Recovery Happens Every Day

The month of September has been set aside as the National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. It is a statewide campaign to celebrate the lives of people who are still recovering from alcohol and/or drug addiction. The California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources (CAARR) has organized the Recovery Happens barbecue. The annual California Recovery Happens Month Kick-Off Rally is held at the state Capitol during September.

Tehama County citizens have been assisted with their dependency problems for many years in different ways. The Tehama County Drug and Alcohol Advisory Board hosts this event each year since 2003 and many other counties participate as well. The hosts for the Tehama County division are Susan McVean and Patrice Tamp. Roy Dyer, one of the talented musicians with his band The Bigguns, is a substance abuse counselor and a recovering addict himself. His presence at this event brings the face of recovery even more close to home with his words of hope, encouragement, and love.

The barbecue was yet another success; raffle prizes were donated by many local businesses, kids got their faces painted and given free balloons. Best Booth was awarded to the Department of Social Services (and given a $30 Starbucks gift card), the hot dogs, chips and desserts flowed, the music provided by Mr. Dyer and friends was excellent fare and all had a good time.

But do not think that all the fun and games end here. There are still many people who struggle every day with addiction who aren't getting the help they need. According to the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Data Archive, rates of current use of illicit drugs in 2008 were higher for young adults aged 18 to 25 (19.6 percent) than for youths aged 12 to 17 (9.3 percent) and adults aged 26 or older (5.9 percent). Among young adults, 16.5 percent used marijuana, 5.9 percent used prescription-type drugs nonmedically, 1.7 percent used hallucinogens, and 1.5 percent used cocaine.

*Among adults aged 26 or older, 5.9 percent were current illicit drug users in 2008. In this age group, 4.2 percent used marijuana, and 1.9 percent used prescription-type drugs nonmedically. Less than 1 percent used cocaine (0.7 percent), hallucinogens (0.1 percent), heroin (0.1 percent), and inhalants (0.1 percent). The only significant change between 2007 and 2008 in the rates of use among adults in this age group involved crack, which decreased from 0.3 to 0.2 percent. In addition, the rates of past year nonmedical use declined for psychotherapeutic drugs overall (from 4.9 percent in 2007 to 4.4 percent in 2008), sedatives (from 0.3 to 0.2 percent), and methamphetamine (from 0.4 to 0.3 percent). However, increases occurred in lifetime use of hallucinogens (from 14.2 percent in 2007 to 15.2 percent in 2008) and lifetime nonmedical use of pain relievers (from 11.8 to 12.7 percent).

*As for alcohol use, in 2008, rates of use were 3.4 percent among persons aged 12 or 13, 13.1 percent of persons aged 14 or 15, 26.2 percent of 16 or 17 year olds, 48.7 percent of those aged 18 to 20, and 69.5 percent of 21 to 25 year olds. These estimates showed significant declines from 2007 for the 14 or 15 year olds (from 14.7 to 13.1 percent) and for the 16 or 17 year olds (from 29.0 to 26.2 percent). Perhaps there's hope for teenagers after all. Among older age groups, the prevalence of current alcohol use decreased with increasing age, from 67.4 percent among 26 to 29 year olds to 50.3 percent among 60 to 64 year olds and 39.7 percent among people aged 65 or older.
I'm glad the numbers are dropping but they're not falling fast enough. For every one person sober or drug-free, there's another two or three people that need help.

Let's continue to help those in recovery to help others succeed. Yet, I can't help but think of one thing: don't start. Don't go down that road to misery and despair when things get out of control in your life. Admit you can't handle it - opening up to someone can make all the diference. Never try to self-medicate just to escape overwhelming problems. Take control, find the help you need. It's there.

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*Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2009). Results from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings (Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-36, HHS Publication No. SMA 09-4434). Rockville, MD.