DETROIT, July 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Ramsy Darwish knows what it's like
being addicted to prescription pain medication. In a recent story called
America's "Other" Drug Problem Prescription Medication Abuse with CNN's
Rick Sanchez, Ramsy shared his story of addiction and recovery and how he
got help, finally ending up at the Narconon Freedom Center drug and alcohol
rehabilitation program.

    *(Photo 72dpi: Send2Press.com/mediaboom/09-0703-NarcononMI_72dpi.jpg)

    *(Photo Caption: Ex-prescription pain medication addict now drug-free.)

    Darwish, like many, didn't start out as a drug addict. He did well in
school, was very skilled at Tae Quan Do, and skateboarding and grew up in a
family that provided him with a lot of opportunity. By the time he was 13
years old he was looking at professional skateboarding scholarship but
instead started smoking marijuana. "I went to a pretty rough junior high
school and began to get involved with smoking pot and hanging out with
gangs," says Darwish. "As a result, I lost interest in all my hobbies."

    Starting off with pot, Ramsy's drug addiction soon escalated and he
started using pills and other heavier drugs. Before he knew it, he had
developed an addiction to opiates and prescription pain medication and was
doing everything he could to get his next drug fix.

    By the time Ramsey was ready for help, he had already burned all his
bridges. "My family was hurt and it got to a point where they gave me an
ultimatum - they weren't going to watch me kill myself anymore," he says.
"They told me I could go to Narconon. I wanted help all along but was
scared."

    Despite his fear, Darwish hopped on a plane and enrolled in the
Narconon program - a long-term residential drug rehab program with a more
than 70% success rate for permanent recovery. Within weeks, under the care
of Narconon Freedom Center, Ramsy started thinking about what it would be
like to have a life without drugs. "When I went through the sauna
detoxification program at Narconon I didn't think about doing drugs
anymore," he says. "I started to be happy. I even noticed that I was
laughing more."

    Today Darwish has been stably off drugs for several years and is
happily married. He explains that the Narconon program gave him the ability
to be in control of his life and to confront his problems. "I thought my
life was over and I had missed my opportunities," says Darwish. "It turns
out I hadn't."

    Ramsy's advice to others through his CNN Interview was to get help. "It
is important to be able to leave and handle yourself," he says. "You have
to know that there's hope and that things are fixable."

    If you or a loved one are addicted to prescription pain medication and
need a successful drug and alcohol rehabilitation program contact Narconon
Freedom Center today at 877-362-9682.

    This release was issued on behalf of the above organization by
Send2Press(R), a unit of Neotrope(R). http://www.Send2Press.com