Chantix

Here is the website for Chantix, the stop smoking aid, and wonder drug in my opinion, although it doesn't work for everyone. http://www.chantix.com/ What I really like about this website though is that they provide you with a strong support program; with as much or little help as you need. You can sign up for daily emails that had a daily activity or focal point, and/or phone calls for support. The only thing I didn't like about the phone calls was that they were just a recording asking whether or not you had smoked that day. But they also had a line that you could call and talk to a human if you were feeling particularly vulnerable which I think is a really fabulous idea. Remember, if you are trying to quite smoking GET SUPPORT! It's ok to need help. Stay focused and don't give up! Good luck to you!

Kudos to the South Carolina Correctional Facility

I was watching MSNBC "Lockup" tonight and I was happy to see the approach that South Carolina has taken towards their female offenders. Rather than just locking them up and letting them rot in prison, this institution offers many beneficial programs such as a beauty school called Cosmo, a travel agency, and a place that makes false teeth. This is an incredible concept!!! Let's give these women hope and skills to make it on the outside instead of just punishing them!!! All the women they showed coming into prison looked strung out on drugs, leading me to believe that these women are more drug addicts that flat out criminals and rotten people. (It's not against the law to be a drug addict, however it is illegal to ingest, possess, and sell drugs.) I firmly believe that our current judicial system is ineffective at preventing crime and even more ineffective at rehabilitation which is very low on the list of priorities. And if rehabilitation isn't our goal that what is it? Prevention? We are obviously failing miserably given the increasing incarceration rate. Is our goal to simply lock up criminals? To me this is an inefficient way to run a criminal justice system. So good job South Carolina, let's hope the rest of the states catch on.

Some words of Inspiration

"If you ship hasn't come in yet, row out to meet it!"

Please read if you have even the slightest interest in quitting smoking

So, I quit smoking about a month a ago. Actually a month and a week ago. I started smoking when I was sixteen. Well, not seriously smoking but that's when I had my first cigarette. Why did I try it? It's hard to say. The girls who gave me my first smoke weren't my close friends so it's not like I really felt pressured. I think I did it just to be cool. And by cool I mean I knew it was "wrong." Or maybe I just thought it would be fun. Who knows my exact reason really. Anyway, I didn't really start smoking out of habit til I was 18. Again, who really knows why I started up again? I smoked about a pack a day til I was 21 I think. Then I decided to quit because someone in my household quit and I thought I would quit too. I quit cold turkey. It was actually rather easy, I only remember one time almost telling the person I was in a car with to turn around and get me a pack of smokes but for some reason I didn't. And the craving past and pretty soon I was a nonsmoker. But that only lasted about ten months.(Perhaps I should segway here and mention that during this time I was horribly strung out on Meth. Meth, I believe at this point in my life made cigarettes aversive to me by making me nauseous. Also, in my diluted mind I thought it was perfectly acceptable for everyone to have at least one vice. And ultimately my addiction to Meth, and perhaps my immaturity, caused me to take up smoking again. For it would be stress and the lack of Meth that would lead me to start smoking again.) So I found myself breaking up in one relationship only to jump into a more toxic one, and I ran out of dope so I thought, oh, I'll just have one smoke. (Necessary to me because of "all the stress" I was going through.) Well, that lasted about two days and then I was out buying a whole pack. Way to backslide. So eventually, shit went down and about a year and a half later I had switched Meth for cigarettes and cigarettes only. Once again I was down to one vice. So fast forward to December, 2008. I began thinking about quitting smoking again. I didn't really want to, after all, I really enjoyed smoking. BUT, I kept thinking... "I don't want to be 40 or 50 and be dying if cancer and be thinking 'Damn it! I should have quit when I was 25 like I thought about doing...' " So I called my states quitline, every state has one, and I got some information about quitting. When I called they were giving away three free months of Chantix, a stop smoking aid. So I thought, "What the hell?" And gave it a try. I have to tell you, the worst part was the cutting down. On the 8th day of taking the prescription I quit. I haven't smoked since. It was SO easy. I still can't believe how easy it was. Almost NO cravings. It was the hardest the first 7 days of the medication when I was still having smokes but trying to cut down. I was such a bitch I thought there's no way I'm going to make it but I did! Me, with a motivation level of about a 5 out of 10 quit smoking! It's still not a total piece of cake. A lot of my friends still smoke and there's still situations I feel like I should be smoking, like when everyone around me is. But I just tell myself, I made it this long, why give up? Why give up indeed....

My First Blog: I hope this is the first step in climbing my mountain

Well, I guess this is it! I'm starting this blog with the hopes of someday having it develop into a powerful tool that will help change peoples lives for the better. My ultimate goal is two-fold. I would like to create a website were addicts can go any time of the day to search for advice and encouragement from recovering addicts and other support systems. This will be accomplished through various forums and maybe a chat room. I would also like this to be a place where information about addiction and resources for recovery and prevention will be provided. I would like for it to be a place were people can come when they are feeling lost or need help dealing with their addiction or need something to do to get their mind on recovery and off using. I also want it to be a place were people in recovery can come and share their stories and offer up encouragement and support and perhaps most importantly: hope! The next part of my plan is to get involved with legislation and the legal system to try and change drug laws so that they are more effective. I firmly believe that the drug war, as it is being fought today is nothing short of a failure. There are other strategies out there that will be more effective not only in rehabilitating drug offenders but it preventing drug use and abuse in the first place. So, my plan is to start this blog and find people of like mind. This is my starting point. I would like to get my paralegal certificate and then practice as a litigation paralegal in attempts to get my foot in the door of the legal system and gain experience in the criminal court (and make a living hopefully.) Then I would then like to get a degree in addictionology. This should give me a good base for this addictions side of my goal. Then eventually I would like get my Masters in either Criminal Justice or Psychology, whichever seems more advantages or necessary. And then hopefully the culmination of all my schooling and work and life experiences: my website!