Drugs get everyone in trouble, no matter what. Just ask the newly anointed king of pop music Justin Bieber. The 19 year old singing sensation was on tour in Sweden the other day when Swedish police discovered an old smell coming from his bus. The proper Swedish authorities, who are less than tolerate when it comes to drugs, took it upon themselves to search the bus. Their search yielded a small bag of what was reportedly marijuana on the floor of the bus. The bus was parked outside of the hotel where Bieber was staying and was empty at the time of the search. Luckily for Bieber, since numerous people had access to the bus, there was no way to pinpoint a perpetrator so no arrests were made. Sweden has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to drugs, which includes marijuana. The law is equally harsh for those selling drugs as well as those using them. Justin Bieber was lucky he was not on the bus at the time, or he could have faced some serious penalties. Although to be realistic, someone probably would have taken the fall for him.Regardless of who the pot actually belonged too, it is concerning that such a successful 19 year old would risk all of his success just to get high. The fame and fortune that comes with being so famous should be deterrent enough to dissuade someone from making such a dumb decision. Marijuana is generally viewed as one of the more harmless drugs, yet that doesn̢۪t constitute an excuse. Marijuana is a gateway drug, meaning that it causes users to experiment with other, more dangerous drugs in search of a better high. Alcohol is often categorized in this way as well. Those who find themselves using marijuana are generally more open to trying other drugs and that can be a slippery slope to addiction. People who are addicted to drugs like cocaine and heroin are setting themselves up for not only health problems but a much better chance of premature death. Drugs are really bad for your mental and physical health, so those with substance abuse issues should seek help from an addiction treatment center like the Christian Alcoholism Helpline in Niagara Falls, NY as soon as possible. The trained addiction treatment counselors are on hand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help people kick their addiction and regain control of their lives. Beating addiction is not easy, but a rehab facility can be an enormous asset for someone looking to get clean. ...read more

On a Friday or a Saturday night, it’s common to see people out on the town having a good time with friends. People often choose to drink alcohol when they go out as it is an acceptable social activity. There are literally hundreds of different types of drinks with all sorts of different alcohols. Some people prefer to drink beer while others like their spirits mixed or straight. With the recent diet craze going on in America, many people are looking for ways to cut out the excess calories when they drink. One way to do that is to choose mixers very carefully. Fruit juices are very popular with alcohol like vodka and gin. The upside to juice is that it complements the taste of the alcohol very nicely. The downside of using juice as a mixer is that fruit has a lot of natural sugar. Juices such as orange, cranberry and pineapple are popular mixers, but they have a lot of excess calories thanks to their high sugar content. Excess sugar also contributes to a more severe hangover the next day.Soda is another popular mixer. Some of the most commonly ordered drinks are rum and cola, lemon-lime sodas and vodka, or even gin and ginger ale. Many people, women in particular, turn to diet soda when looking to cut the calorie count. Diet soda has artificial sweetener as opposed to real sugar so the calorie count is less. However, recent studies have shown that mixing alcohol with diet soda will make a person more drunk than if they mixed with regular soda. Why is that the case? The stomach has an easier time breaking down real sugar than fake sugar. When someone drinks a real soda with alcohol in it, the body breaks down the sugar before the alcohol. With diet soda, the body digests the alcohol first because it does not know what to do with the fake sugar. Since the alcohol is digested first, it gets into the bloodstream faster. The danger is that people cannot usually feel the difference and can end up drinking more than they want. The best low-calorie sugar free mixer is tonic or soda water, which contains zero calories and zero sugar. However, some don’t like mixing with soda or tonic because of the flavor.Its fine to go out to a bar with your friends, but remember that being responsible should be your number one priority. Staying away from drinks with a lot of calories is a good idea, but be careful because some of those drinks can make you more drunk than you intended. If you or someone you know is struggling with an addiction to drugs or alcohol, contact Christian Alcoholism Helpline in Niagara Falls, NY right away. The experienced addiction specialists can help get your life back on the right track. ...read more

Alcohol is used for many different reasons. People most often drink in social settings with friends and family and often times grabbing a drink makes a pretty good first date because it’s social yet casual. People may have a drink when they get home from work because it’s nice to kick your feet up and relax a little bit after a long day. These are all examples of responsible alcohol use. Alcohol becomes problematic when users begin to drink irresponsibly. Irresponsible drinking can have a different definition depending on the person. The number of drinks you have doesn’t necessarily matter either. A guy that weighs 200 pounds is obviously going to be able to drink more without feeling the effects than a girl who is half that size. Frequency is one of the big indicators that someone may have a problem with alcohol. Then again, having one drink after work every day is frequent, but the amount is so low that it’s probably not an issue. Sometimes it’s easy to see when someone has a drinking problem. One such indicator is unfortunately domestic violence.It’s not right to say that alcohol is the sole perpetrator in domestic violence, because it’s not. Domestic violence occurs without the added influence of alcohol. However, there is a strong link between domestic violence and alcohol. It’s no secret that alcohol impede a person’s ability to think clearly, act rationally, and make good decisions. A drunk person is more likely to have mood swings and act irrationally than a sober person. Thus it becomes no surprise that drunken domestic arguments can escalate quickly.People tend to use alcohol as an excuse when it comes to domestic violence. Being drunk does not justify the behavior whatsoever. While it may have had an effect on the decision making process, the alcohol alone did not cause the violence to occur. Studies have shown that many of those who commit domestic violence were the victim of violence themselves at some point in their lives. Since alcohol can create a sense of power and control, it’s like a perfect storm of factors coming together. Since so many factors go into domestic violence, it can be difficult to study. Most experts agree that the violence is a learned behavior stemming from social factors in a person’s life, but alcohol certainly comes into play in many cases.If you or someone you know is struggling with an addiction to alcohol or other drugs, contact the trained professionals at theChristian Alcoholism Helpline in Niagara Falls, NY. These addiction counselors utilize the most up to date treatment techniques when helping patients reach sobriety. ...read more