Alcohol and Other Addictions
Addictions to alcohol, drugs, and other substances are an enormous problem in the United States and around the world, and are one of the biggest causes of preventable illness and death today.
Alcohol is a legal drug (for people twenty-one and older) in the United States, and most often it is a harmless part of our social lives. But excessive drinking can create enormous problems, including cirrhosis of the liver, heart disease, sexual dysfunction, and a cognitive disorder known as alcoholic dementia.
Marijuana is the most common illicit drug in the United States, although smoking it has been associated with short-term memory loss and other cognitive problems, elevated blood pressure and heart rate, and loss of motor skills.
Close behind marijuana are stimulants like cocaine and amphetamines, which can cause violent or erratic behavior, heart attack, seizure, or stroke.
Opioids like heroin can damage the heart, lungs, and brain, and hallucinogens like ecstasy or LSD (“acid”) cause hallucinations and flashbacks — and possibly death.
Addictive substances also include legal drugs: tranquilizers like alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (Valium), painkillers like oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet), stimulants like methylphenidate (Ritalin), and sedatives like temazepam (Restoril) and triazolam (Halcion), all of which are highly addictive and can cause serious problems when abused.
Rates of prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse are climbing. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers was second only to marijuana among the types of illicit drug use in 2004. That same year, roughly 2 million people met the criteria for dependence or abuse involving a prescription drug.
Another legal yet addictive substance is the nicotine found in cigarettes and chewing tobacco. The U.S. Surgeon General has stated that the nicotine in tobacco products has addictive properties similar to heroin. According to government figures, nearly 58 percent of the nation's 61.6 million smokers — 35.5 million people — meet the criteria for nicotine dependence.
Conventional medicine typically treats addictions with a combination of counseling and medications. Alcoholics are given drugs to help them reduce their dependence on alcohol, and people with addictions to drugs like heroin are given methadone, a synthetic opioid that helps ease them off their drug habit.
Researchers are investigating an experimental drug called ibogaine, which is a naturally occurring alkaloid chemical in the African iboga shrub (Tabernanthe iboga) that seems to turn off the brain messages associated with addictive behaviors and thus may be useful in treating drug, alcohol, and other addictions.
While serious cases of dependence require medical attention, many people have found some herbal remedies helpful in breaking the cycle of addiction, including:
• Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza) |
Studies show that extracts inhibit alcohol absorption, reduce alcohol intake, delay the onset of “drinking behavior,” and help prevent relapse drinking. |
• Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) |
Kudzu contains a chemical called diadzin that acts as an antidipsotropic (it causes a physical reaction when alcohol is consumed). Research shows it can reduce alcohol intake as well as the symptoms of withdrawal. |
• Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) |
Passionflower reduces marijuana, nicotine, and alcohol withdrawal symptoms and helps relieve the sexual side effects of alcohol and nicotine abuse. It eliminates the addictive effects of drugs like morphine, and has been shown to be a useful adjunct therapy with the drug clonidine for opiate withdrawal. |
• Saint John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) |
In addition to its antidepressant qualities, Saint John's wort also suppresses alcohol consumption (and performs as well as the prescription drug Prozac in treating alcoholics). |
