Lindsay Lohan

Treatment was given priority over incarceration in the case of Lindsay Lohan. Sheriff Steve Whitmore confirmed that the 24-year-old actress would go straight to a court-ordered treatment facility upon release, but he would not name the program.




"The court order specified that certain named people would pick her up. It's our understanding she went directly to a treatment center," he said, adding that, "when an inmate is released, they leave with the clothes they came in. She was given two huge bags full of mail and books. She was noticeably moved by the amount of mail and books sent to her. She thanked everybody as she left."



The paper reported that there was the expected crush of media outside the Century Regional Detention Facility awaiting the release of Lohan, who on July 20 began serving her sentence for violating probation on a 2007 DUI conviction. She was originally slated to check into a different facility, but the judge in the case changed the location after fearing information could be leaked about Lohan's treatment.



"There was concern that [Morningside Recovery] was not a secure enough facility," district attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison said. Judge Marsha Revel was reportedly also concerned that drugs could be easily passed to the "Mean Girls" actress at the other facility.



Lohan could potentially be sent back to jail if the court is notified of any additional probation violations during her treatment. In the year following her release, she will be subject to random drug testing.



Lohan is a textbook case of spriling addiction that gets caught in the snowball of punishment handed down by ruling judges. Indeed, incarceration often is the only intervention that works despite what you see on TV. If she truly surrendered in jail, then Lindsay can enjoy the freedom of sobriety.

Detox from Meth

get help now before the next run.

Meth Statistics

The numbers of clandestine methamphetamine laboratory incidents reported to the National Clandestine Laboratory Database decreased from 1999 to 2004. During this same period, methamphetamine lab incidents increased in midwestern States (Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio), and in Pennsylvania. In 2004, more lab incidents were reported in Illinois (926) than in California (673). In 2003, methamphetamine lab incidents reached new highs in Georgia (250), Minnesota (309), and Texas (677). There were only seven methamphetamine lab incidents reported in Hawaii in 2004.

In the first 6 months of 2004, nearly 59 percent of substance abuse treatment admissions (excluding alcohol) in Hawaii were for primary methamphetamine abuse. San Diego followed, with nearly 51 percent. Notable increases in methamphetamine treatment admissions occurred in Atlanta (10.6 percent in the first 6 months of 2004, as compared with 2.5 percent in 2001) and Minneapolis/St. Paul (18.7 percent in the first 6 months of 2004, as compared with 10.6 percent in 2001).

Some MDMA (ecstasy) and cocaine users are switching to methamphetamine, ignorant of its severe toxicity.

In many gay clubs found throughout New York City and elsewhere, methamphetamine is often used in an injectable form, placing users and their partners at risk for transmission of HIV, hepatitis C, and other STDs.

Meth Health Hazards

Methamphetamine releases high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which stimulates brain cells, enhancing mood and body movement. It also appears to have a neurotoxic effect, damaging brain cells that contain dopamine as well as serotonin, another neurotransmitter. Over time, methamphetamine appears to cause reduced levels of dopamine, which can result in symptoms like those of Parkinson’s disease, a severe movement disorder. Dopamine- and serotonin-containing neurons do not die after methamphetamine use observed in animal research, but the nerve endings (“terminals”) are cut back, and regrowth appears to be limited.

Methamphetamine is taken orally or intranasally (snorting the powder), by intravenous injection, and by smoking. Immediately after smoking or intravenous injection, the methamphetamine user experiences an intense sensation, called a “rush” or “flash,” that lasts only a few minutes and is described as extremely pleasurable. Oral or intranasal use produces euphoria—a high, but not a rush. Users may become addicted quickly, and use it with increasing frequency and in increasing doses.

The central nervous system (CNS) actions that result from taking even small amounts of methamphetamine include increased wakefulness, increased physical activity, decreased appetite, increased respiration, hyperthermia, and euphoria. Other CNS effects include irritability, insomnia, confusion, tremors, convulsions, anxiety, paranoia, and aggressiveness. Hyperthermia and convulsions can result in death.

Methamphetamine causes increased heart rate and blood pressure and can cause irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain, producing strokes. Other effects of methamphetamine include respiratory problems, irregular heartbeat, and extreme anorexia. Its use can result in cardiovascular collapse and death.