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Seeking help for addiction problems

| July 27, 2007 12:00 AM

To the Editor:

Thank you for taking the time to do your part in helping to fight one of our society's greatest problems. The people reading this most likely know someone dealing with addiction issues this very second.

There are over 23 million Americans considered to have substance abuse problems right now. There are over 1 million people in this country receiving substance abuse treatment right now. The United States has the highest jail/prison population in the world and roughly 80 percent of that population is incarcerated either directly or indirectly for issues involving substance abuse.

My name is Emily Milburn, I am 19, and I used to be a statistic. I was 13 years old when I first started using drugs. My substance abuse problems finally landed me in jail.

My family was devastated. They did not understand why I was making such poor choices. They did not know what to do or where to turn. They were confused, they were disappointed, but more than anything they just wanted to get me some help.

Fortunately for my family and ultimately for me, there are avenues readily available for people to get help in our great country. Newspapers, television stations, radio broadcasts, the Internet, all of these outlets made it possible for my family to do their research and find the right program for me. And it worked.

I graduated from the Narconon program and have been doing great since. My family chose this specific program because of its unique and non-traditional approach that specialized in my type of addiction and because it has a success rate of over 70 percent.

I want the readers to know that there is always hope and there is always something that can be done about addiction issues. If you are tired of watching someone you love lose everything in life that matters then do something about it now.

Narconon provides free addiction counseling, local referrals, and residential treatment and can be reached at www.stopaddiction.com or 1-800-468-6933.

Emily Milburn

Narconon Graduate