Novemeber 15, 2012
Cliffside Malibu Doctor Explains in an Exclusive Interview Why There’s No Such Thing as “Safe” Substance to Abuse
What better way to understand substance abuse and treatment than to get first-hand account from professionals who deal with drug addicts. They know the symptoms and they can tell with preciseness how addiction could damage life and relationships.
Hence, when TestCountry got the chance to interview Dr. Damon Raskin, a board certified internist working at Cliffside Malibu, one of the first questions we had to ask is how dangerous prescription drugs and other illegal drugs are for people.
Dr. Raskin cited some of the substances that we need to be paying close attention to, such as alcohol, prescription medicines, and synthetic drugs. He describes prescription drugs “extremely dangerous” and synthetic drugs like bath salts and Smiles “frightening” for their potency and toxicity. The consequences that are associated with these and other commonly abused drugs, as well as the changing drug abuse trends, are enough to remind people the kind of harm they could get into when they consider experimenting and abusing banned substances.
“Mixing different types of drugs is like playing Russian roulette. Even a relatively small amount of alcohol, opioids and central nervous system depressants can cause accidental overdose and death,” Dr. Raskin said.
Before joining Cliffside Malibu, Dr. Raskin was a consultant at a rehab center in Southern California. For 10 years, he has specialized in addiction detoxification. At Cliffside Malibu he works closely with patients who are going through detoxification. He believes that the detox process can be very dangerous and he stresses it is important that the addict doesn’t stop using suddenly since abrupt withdrawal can be as harmful as the actual addiction.
To read the full text of Dr. Raskin’s interview, please visit Cliffside Malibu Treatment Center Exclusive Interview About Prescription Drug Abuse.
