Getting Help for Addiction

Drug Addiction Hotline

Provides hotlines for support regarding addictions to alcohol, cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, marijuana, meth, methadone, opiates, prescription drugs, and suboxone.

(888)-633-3239

Michael’s House Resources

Provides online information about substance-specific detox and rehab. They provide detailed information about each specific substance, what to expect when detoxing from a specific substance, and what support options are for recovery for each substance.

Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous

Provides confidential support groups and online information about sex and love addictions as well as recovery from sex and love addictions.

Supporting a Friend with a Drug or Substance Abuse Issue

How to Help Someone with an Addiction

An article that discusses how to assist a friend or loved one who is struggling with addiction.

Alcohol and Drug Prevention & Treatment Services

Home page for Sacramento County drug and alcohol support services.

Harm Reduction Services & Treatment Services

Sacramento County harm reduction services provides free and confidential HIV testing, HVC testing, STD testing, access to a clean syringe exchange, overdose prevention and response training, and a mobile response van.

Supportive Services – Addictions/Dependencies Support Groups

Search tool by zip code that finds local Sacramento County

Supportive Services – Smoking Cessation

This is a search tool by zip code that finds Sacramento County smoking cessation support groups.

Keep off the Grass

Sacramento County Marijuana Anonymous group that meets regularly to support those in recovery of all ages.

Myths & Facts about Addiction

Women and Addiction:
Truth and Fiction

Here are some myths and reality when it comes to gender and substance abuse problems.

    • False

      For a number of reasons including differences in brain chemistry, women have a much higher incidence of anxiety and depression. Their attempt to deal with these conditions often causes them to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs, which can lead to addiction. Women also are more often affected by interpersonal violence, which can lead to substance abuse and addiction.

    • False

      Both genders are looked down upon for having an addiction, but the spotlight is often especially harsh on women due to their frequent role as primary caregivers in families. Women who are pregnant and addicted are viewed especially negatively.

    • Partly true

      There was a time when men were much more likely to have an addiction than women. However, studies show that that gap is closing fast as women are one of the fastest-growing segments of drug users in the U.S.

    • False

      According to studies, women get addicted to substances more quickly than men. The time from first use to dependency is shorter, and they are often dealing with more psychological and medical issues when they enter treatment.

General Myths about Addiction

Here are some myths and reality when it comes to gender and substance abuse problems.

    • False

      A person starts out as an occasional drug user, and that is a voluntary decision. But as times passes, something happens, and that person goes from being a voluntary drug user to being a compulsive drug user. Why? Because over time, continued use of addictive drugs changes your brain — at times in dramatic, toxic ways, at others, in more subtle ways, but virtually always in ways that result in compulsive and even uncontrollable drug use.

    • False

      Drug addiction is a brain disease. Every type of drug abuse has its own individual mechanism for changing how the brain functions. But regardless of which drug a person is addicted to, many of the effects it has on the brain are similar: they range from changes in the molecules and cells that make up the brain, to mood changes, to changes in memory processes and in such motor skills as walking and talking. And these changes have a huge influence on all aspects of a person’s behavior. The drug becomes the single most powerful motivator in a drug abuser’s existence. He or she will do almost anything for the drug. This comes about because drug use has changed the individual’s brain and its functioning in critical ways.

    • False

      Virtually no one wants drug treatment. Two of the primary reasons people seek drug treatment are because the court ordered them to do so, or because loved ones urged them to seek treatment. Many scientific studies have shown convincingly that those who enter drug treatment programs in which they face “high pressure” to confront and attempt to surmount their addiction do comparatively better in treatment, regardless of the reason they sought treatment in the first place.

    • False

      Like many other illnesses, drug addiction typically is a chronic disorder. To be sure, some people can quit drug use “cold turkey,” or they can quit after receiving treatment just one time at a rehabilitation facility. But most of those who abuse drugs require longer-term treatment and, in many instances, repeated treatments.

    • False

      There is no “one size fits all” form of drug treatment, much less a magic bullet that suddenly will cure addiction. Different people have different drug abuse-related problems. And they respond very differently to similar forms of treatment, even when they’re abusing the same drug. As a result, drug addicts need an array of treatments and services tailored to address their unique needs.