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Gulf Breeze Recovery Launches Holistic Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) Care for Patients Seeking Non-Twelve Step Recovery in NW Florida

Announcing the introduction of intensive outpatient (IOP) and outpatient care to provide people struggling with drug and alcohol addiction an avenue to change their lives without disrupting their work or family life.

Gulf Breeze, FL – Gulf Breeze Recovery, Inc., a substance abuse recovery facility in Gulf Breeze, Florida that specializes in overcoming chronic relapse, today announced the introduction of intensive outpatient (IOP) and outpatient care to provide people struggling with drug and alcohol addiction an avenue to change their lives without disrupting their work or family life.

Intensive outpatient and outpatient care at Gulf Breeze Recovery provides holistic, individualized treatment in a non-twelve-step format to target the underlying causes of addiction in patients struggling with drugs and alcohol. Intensive outpatient and outpatient care are distinct from traditional residential rehabilitation in that they do not require the patient to live in a facility full-time.
“Introducing these programs at Gulf Breeze Recovery is an important step to serving more patients in Northwest Florida whose responsibilities prohibit them from moving into a care facility,” said Gulf Breeze Recovery’s CEO Barnett Gilmer.

“The Intensive outpatient program and outpatient care settings allow people access to our program who wouldn’t have access if it were only offered in a residential setting,” said Gilmer “It’s insurance-friendly, affordable, and less intrusive on a person’s time. With these programs, people can still live their life while changing their life.”

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), more than 23 million adults in the United States have struggled with problematic drug use.  Statistics from the CDC and the Florida Department of Children and Families show that the use, misuse and abuse of drugs and alcohol is rising within the state of Florida.  The National Opioid Epidemic is a complex and devastating public health crisis that claims more than 140 Americans a day. The Pensacola News Journal reported in July 2018 that Escambia County Emergency Medical Services personnel responded to roughly one opioid-related overdose per day. “There is an urgent need for more effective drug and alcohol addiction treatment options to serve people who are at a crisis point.  Chronic relapse is an issue for most who suffer with addiction, and breaking that cycle requires dealing with the underlying causes of addiction and the person as a whole,” said Gilmer.

The holistic treatment at Gulf Breeze Recovery is unique in that it focuses on healing the whole person and not just the symptoms of addiction. Small group activities and one-on-one therapy sessions focus on restoring physical, emotional, and mental health in the quest for wellness and happiness in recovery.  Gulf Breeze Recovery also provides nutritional information and counseling, as well as family counseling. Because each program is tailored to the individual, patients who have been unable to overcome their addiction through traditional twelve-step programs may find success at Gulf Breeze Recovery. Gulf Breeze Recovery is accredited by The Joint Commission, a gold seal standard for ethical practices and treatment, and licensed by the Florida Department of Children and Families.

For more information on Gulf Breeze Recovery, Inc. visit GulfBreezeRecovery.com or call 833.551.2304.

Breeze Recovery on the Risks of Marijuana use to Adolescents, Teens and Pregnant Women

Marijuana today has a much higher potency than in years past. The average strength of marijuana was three times stronger in 2014 than it was in 1995. These concentrated products are becoming more available not only for medicinal use, but also for recreational. The risks of dependency and addiction increase with more powerful products.

With the ease of access to marijuana products and the constant promises of cures for a multitude of ills, many believe that marijuana is a natural cure-all with no harmful consequences. Unfortunately, however, there are consequences, especially to adolescents and expectant mothers.

Since 1871, the United States Surgeon General has been the leading spokesperson on the nation’s health. The most recent warning from the Surgeon General was issued on August 29, 2019, to underscore those risks.
The warning states:
I, Surgeon General VADM Jerome Adams, am emphasizing the importance of protecting our Nation from the health risks of marijuana use in adolescence and during pregnancy. Recent increases in access to marijuana and in its potency, along with misperceptions of safety of marijuana endanger our most precious resource, our nation’s youth.

Marijuana today has a much higher potency than in years past. The average strength of marijuana was three times stronger in 2014 than it was in 1995. These concentrated products are becoming more available not only for medicinal use, but also for recreational. The risks of dependency and addiction increase with more powerful products.

Parents sometimes downplay the risks involved when their adolescents and teens begin experimenting with marijuana. Parents may remember back when they smoked marijuana as teenagers, and feel reassured that marijuana is safe because it is legalized in many states. Marijuana, however, is not legal in the United States for anyone under the age of 21 and the potency is much higher than when the parents were teenagers.

The complete report from the Surgeon General points out that brain development continues from before birth until the mid-20s. and that it is vulnerable to the effects of addictive substances. Changes associated with frequent marijuana use during adolescence include memory issues, motivation, decision-making, and attention. Increased suicide attempts have been reported with adolescent and teen marijuana use. It is linked to risk for early-onset psychotic disorders and those risks increase with the potency of the marijuana product and the younger the age of first use. Early use of marijuana is associated with other substance use, with those using frequently showing a 130% greater likelihood of using opioids.

Pregnant women use marijuana more than any other illicit drug. No amount of marijuana use during pregnancy or adolescence is known to be safe.

Marijuana use during pregnancy can affect the fetus and fetal brain development. It is recommended that women who are breastfeeding avoid using marijuana. THC, the primary psychoactive compound found in marijuana, has been found in breast milk for up to six days after the last use of marijuana. THC may affect the brain development of the newborn and result in hyperactivity and poor cognitive function as well as other long-term consequences.

Just as second-hand tobacco smoke is harmful to babies and adults, so is marijuana smoke. Marijuana contains many of the same harmful components as tobacco smoke. Neither should be smoked around babies.

Due to the potential adverse effects on the fetus, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that pregnant women not use cannabis products.

Barnett Gilmer, CEO of Gulf Breeze Recovery, states, “Our hope is to raise awareness of the potential risks of marijuana products for adolescents, teens, and pregnant women so that addiction and other future negative consequences can be avoided.”

About Gulf Breeze Recovery: Gulf Breeze Recovery is a holistic, non-12-step, drug and alcohol treatment program that focuses not only on helping their guests achieve sobriety, but also helping them begin a healthy, happy lifestyle.

If you or someone you care about, has an ongoing history of substance use and relapse, we offer hope and we can help. Contact us at Gulf Breeze Recovery or call 833.551.2356 to speak to an addiction expert to learn more about our program that has helped so many people overcome their addiction, rediscover their dreams and embrace life.

We help people not just to survive, but to THRIVE®.

Gulf Breeze Recovery on The Drug Industry’s Role in the Opioid Epidemic

The information released will illustrate transaction-by-transaction from 2006 through 2012 how opioid pain pills were manufactured, distributed, and sold by pharmacy chains, and which U.S. communities were hardest hit as more and more of the addictive medications were dispensed. Judge Polster is not releasing information collected after 2012 due to DEA concerns that it could interfere with on-going investigations.

Long-awaited information on the drug industry’s role in the opioid epidemic is finally being released.

U.S. District Court Judge Dan A. Polster, who sits on the bench in the Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division in Cleveland signed an order to release a large portion of the searchable database called the Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System (ARCOS).

ARCOS monitors DEA controlled substances from manufacture through commercial distribution and dispensing to hospitals, pharmacies, practitioners, mid-level practitioners, and teaching institutions. The information gathered has historically been put into reports that Federal investigators and state government agencies can access to identify diversion of controlled substances into illegal channels of distribution.

Some drug companies fought in court to keep the information from being made public, saying that it contained proprietary details of their business practices. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) also opposed releasing the data because they say that it has sensitive information used by law enforcement.

Judge Polster said in the July 15, 2019 filing there is “clearly no basis” for shielding older data collected and maintained by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The information released will illustrate transaction-by-transaction from 2006 through 2012 how opioid pain pills were manufactured, distributed, and sold by pharmacy chains, and which U.S. communities were hardest hit as more and more of the addictive medications were dispensed. Judge Polster is not releasing information collected after 2012 due to DEA concerns that it could interfere with on-going investigations.

In late 2018, Judge Polster refused drug companies motion to dismiss the multi-district lawsuit. “It is accurate to describe the opioid epidemic as a man-made plague, twenty years in the making,” Polster went on to write in that ruling. “The pain, death, and heartache it has wrought cannot be overstated.”

Judge Polster is overseeing the consolidated lawsuit in Ohio involving more than 1200 local governments who are suing 23 of the largest firms in the drug industry from manufacturers to pharmacy chains such as Walgreens and CVS. The lawsuit claims that the pharmaceutical industries used aggressive marketing practices and were not truthful about the risks involved with the pain medications, causing the opioid epidemic to worsen.

Opioid-related settlements from some of the nation’s largest drugmakers have totaled almost $2 billion this year. Even so, most firms continue to deny any wrongdoing.

Barnett Gilmer, Owner, and CEO of Gulf Breeze Recovery, a residential substance abuse treatment facility in the Florida panhandle, stated, “The relative ease of obtaining powerful opioid pain medications triggered addiction that spanned age, social status, race or gender. Many of our clients started their path to addiction from medications legally obtained from medical professionals that most likely did not understand, at least early on, the addictive potential of the opioids they prescribed.”

About Gulf Breeze Recovery: Gulf Breeze Recovery is changing the future of addiction treatment with the THRIVE® program focused on overcoming chronic relapse. Gulf Breeze Recovery’s THRIVE® program is a non 12-step approach and individualized designed for those who are looking for a drug and alcohol treatment program to produce a different and positive result. This non-12 step program allows you to drive beyond your addictions and promotes a new outlook on life. For more information about our program or to speak with an Addiction’s expert, please call 855-973-3551 or contact us.

Gulf Breeze Recovery on the Rise of Balancing Meth and Heroin

Drug treatment centers are also showing a rise in the number of heroin addicts admitting methamphetamine use as a secondary substance abuse problem. Within just 3 years, the percentages showed an increase from 14% in 2014, to 22% in 2017.

New research is finding the rise in Methamphetamine use is in direct correlation to the opioid epidemic. A study published last year in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence showed numbers increased from 19% in 2011 to 34% to 2017 of opioid users now combining meth with their daily drug use. The researchers wrote, “Methamphetamine served as an opioid substitute, provided a synergistic high, and balanced out the effects of opioids so one could function ‘normally.’”

In relation to the new meth epidemic, drug treatment centers are also showing a rise in the number of heroin addicts admitting methamphetamine use as a secondary substance abuse problem. Within just 3 years, the percentages showed an increase from 14% in 2014, to 22% in 2017.

Majority of users stated that heroin was their first drug of choice, but with the amount needed for them to “function” and the cost, they weren’t able to maintain their habit. When meth was introduced to them, it seemed to be the “miracle drug” they had always been looking for. They would begin their day using meth, and in the evenings “come down” with heroin. This was only sustainable for a brief time until eventually, they were using both, all day, at the same time.

“It is not uncommon for us to see this type of polysubstance abuse at our facility,” states Barnett Gilmer, owner, and CEO at Gulf Breeze Recovery. “The mindset behind this type of user is due to an innocent attempt, by the user, for a ‘better feeling’ and a perceived more sustainable ‘solution’ by adding another substance of choice. This attempt is ultimately brought about by the common misunderstanding that a ‘better feeling’ or an individual’s perceived well-being, solution to boredom, feelings of completion, adequacy or serenity can still be found through drugs and/or alcohol. An illusion is created because, at first, the individual does experience relief, albeit temporary. At Gulf Breeze Recovery we help point a person back to themselves to find the solution within, so they are no longer needing to reach for a drug, or having to add another, in order to relate to the world around them.”

About Gulf Breeze Recovery: Gulf Breeze Recovery is changing the future of addiction treatment with the THRIVE® program focused on overcoming chronic relapse. Gulf Breeze Recovery’s THRIVE® program is a non-12-step approach and individualized designed for those who are looking for a drug and alcohol treatment program to produce a different and positive result. This non-12 step program allows you to drive beyond your addictions and promotes a new outlook on life. For more information about our program or to speak with an Addiction’s expert, please call 855-973-3551 or contact us.

Gulf Breeze Recovery on the Skyrocketing Addiction rate of Methamphetamine

One of the reasons for the increased addiction rate is the stronger and cheaper forms of substances coming over the borders daily. Unfortunately, according to the Addiction Research Institute at the University of Texas, the number of residential treatment programs to help those suffering with methamphetamine addiction have fallen.

Although methamphetamine is not new in the United States, the addiction rate has recently skyrocketed. One of the reasons for the increased addiction rate is the stronger and cheaper forms of substances coming over the borders daily. Unfortunately, according to the Addiction Research Institute at the University of Texas, the number of residential treatment programs to help those suffering with methamphetamine addiction have fallen.

Making the situation even more difficult, experts say that the practice of “speedballing” – using methamphetamine alongside an opioid, such as heroin or fentanyl- is on the rise as well. Dr. Wilson Compton, deputy director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, says that between individual case reports and broader overdose death data, “we’re seeing a larger number of people who are heavily involved in methamphetamine and opioid simultaneously.”

These poly-substance use disorders are becoming more and more complicated to treat. Where there are medications to treat opioid dependency, the person suffering with psychostimulants has to push through the feelings of lethargy, depression, and wanting to isolate. This “push” creates a problem for the addict to lose interest and not become fully invested in treatment, thus creating a higher chance of chronic relapse. With methamphetamine overdose rates escalating throughout the North West, so has the need for better addiction treatment plans.

Barnett Gilmer, CEO, and owner of Gulf Breeze Recovery, a non 12-Step treatment center, weighs in on the epidemic.

“We know that a person can overcome drug addiction. The number of poly-substance users that come into our facility has definitely increased over the past few years. Here at Gulf Breeze Recovery, we actually specialize in helping those who have tried multiple treatment facilities and continue to struggle with chronic relapse. It’s a matter of finding the underlying issue of what caused the person to use drugs as a solution in the first place, and then helping to point people back to themselves as the true answer. This is vital for treatment to work so people can become empowered to take their own life back, instead of again depending on another substance, to make them feel ‘normal’ or ‘a part of.’

About Gulf Breeze Recovery: Gulf Breeze Recovery is changing the future of addiction treatment with the THRIVE® program focused on overcoming chronic relapse. Gulf Breeze Recovery’s THRIVE® program is designed for those who are looking for a drug and alcohol treatment program to produce a different and positive result. This non-12 step program allows you to drive beyond your addictions and promotes a new outlook on life. For more information about our program or to speak with an Addiction’s expert, please call 855-973-3551 or contact us.

Gulf Breeze Recovery Comments on New Opioid Antidote Alternative to Narcan

Naloxone, which only acts in the body for about 30 minutes, does not last for long enough to fully counter Fentanyl. Often, for Fentanyl overdoses, multiple naloxone injections are needed over a period of time to reverse the overdose. Sometimes, tragically, even multiple doses are not enough.

With Fentanyl overdose deaths continuing to claim lives and keeping the opioid crisis in the headlines, scientists are working to curb the death toll by looking for an alternative to naloxone. Researchers are presenting their findings to the American Chemical Society Spring 2019 National Meeting & Exposition this week.

Naloxone (often known by the name brand Narcan) has been utilized increasingly since the opioid crisis began to reverse overdoses from heroin and other opioids. The problem with Fentanyl is that it is a long-acting opioid. It can be absorbed in fat tissue, which does not allow it to be metabolized right away. The body slowly releases the drug from the fat tissue over the course of several hours. Naloxone, which only acts in the body for about 30 minutes, does not last for long enough to fully counter Fentanyl. Often, for Fentanyl overdoses, multiple naloxone injections are needed over a period of time to reverse the overdose. Sometimes, tragically, even multiple doses are not enough.

To overcome this challenge, researchers are developing a delivery system in which a dose of an opioid antagonist will be delivered over the course of 24 hours.

“Ultimately, we hope to develop a therapeutic intervention for fentanyl overdose that can be used in the field, perhaps supplanting short-acting naloxone as an overdose antidote of choice,” says Saadyah Averick, Ph.D., a scientist at Allegheny Health Network Research Institute. “We anticipate that this drug delivery system will also be effective for other non-fentanyl opioids.”

Barnett Gilmer, owner and CEO of Gulf Breeze Recovery, a non-12 step substance abuse treatment center in Florida, weighs in on the new developments.

“In the last couple of years, we have really seen an increase in people who are entering treatment for Fentanyl addiction. For those who have gotten clean for a period of time and subsequently relapsed, Fentanyl can be particularly deadly. The effects of a Fentanyl overdose are often so difficult to reverse that the consequences can be fatal. Unfortunately, too many people don’t get another chance to find recovery. Here at Gulf Breeze Recovery, we actually specialize in helping those who are struggling with chronic relapse. An opioid antidote that is effective for Fentanyl would mean that more people struggling with addiction will get the chance to actually try something different. It would mean another chance to save a life.”

About Gulf Breeze Recovery: Gulf Breeze Recovery is changing the future of addiction treatment with the THRIVE® program focused on overcoming chronic relapse. Gulf Breeze Recovery’s THRIVE® program is designed for those who are looking for a drug and alcohol treatment program to produce a different and positive result. This non-12 step program allows you to drive beyond your addictions and promotes a new outlook on life. For more information about our program or to speak with an Addiction’s expert, please call 855-973-3551 or contact us.

Gulf Breeze Recovery Comments on the Tragic Death of Tristan O’Tierney

Tristan O’Tierney, the co-founder of the mobile payment app Square, has died at age 35. In a post to his Twitter account in September 2018, O’Tierney shared about his struggle with addiction. He said that, although his work with Square had set him up for life, addiction had taken its toll.

Tristan O’Tierney, a co-founder of the mobile payment app Square, has died at age 35. O’Tierney, who died on February 23, had struggled for years with addiction. He had been seeking treatment at a facility in Ocala, FL, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. His mother told the newspaper that his death was directly related to his addiction. She said, “I know he got to the hospital, he couldn’t breathe and they couldn’t revive him.”

In a post to his Twitter account in September 2018, O’Tierney shared about his struggle with addiction. He said that, although his work with Square had set him up for life, addiction had taken its toll.

Although O’Tierney left Square in 2013, his impact on the company was significant. O’Tierney was hired in 2009 by co-founders Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey to develop Square’s first mobile app. Square gave small businesses and individuals the ability to accept credit card payments on their mobile devices. It reported near $1 billion in revenue on its most recent earnings report and ranked in the top 20 free apps in the Apple store for 2018.

News of O’Tierney’s death comes just months after the passing of Colin Kroll, another prominent tech leader. Police suspect that Kroll, who co-founded the gaming app HQ Trivia and the video app Vine, died of a drug overdose.

According to Gulf Breeze Recovery CEO Barnett Gilmer, “Addiction does not discriminate. Smart, talented, bright people are affected by addiction the same as anyone else. It is a tragedy, though, for anyone to die needlessly from the horrors of addiction. It is important to us to continue to provide an effective treatment modality that is different from the status quo. While addiction continues to claim lives without prejudice, it is our mission to save them.”

About Gulf Breeze Recovery: Gulf Breeze Recovery is changing the future of addiction treatment with the THRIVE® program focused on overcoming chronic relapse. Gulf Breeze Recovery’s THRIVE® program is designed for those who are looking for a drug and alcohol treatment program to produce a different and positive result. This non-12 step program allows you to drive beyond your addictions and promotes a new outlook on life. For more information about our program or to speak with an Addiction’s expert, please call 855-973-3551 or contact us.

Gulf Breeze Recovery on Lawsuits Against Purdue Pharma’s Marketing of OxyContin

Lawsuits against Purdue Pharma and other pharmaceutical companies have surged over the last year, aiming to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for their alleged role in the current opioid crisis. With more than two thirds of overdose deaths in 2017 attributable to opioids, city, county and state officials look to make sense of the devastation caused by opioids and hold responsible parties accountable.

Purdue Pharma is back in the hot seat legally this month. Gulf Breeze Recovery wanted to bring to the reader’s attention an article from NPR about Massachusetts attorney general, Maura Healy naming Purdue Pharma and eight members of the family that owns it in a lawsuit. The suit contends that the pharmaceutical company and members of the Sackler family are “personally responsible” for using misleading tactics to sell OxyContin.

Just last May as stated in the Miami Herald, Pam Bondi, the Florida attorney general, named Purdue Pharma in a suit alongside other drug manufacturers and pharmacy chains. That lawsuit alleges that Purdue Pharma, “launched a campaign of misleading advertising to inflate the market for these drugs, peddling them as safe and appropriate for use to treat a range of chronic conditions, and severely downplaying how addictive and dangerous they are.”

Lawsuits against Purdue Pharma and other pharmaceutical companies have surged over the last year, aiming to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for their alleged role in the current opioid crisis. With more than two thirds of overdose deaths in 2017 attributable to opioids, city, county and state officials look to make sense of the devastation caused by opioids and hold responsible parties accountable.

For their part, Purdue Pharma called the recent allegations “a rush to vilify” them. In an internal e-mail referenced by Maura Healy in the suit, the then-President of Purdue Pharma, Richard Sackler, diverts blame, writing, “we have to hammer on the abusers in every way possible. They are the culprits and the problem.”

Barnett Gilmer, CEO of Gulf Breeze Recovery, a substance abuse treatment center, weighs in on Sackler’s claim: “I think that it is fundamentally untrue that drug abusers themselves are ‘the problem’. It would be more accurate to say that addiction is the problem. A person struggling with addiction is innocently trying to find the same peace and happiness that we all are. Unfortunately, they are misguidedly looking outside of themselves to a drug, which causes immense pain and grave consequences. By focusing on the real problem—the addiction—we can provide treatment and help the person struggling.”

About Gulf Breeze Recovery: Gulf Breeze Recovery is changing the future of addiction treatment with the THRIVE® program focused on overcoming chronic relapse. Gulf Breeze Recovery’s THRIVE® program is designed for those who are looking for a drug and alcohol treatment program to produce a different and positive result. This non-12 step program allows you to drive beyond your addictions and promotes a new outlook on life. For more information about our program or to speak with an Addiction’s expert, please call 855-973-3551 or contact us.