Lillo Brancato Jr., a promising young actor who played roles in HBO’s hit The Sopranos as well as opposite Robert DeNiro is his film A Bronx Tale is living a nightmare that could have come straight out of the scripts of one of his movies.

In 2005, Brancato was involved in the death of the New York City police officer during a robbery where he and an accomplice were attempting to steal drugs from their dealer.

During the robbery, the drug dealer who owned the house fired at the men breaking into his house, but also killed his neighbor, police officer Daniel Enchautegui who heard the commotion and had come over to investigate.

That leaves Brancato accused of burglary and murder and could face life in prison as a result.  His trial in New York City began this past week.

The story of Lillo Brancato Jr., is extreme, but is also indicative of a lifestyle where easy access to drugs and alcohol can lead to addiction and criminal behavior.  Heroin addiction and cocaine addiction were constant issues with this obviously troubled young man, but because of his fame - and ironically, the types of tough guy roles he portrayed - few were there to say NO and reach out with help.

Famous or not, if someone you know is struggling with drug addiction, help them find a drug rehab facility that can provide the life-saving treatment they desperately need.

Proving once again that it is better to be famous than lucky, Ryan O’Neal’s 23-year old son has managed to avoid serious jail time after his recent arrest on charges of Methamphetamine and heroin.  Instead, Redmond will return for another stint at drug rehab which, to this point, has been unable to help this obviously troubled young man get the help that he needs.

Redmond’s recent arrest drew headlines because police also took his father Ryan into custody when they found the drugs in the family home.  Speaking through his attorneys, a surely-humiliated O”Neal maintains vehemently that the drugs belonged to his son only.

The judge in the case hopes that a two-week drug detox program will hope get Redmond O’Neal back on track.  But as anyone in the addiction treatment industry will attest, detox is only part of the equation - and is not a solution in and of itself.

Once detox is complete, the individual can then move forward with the counseling and therapy that makes up the backbone of any good drug rehab program.  It is in these sessions that the root causes of addiction can be addressed, and real solutions can be found.

Look, if someone you know has become addicted to heroin, they’re probably NOT going to come right out and tell you themselves.   But the problem is that, they need help!   So that means you are going to have to figure it out for yourself and that means knowing the signs and symptoms of heroin use.

The top ten signs of heroin use are:

1. Constricted pupils

2. Euphoria

3. Shallow breathing

4. Abscesses or scars on the arms (or other areas where heroin might be injected)

5. Often seems confused or disoriented

6. Has contracted Hepatitis B/C or HIV/AIDS

7. Poor performance at work or school

8. Has withdrawn from friends and family (and begun hanging out with a new, “sketchier” set of friends)

9. Has asked to borrow from you (and has been secretive about the reasons why they need it) or has stolen from you.

10. Has had run-ins with law enforcement - after never having encountered any before.

If a friend or family member is exhibiting one or more of the signs and symptoms above, they may be using heroin - and if so, need your help! Contact a drug addiction treatment facility in your area to learn how you can get that special person the professional assistance they need to get well.

A small town in central India has recently taken their fight against drug addiction to some rather extreme measures.

The village of Bongaon, India has decided to bar all male drug addicts who live in the town from becoming married.

Inexpensive drugs and a high unemployment rate have led a high percentage of young men in the area to become addicted to heroin, marijuana and other drugs - which consequently led to the passage of this unique law.

To those who live in the Western portion of the world, this penalty may seem odd and even a bit ineffective.  But Indian culture places great emphasis on marriage, in particular arranged marriage, which can impact the long-term financial health of the entire family.  Under the new ordinance, parents are forbidden from offering their daughters’ hands in marriage to any young man who is a known or convicted drug offender.

Just as accountability is an important part of helping break the cycle of addiction, so too is drug rehabilitation.  A top drug rehab program can help individuals around the world address both the physical and psychological components of addiction.    This is accomplished through:

• Drug detox
• Individual counseling
• Group counseling
• General wellness and health programs
• Aftercare

More and more young people are using prescription painkillers such as Vicodin and OxyContin as a recreational drug.  They use these painkillers for their euphoric effects and obtain them by any all means necessary.  

The problem is that buying prescription medications online, or from a drug dealer can get expensive.  Obtaining medication on the black market can cost several dollars a pill, which adds up fast when the individual develops a tolerance to the drug and must begin to take more and more of them in order to obtain the desired effect.

What’s most frightening about this trend is that when young people run out of money and pills, they turn to a similar drug, priced well within their budget - heroin.

Many people do not realize that heroin provides an effect very similar to Vicodin and other doctor-prescribed painkillers.  Once addicts learn about the similarities, they will begin taking heroin in order to get their “fix.”

This is dangerous for several reasons:

• Heroin can come to the user in stronger-than-expected or contaminated doses which may lead to overdose and even death.
• Heroin, when taken using a needle can expose the individual to a variety of deadly diseases such as HIV, AIDS or Hepatitis.
• Heroin carries with it a social stigma that carries many young people away from their family and friends and into a downward spiral that can destroy what should be the happiest years of their life.

For all these reasons, plus myriad more, contact a drug rehab facility in your area if you are taking prescription painkillers and cannot stop.

Even as some U.S. government leaders claim we are on the verge of war with Iran, most Americans know very little about this isolationist Middle-Eastern country.  One thing that might surprise many people about Iran is the depth and seriousness of the drug problem within its borders.

1.       According to the Washington Post, Iran currently has the world’s highest rate of drug addiction.

2.       The United Nations reported in 2005 that Iran had the highest rate of opium addicts in the world, with over 2.5% of the population over the age of 15 having developed a dependence on the drugs.

3.       Some political reformers in Iran believe that drugs are being used by the hard line government as a tool to destroy the opposition - and claim that drug dealers are given the OK by the government to give drugs away for free on college campuses.

4.       The revenue from the illegal drug trade in Iran is almost three-quarters of that of the country’s considerable oil business.

5.       There are approximately 200,000 IV drug users in Iran.  It is believed that 50,000 of them are currently infected with HIV.

6.       Due to the fundamentalist nature of the government in Iran, there are very few drug rehab facilities, needle exchanges or education opportunities to teach young people about the dangers of drug use.

7.       Iran is a major route for the drugs that move out of Afghanistan and into Europe for mass consumption.  This is due to the small numbers of borders that need to be crossed in order to transport heroin and other illegal substances.

Addicted individuals in the United States are lucky enough to have outstanding drug rehab programs at their disposal.  If you, or someone you love has developed a substance abuse problem, contact an addiction treatment facility in your area.

When TV host and ex-wife of Boomtown Rats lead singer Bob Geldof Paula Yates died of a heroin overdose in 2006, few were surprised.  Yates had struggled with heroin and drug addiction for much of her adult life.

Much sadder is the news that Yates and Geldof’s 19-year old daughter Peaches Geldof was recently found unconsious in her London apartment as a result of a drug overdose.

Peaches survived the incident, but the disturbing event must be a blow to her father- who does not want to see his daughter travel down the same path as his late ex-wife.

The celebrity status of the family has drawn attention to this saga, but families from all walks of life suffer through similar situations every day.

Whether they wish to admit it or not, kids model their behavior after their parents. Peaches Yates is like any child who grew up in home with a permissive attitude towards drugs - she doesn’t see anything wrong with substance abuse, and engages in the behavior in a reckless manner.

Parents who are doing drugs and have children in their home need to consider the ramifications of their actions, and take the following steps immediately:

• Cease and desist all drug use in the home
• Remove all drugs and drug paraphenalia from the home
• Get help!  Check into a drug rehab facility so that you can break the cycle of addiction before it trickles down to your children.

It has been almost fifteen years since New York police detectives had to deal with China Cat - a powerful heroin blend that ravaged the world’s largest city in the late summer of 1994.

The 13 accidental overdose deaths that China Cat caused in a single weekend in New York City that year was a tragic occurrence, but also provided a fascinating window into heroin use, and the wide swath of people that make up its user-base.

The New York Times article that broke the story listed a variety of different people who had died that weekend, including a piano tuner, a father of a young boy, older men, young women and others.  They came from both the richest and poorest section of New York, but all were unable to handle the power of the dosage found in China Cat - which like many heroin mixtures contains a much more potent percentage of the drug than in years past.

Now it is 2008, and despite knowing more about the dangers of potent heroin mixtures such as China Cat, groups of lifelong addicts and first time users alike are overdosing because they cannot handle the dosage of the heroin they buy on the streets.  The problem is even more dangerous today, and more and more drug dealers add dangerous synthetic compounds to their drugs in order to deliver a more powerful high.

The only way to avoid accidental heroin overdose is to stop using.  And the best way to conquer heroin addiction is through a top drug rehab program that provides the detox solution and counseling to help individuals get clean and stay that way.

Natalie Cole, daughter of singing great Nat King Cole, and a music legend in her own right has been diagnosed with Hepatitis C - a disease that commonly strikes those who have engaged in considerable drug use over long periods of time.

And as Ms. Cole herself admitted in her autobiography, she was addicted to heroin and crack cocaine for many years and saw her health and career suffer as a result.

natalie cole

She is currently receiving care in Los Angeles, but the situation has been complicated by adverse reactions to the anti-viral medicine given to her to treat the Hepatitis C virus.

Hepatitis C is a serious infectious disease that damages the liver and can cause complete liver failure if not properly treated.   Chronic Hepatitis C (the most deadly form of the virus) is commonly associated with individuals who engage in intravenous drug use or inhaled drug use.

There are no serious symptoms of Hepatitis C in the early stages of the disease.  And in later stages, the individual is likely to experience only flu-like symptoms, nausea and vomiting and extreme fatigue.

To help an individual with a drug addiction prevent Hepatitis C, make sure they get enrolled at an outstanding drug rehab program as soon as possible.

Five ways that heroin use can kill you

Of all the drugs in the world, heroin remains one of the most dangerous.  And while taking any drug to excess open the doors for a variety of serious health problems, heroin features several particularly devastating effects that can snuff out the lives of even the healthiest individuals.

5 ways that heroin can kill

1. Overdose. Heroin use is an inexact science to say the say the least.  Different strengths of the drug are out on the street all the time, and the wrong one can lead to overdose in the individual who is unable to handle it.

2. Heart failure.  Heroin puts a tremendous strain on the heart, and many individuals who are addicted to the drug see their heart eventually just give out.

3. Suicide. One of the symptoms of heroin addiction is depression, which can lead to suicidal thoughts.  Many addicts feel hopeless and isolated enough to kill themselves.

4. Hepatitis B & C. Those who take the drug intervenously and share needles are at a high risk for these deadly diseases.

5. HIV/AIDS. Like Hepatitis, HIV and AIDS are contracted through the sharing of dirty needles.  In fact more heroin users have died from AIDS than overdose over the past 10 years.

For help conquering heroin addiction, contact Michael’s House today.  The resdiential rehab program at Michael’s House has helped thousands of people defeat addiction and go on to live happy, productive lives.