Call 888-647-0579 to speak with an alcohol or drug abuse counselor.

Who Answers?

The worst recipe for violence … just mix alcohol and Valium

Mixing Valium and alcohol is the most potent mix for committing violent offences, according to new research commissioned by the Scottish Prison Service.

A study of 16 and 17-year-old boys at Polmont Young Offenders Institution found that many of them had committed their offences because they had taken diazepam and alcohol together.

They said it had the added advantage of making them forget the violence they had instigated.

It also found that almost three quarters of the young men interviewed had some experience of the Children’s Hearing System and the common view was that it made “little or no difference” to their offending.

The report states: “There was a consistent view that alcohol, and alcohol in conjunction with diazepam, was a significant contributor to offending. A number identified that the particular combination of alcohol and diazepam had led to them committing violent offences about which they had no recollection.”

It suggests, too, that for some young men diazepam is becoming more of a problem than heroin.

It was also suggested that there may be a need for awareness raising among GPs about the issues posed by prescribing diazepam to some young people, and particularly about the ways in which the drug is being used by young people.

It was noted by the drug support charity Phoenix that their workers see more young offenders with problems relating to diazepam than those with problems relating to heroin.

“It is clear that the combination of alcohol and diazepam was a factor in some of the most serious violent offences reported in this research, with the added factor that none of the young offenders concerned had any memory of the incident,” the report adds.

One young offender said: “I knew that drinking and diazepam made me want to fight, but it didn’t make a difference”.

Another noted that this combination “made me feel invincible”.

The study conducted by Sheila Reid and Brian Henderson of Reid Howie Associates, recommends that: “At a national and local level, the Scottish Government could consider carrying out work designed to educate young people about the risks of alcohol-related violence, and particularly about mixing alcohol and diazepam.”

The researchers found that 16 and 17 year olds only made up a quarter of Polmont’s overall population but had committed a disproportionately high level of violent offences.

They interviewed more than 35 young offenders and found that many of them felt “no-one had bothered” with them at school. More than 90% of the young offenders interviewed said most of their friends were also involved in offending and around a quarter blamed their friends for their criminal behaviour. Some had been in gangs.

Only a quarter had participated in education programmes at Polmont.

Dr Alasdair Forsyth, of the Glasgow Centre for the Study of Violence at Glasgow Caledonian, said: “One of my greatest concerns is that Valium’s half life is 100 hours so you could take it on Wednesday and go out on Friday and it is still in their system. A lot of prisoners say that mixing Valium and alcohol makes them violent.

“There is so much work on drug and alcohol education but Valium is largely ignored.

“It is a Class C drug yet it is far worse than Ecstasy, particularly when mixed with alcohol.”

source: http://www.heraldscotland.com

More Treatment & Detox Articles

Sober second thoughts on problem drinking

I had a friend once who had a promising future in the advertising profession. He was a terrific salesman and creative thinker. He loved booze. Friday afternoons when we’d get paid we go to a popular watering hole and have a few cool ones with co-workers. I noticed often when we had enough and ready….

Combination Benefits Patients With Comorbid Depression, Alcoholism

Treatment that combines sertraline and naltrexone appears to be superior to treatment with either drug alone, as well as to placebo, for individuals with depression and alcohol dependence. Patients receiving the combination treatment were more likely to achieve abstinence and had delayed relapse to heavy drinking, according to a report posted in the March 15….

Alcohol abuse

Alcohol is daily consumed all over the globe. Alcohol is a drink which has the power to make psychoactive changes in the brain of the human body. Alcohol, when consumed regularly and in large quantities is sure to affect the physical well being of the person. People tend to be alcohol addicted because they enjoy….

‘One night can affect the rest of your future’

There’s a calendar Bill’s friends at school keep, but it doesn’t have exam dates or football games on it. “We mark our calendars every time we find out someone’s parents are going to be out of town,” the 17-year-old Sandburg High School senior said. That’s when 10, 20, 50 kids descend on the house with….

Causes of bi-polar disorder

Bi-polar disorder is mainly a type of mood disorder and highly related to the psychological health of a person. People affected with bi-polar disorder experience great emotional fluctuations, which can induce fatal suicidal tendency in the affected. Therefore, bi-polar disorder needs to be timely treated. To help the patient, knowing the causes of the disorder….