people do not have the true reality on drug addiction,” said Hayes.

There are more video interviews in the works with real life people telling their real stories about addiction.  The Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation center is a residential treatment center that provides prevention, detoxification, and rehabilitation to people from all across Canada.  For more information you can visit the web site at, http://narconon.ca/

© 2009 Narconon Trois-Rivières. All Rights Reserved.

NARCONON is a trademark and service mark owned by Association for Better Living and Education and is used with its permission.

Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada – In the world of professional music Glenn Miller has done it all.  First with the internationally-renowned Collectors and then with Canadian music sensation Chilliwack he’s toured North America, enjoyed numerous hits and played on the same stage with legendary bands like The Doors and The Grateful Dead.  In a recent interview Miller talks about his extensive career, his role as an industry pioneer and how the Narconon drug detoxification program gave him a “second chance” in life.  It restored his creativity and gave him valuable tools to face the future.  Speaking from his home in Hamilton, Ontario, Miller says his experience has shown that the Narconon program can restore life and action in musicians and all artists who have been exposed to alcohol and drugs.

“I did the program and started feeling a lot better,” he says.  “The Detoxification part of the program really made a difference, sweating all those drugs out of my system.  I started having emotions again and got rid of the ‘dead’ feeling.  I started experiencing pleasure in life once more and this was a very welcome improvement.  I didn’t have to just go around in a dull ‘funk’ all the time, now I could be happy or sad or whatever.  I started waking up and did the rest of the program and it was remarkable.”

After doing the program Miller worked for Narconon for more than a decade and had a chance to experience first-hand some of the incredible benefits of the program: “I’ve gotten a lot of people through the program including a fair number of musicians.  It’s always the same kind of thing: They are kind of beaten down by the drugs and alcohol and they are experiencing almost a complete loss of creativity, because the drugs tend to kill any creativity.”

After doing the program artists are “rejuvenated,” he says, and “they get interested in life again. The program gives someone a second chance in life, and it is not only for artists but anybody working in any field.  It is a second chance in truth: It makes you alive again and you can face the future because the Narconon program gives you the tools to be able to do this.  You can face your future and handle your life.”

Click here to read the “Dealing With Alcohol And Drugs In Rock & Roll” entire article…

Narconon is a non-profit drug rehab program dedicated to eliminating drug abuse and drug addiction through drug prevention, education and rehabilitation.  The Narconon network consists of over 100 drug rehab and drug prevention and education centers around the world.  Our rehab centers and programs produce graduates, the majority of whom have demonstrated they can live stable, ethical, productive, drug-free lives. The Narconon drug prevention and education centers educate hundreds of thousands of people each year with live presentations and bring the truth to many more through video presentations and written materials, thus reducing and eliminating drug addiction and abuse.

© 2009 Narconon Trois-Rivières. All Rights Reserved.

NARCONON is a trademark and service mark owned by Association for Better Living and Education and is used with its permission.

Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada – The Narconon Trois-Rivieres video production team has just released a new emotionally charged drug rehab video interview depicting two sisters, one of whom battled a life threatening drug addiction that nearly tore her family apart.  “This was an excellent project to work on, and our deepest thanks go to Sabrina and her sister for telling us their real life story,” comments Nick Hayes, a representative of Narconon Trois-Rivieres.  “This powerful interview shows two sisters talking about how a heroin addiction ripped their family apart, and gave them both a new perspective on what drugs are.”

Sabrina started using drugs at a very young age and would later run away from home.  Desperate not to give up on their daughter, Sabrina’s parents were continually doing what they could to find her.  The police would come by her house on a regular basis looking for an updated picture or to say they have found her.  Originally from Montreal, Sabrina ran away from everything, and found herself in Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver, using drug and homeless.

Sabrina’s younger sister spent a good portion of her life trying to understand why her older sister never wanted to have a family.  Not knowing much about drugs or what was happening to Sabrina, she took it upon herself to do what ever possible to help her family.  Everybody in the family took these events very hard, especially their mother, who felt she had failed and took things very personally.  It was not until Sabrina got the help that she needed when this particular family started coming back together again.  Today Sabrina is eleven years drug free, and is much closer with her sister and the rest of her family.  For more information about drug and alcohol addiction visit the website at http://narconon.ca/.

© 2009 Narconon Trois-Rivières. All Rights Reserved.

NARCONON is a trademark and service mark owned by Association for Better Living and Education and is used with its permission.

All to often  a drug addiction can push people to absolute extremes, and in an all too common case, an addict can be pushed to crime to fuel their addiction.  The Narconon Trois-Rivieres drug rehabilitation program has been seeing many cases of both functioning addicts and addicts who have lost it all, tied up with the law in some way.  “What we are seeing are many drug users being charged with crimes such as, possession, trafficking, fraud, and theft,” comments Nick Hayes, a representative of Narconon Trois-Rivieres.   “When things like this happen, it can make getting these people into treatment more difficult, due to the fact they are on house arrest, probation, or even being sentenced to jail.”

For an extreme example, just last month in Edmonton, Alberta, a 41-year-old man committed armed robbery within six different banks to fuel his own crack cocaine addiction.  The judge subsequently handed him a 12-year jail sentence for his actions.  This of course is of an extreme nature, but nevertheless small and big crimes do take place by some very desperate drug users across Canada.  It is unfortunate to see drug users make the choice to resort to crime to support their habits, and these desperate acts affect the user and society.

For many repeat offenders of drug related crimes, drug rehab can become somewhat out of reach.  Because of the many opportunities the drug user may have had, a judge will typically stiffen the punishment each and every time they appear in court.  Drug Treatment Courts play a major role in helping these individuals to be court ordered to attend specific treatment options based on their history.  However, some make it through and others return right back to a life of crime, starting right at the beginning again.

For more information, please visit the Narconon Trois-Rivieres website at http://narconon.ca/

© 2009 Narconon Trois-Rivières. All Rights Reserved.

NARCONON is a trademark and service mark owned by Association for Better Living and Education and is used with its permission.

The Narconon Trois-Rivieres drug rehab presented their second live drug rehab graduation on July 31, 2009 and has recently released the recorded video on their website, and throughout many different social networks.  “This was once again another excellent opportunity to show as many people as possible what it is like to see someone complete the Narconon drug rehab program,” comments Nick Hayes, a representative of Narconon Trois-Rivieres. “It’s a wonderful sight to see people achieving sobriety and getting their lives back, and we want to continue to share this with the rest of the world.”

Plans are in the work to present another live graduation at Narconon Trois-Rivieres, and continue to do it as often as possible.  The video production team at this Canadian Narconon has been hard at work getting this live-recorded drug rehab graduation video spread across the Internet.  They have also been working on other video projects, recently releasing a compelling video interview of a former heroin addict and her little sister.  This is all contributing to getting the message out about how successful the right drug rehabilitation can be.

With the success of the previous live drug rehab graduation aired on June 26, 2009 to help support the Untied Nations International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, viewers can rest assured that another live segment of a Narconon Trois-Rivieres drug rehab graduation is sure to hit the Net.  For more information, please visit the Narconon Trois-Rivieres webs site at, http://narconon.ca.

© 2009 Narconon Trois-Rivières. All Rights Reserved.

NARCONON is a trademark and service mark owned by Association for Better Living and Education and is used with its permission.