Sunday, August 29, 2010
Under the bridge, red hot chili peppers.AVI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1Uh_DFeng4&hl=en
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Drug Diversion Programs in California
California Drug Diversion Programs were designed to rectify imbalances with respect to drug crime punishment and rehabilitation. Facing over crowded and over burdened prisons and state budget shortfalls, the state adopted two programs, the PC 1000 Drug Diversion Program and the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of November 2000. (Proposition 36)
These programs exist to provide drug offenders with rehabilitation options that do not involve incarceration.
To qualify for a drug diversion program, the offender must meet several criteria:
- He or she must have had no prior convictions for the alleged drug offense.
- The offense committed must have not been violent.
- The defendant cannot have been on a parole or probation. If the defendant had once been on a parole or probation and had that privilege revoked, he or she would cease to qualify for the drug diversion program.
- The defendant must have had no felony convictions dating back five years prior to the alleged drug offense.
- The defendant cannot have had taken a previous drug diversion program.
Data gathered by groups like the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse point out the many wide scale benefits of alternative treatment programs. On average, they cost far less than incarceration. They also seem to save money on state healthcare costs and general productivity. Successful graduates of these programs on average boast a lower recidivism rate (i.e. rate at which they commit future drug crimes). Finally, according to the data, drug diversion programs seem to boost safety within communities and reduce overall criminal activity.
Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles have studied the impact of the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act and have lauded the program for reaching and exceeding its goals-although they do say that it's currently under funded. The PC 1000 program requires treatment for an extended time for its participants but also provides a diverse array of services, including therapy sessions, group meetings, twelve step programs and schooling and information on HIV AIDS, TB, and other pertinent drug related issues.
To take advantage of alternative sentencing, however, defendants must not only qualify for these programs but also comply with their stipulations. An experienced drug crime attorney in Los Angeles, like the representatives at Wallin and Klarich, can plan with you to find the best available alternative sentencing options. Call us for a case evaluation today at 888-749-0034.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Los Angeles Drug Rehabilitation Centers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTWlZ_Z_OdU&hl=en
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Deciding to Go to Rehab - How to Make the Leap
It is important to understand that the decision to go to a drug and alcohol rehab is never an easy one to make. Drug and alcohol addiction is something that some people struggle with for years before they decide that getting sober is not something that they can do on their own. It is also important to understand that having a drug addiction is not something that you should be ashamed of. In fact, making the decision to seek out drug and alcohol rehabilitation for your drug or alcohol addiction is quite courageous. It says a lot about your inner strength that you are able to say "I cannot handle this by myself. I need help."
Drug Treatment Centers know that you are probably frightened of what will happen after you pick up the phone to set up your rehabilitation program. The staff of addiction and health experts at centers for drug and alcohol treatment know that, especially in the beginning, many people struggling with drug and/or alcohol addiction are afraid of what they will encounter at drug rehab. It is because the staff is so compassionate that they will do everything they can to ease the transition from struggling with sobriety in the "outside world" to detoxing and regaining your sobriety in a carefully controlled and supportive environment.
It is all fine and good to know that you will be treated well once you've made the decision to go to drug rehab. The problem arises when you aren't sure if going to drug rehab is the right decision. Here are some of the signs that you should look for that will tell you whether or not you are equipped to deal with your drug addiction yourself:
1. The amount of drugs that you need to get drunk, high or stoned has increased dramatically since you first started using. For example-it used to take only a few drinks to get drunk. Now you're downing entire bottles of hard liquor before feeling even buzzed.
2. You start to have physical withdrawal symptoms when it's been a while since your last "fix". Your hands might shake, you might get cold sweats or heart palpitations, you might feel nauseous, etc.
3. You cannot stop yourself from using after "just a little bit." You might intend to just hang out with friends, but you wake up the next morning not remembering the night before.
4. You find that you don't have time for your other interests because getting wasted is more important and you don't have time to do both.
5. Your level of paranoia has increased to the point where you are sure that each person you pass on the street can tell that you have a drug or alcohol problem and you've become very defensive.
6. You are moving up the chain of drugs. While you might have just needed a couple of beers to get wasted when you first started using, now you need pills or other, harder, substances to have the same effect.
7. You have started to take drugs to cure you from the effect of other drugs. Amphetamines in the morning to cure a hangover from the night before. Valium to calm down from too much speed, etc. You cannot let the drugs leave your system naturally.
8. Your family and friends keep trying to get you into a drug or alcohol rehabilitation treatment program.
Overcoming drug addiction and working toward sobriety is difficult, but that is not nearly as difficult as making the first phone call in which you admit that you need help. Asking for help is the strong and sensible thing to do.
And now I invite you to Transformations Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center. You are important. You can change your life. You deserve it. Please call me, Matthew Brindisi, right now at 866-211-5538 and speak to me or one of my staff. Download a free brochure.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Strategies to Avoid Relapse to Drugs - Strategy One, Control Your Environment
Do you, or does someone close to you keep falling back into using the same addictive drug, only to find that the addiction is even worse than before? This is called drug relapse.
A part of drug addiction is this on again, off again pattern of binging and abstaining, binging and abstaining. It can go on for quite a while and look like the addiction isn't progressing. The truth is the addiction only seems to be staying the same while it is continuing to worsen.
Periods of abstinence can be a blessing or a curse, depending on the outcome.
Getting away from the drug for a while can give an addict a chance to see the problem more clearly and to make choices for the future that seemed impossible while they were getting high everyday. These choices can lead their life into the light again and away from the grip of drug addiction.
On the other hand, taking a short "break" from addictive drugs might carry with it some dangers. With most addictive drugs, the tolerance built up by an addict's body to that substance can subside over time. So on the next relapse, the danger of over-dose is much higher because the former dosage might now be large enough to be deadly.
There are some actions to take that can reduce the possibility of reversion to drugs. Remember, drugs were once a way of life for the addict. Now life must change.
Strategy One:
1. You must surround yourself with drug-free people.
The life that the you led while getting stoned revolved around drug use and drug users. Those are not the circles a drug-free individual travels in.
But spending time with people who are not into drugs and the druggie life will do more than avoid reminders and temptations. There is a new life style to be learned and that can best be done by spending time with drug-free individuals and doing activities that do not involve drugs. Also, people who don't use and have your welfare at heart will support your efforts to stay clean. Often, friends and associates see the signs that an addict's resolve is slipping even before the addict sees it and can step in to help when it really counts.
It even happens that a drug addict gives up on himself more quickly than his friends give up on him. So these people can also be a lifeline in case apathy sets in.
Hanging around the places where the drugs are easily available is not likely to happen if the new "gang" is opposed to illegal drug use. So these people are good for your recovery, even if they do seem a bit "dorky" to begin with.
Before long, you'll start seeing the changes in yourself that your friends saw first. You're on your way to ending addiction and leaving the drug nightmare behind you.
Next in this series, "Filing the Gigantic Hole Left by Drug Abuse"
Tony Bylsma CCDC, is a rehabilitation counselor and drug prevention speaker in Los Angeles
Friday, June 18, 2010
Looking for drug rehab Los Angeles? Watch this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PyaskU-ePw&hl=en
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Second Chance Programs, JSettles2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_6Fgk6ex58&hl=en
