People from various walks of life such as business executives, professional athletes, celebrities, politicians, and even the armed forces and the religious world are flocking to Palm Beach from different parts of the globe, and not necessarily to enjoy the spectacular beaches, but rather to save their lives. They are coming to break harmful dependencies to a variety of addictive substances– medical conditions which until recently were considered taboo to such people.
Recently substance abuse and its treatment have risen in the consciousness of society. With recent television shows such as A&Es Intervention, a general acceptance of substance abuse as a medical not moral issue is developing. Couple this with the recent liberal trends in dispensing opiate pain medications and anti-anxiety medications results in a trend of sorts. According to the most recent nationwide survey conducted in the United States by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), an estimated 6.3 million persons, or 2.7 percent of the population age 12 and older had used prescription psychotherapeutic medications non-medically in the month prior to being surveyed. This includes 4.7 million...