Despite the huge amounts of drugs coming into Mexico, inhalants remain the drug of choice for many people. Marijuana and crack cocaine are too expensive for Mexico’s poor drug addicts. Powdered cocaine and heroin are viewed as drugs for rich Americans.
Solvents made with toluene are cheap and legal to purchase in Mexico. Toluene use is increasing, especially in the large cities in central Mexico. The number of people abusing inhalants in Mexico rose 70 percent from 2002 to 2008, according to Mexico’s Health Secretariat. The number of people entering drug treatment centers increased 80 percent during the same time period.
Since 2007, the Mexican government has opened more than 300 drug treatment centers. As part of President Felipe Calderon’s anti-drug campaign, there has been much attention paid to "traditional" drugs, but little attention paid to the dangers of inhalant abuse.
The chemicals found in inhalants damage cells in the brain. This damage can cause learning disabilities, speech problems and difficulty walking. The chemicals can attack the kidneys, liver and the heart. Toluene is not as physically addictive as crack cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine, but its use does become a dangerous habit for users.
"It alters their perceptions, makes them laugh, and life seems less harsh," said Juan Ramiro Vazquez, director of a drug treatment center in Mexico City.
Toluene is found in gasoline, acrylic paints, varnishes, lacquers, paint thinners, adhesives, glues, rubber cement, airplane glue and shoe polish. At room temperature, toluene is a colorless, sweet smelling but highly flammable liquid.
There are more than 1,000 products that are dangerous when inhaled. Common household products include typewriter correction fluid, air conditioning refrigerant, felt tip markers, spray paint, air freshener, butane and cooking spray.
In the United States, statistics show that young, white males have the highest rates of inhalant abuse. In this country, drug treatment centers for inhalant users are rare and often difficult to find. Inhalant users suffer from a high rate of relapse, and often require a lengthy period of detox. Inhalant users suffer withdrawal symptoms which can include hallucinations, nausea, excessive sweating, hand tremors, muscle cramps, headaches, chills and delirium tremens.
It is important to remember that inhalants are not drugs. They are poisons and toxins and can do great damage to the body.
Become a fan on Facebook or follow us on Twitter
For most addicts, a quality opiate drug treatment program can be completed in a month. The reality is, however, that treatment can take less time or more time, depending on the individual. Most treatment centers have a comprehensive approach to t ...
Released On: 11/20/2012
Views: 5343
Every day people become ensnared in the web of prescription medication addiction, and the reality is that the addiction most often begins at home. The negative and often deadly consequences of prescription drug abuse are devastating for families ...
Released On: 11/9/2012
Views: 5094
Many drug rehab patients go through drug detox centers unaware of the damage they have done to their bodies until the drugs begin to wear off and they realize they are no longer numb. This experience can be very uncomfortable for drug rehab pati ...
Released On: 11/1/2012
Views: 4649
Drug rehabs are watching two cases that appear before the U.S. Supreme Court this week concerning drug sniffing dogs in Florida. Many substance abuse treatment centers house patients who have been sent to drug rehab as a result of being busted wi ...
Released On: 10/31/2012
Views: 4126
Drug rehabs are intrigued by a recent study conducted by a University of Michigan addiction researcher named Jennifer Cummings. According to drug treatment center experts, Cummings has stumbled upon an interesting difference between cocaine respo ...
Released On: 10/24/2012
Views: 11710
Acupuncture involves the insertion of very thin needles into specific areas of the body along channels of bio-electromagnetic energy known as Qi. Drug rehab physicians understand how beneficial this procedure can be for their drug treatment cente ...
Released On: 10/24/2012
Views: 4027
Researchers from the University of Texas have found that cirrhosis of the liver, a common complication of alcoholism, increases brain damage. Dr. R. Dayne Mayfield was the lead researcher of the study. He and his colleagues found that cirrhotic a ...
Released On: 10/23/2012
Views: 4058
One state in particular with a large heroin problem is Massachusetts. Drug rehabs report that Massachusetts is one of the top ten states for high drug abuse rates.
Released On: 10/18/2012
Views: 3560
The most commonly used drug in New Jersey is marijuana, drug treatment centers report. However, a federally funded report shows that 5 percent of young adults have heroin habits. Nationally, heroin abuse among young adults is at an average of 2.5 ...
Released On: 10/17/2012
Views: 3926
Opioids are often legally prescribed by doctors for pain, or they are taken illegally simply to "get high." Drug detox centers also inform us that some people are so dependent on opioids they need to take them just to feel "normal."
Released On: 10/12/2012
Views: 3934
Experts from addiction treatment centers hope this type of "alcoholic mice" research can help drug rehab therapists to find therapies to help reverse this type of learned response to environments in their addiction treatment center patients.
Released On: 10/9/2012
Views: 4131
The DSM V is published by the American Psychiatric Association. Drug rehab administrators say it influences how doctors diagnose mental disorders. It also influences which conditions insurance companies will cover, including coverage for addictio ...
Released On: 10/4/2012
Views: 4097
The biggest problem with xanax is that, when abused, it has a high tendency to cause overdose deaths. These overdoses are especially prevalent for people who take large quantities of the drug and drink alcohol. Because xanax is a benzodiazapene, ...
Released On: 9/27/2012
Views: 4622
Often, therapists in drug rehabs use a variety of techniques to help addicts curb these destructive personality traits. The addictive personality is not something that can be cured overnight. However, cognitive behavior therapy over long periods ...
Released On: 9/26/2012
Views: 4797
The answer for heroin addiction is total abstinence from the drug. Patients at drug rehabs are learning how to help themselves by acquiring the tools necessary to stay off the street dope.
Released On: 9/21/2012
Views: 4323
Drug rehabs are giving their substance abuse treatment patients the straight truth about cocaine use. They say more emergency room visits occur each year from cocaine than any other drug in the United States. Substance Abuse Treatment Center pati ...
Released On: 9/19/2012
Views: 5914
Teenagers in Ohio are in the midst of a deadly drug epidemic. Many of them do not understand the ramifications of what toll the drug will take on their lives the first time they try heroin. The state health department, police, and other agencies ...
Released On: 9/17/2012
Views: 3929
Dual diagnosis treatment centers assist drug rehab patients who have addiction problems and any of these common mental illnesses: depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and personality disorders. Additionally, 29 percent ...
Released On: 9/14/2012
Views: 4266