Friday, March 1, 2013 - EDGEWOOD Addiction Treatment

volume 8 • issue 3 • spring 2013 edgewood.ca
Providing news and views on addiction medicine to
health professionals, referrals and alumni since 1994
Is It “Just” Pot?
While the debate rages on legalization matters,
the view from the ground floor regarding cannabis
addiction is anything but benign
Growing up in Nanaimo
A multi million dollar expansion has Edgewood’s
campus for addiction medicine stepping forward
into the new millenium
Challenging sober issues
Can an alcoholic really claim sobriety if he or she
is indulging in drugs but not alcohol? A 12-stepper
tackles the controversial issue
A PHYSICIAN’S THOUGHTS
“Most of my clients have used cannabis, in
one form or another. However, few of them
would ever believe they were addicted to it.”
HELPING FAMILY MEMBERS
“... our clinical practic zeroes in on helping
the whole system of relationships — family,
friends, even workplace relationships ...”

EDGEWOOD News
THIS EDITION
News
New building opens 5
Edgewood’s Nanaimo campus grows
with latest expansion
Opinions
Marijuana addiction 3
Argue all you like but this
addiction has consequences
A psychiatrist’s take 9
Pot may not be a ‘big gun’ in
addiction, but it fires bullets too
Are you sober if you toke? 15
A 12 stepper’s perspective
on pot and the word “sobriety”
Features
Is it really ‘only’ pot? 6
Case studies kill the stigma
Family programs 14
Retiring leader says goodbye
Making the grade 11
Edgewood earns 3-year accreditation
Spirit & addiction 13
Getting better leads to true humility
published quarterly by
Edgewood Holdings Inc.
2121 Boxwood Road, Nanaimo, B.C. V9S 4L2
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By phone: 250-751-0111
By fax: 250-751-2758
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Email: communications@edgewood.ca
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR & STORY PROPOSALS
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(Letters may be edited for length and clarity)
VISIT US ONLINE
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IN THIS ISSUE
NEW LOOK, NEW VOICES
5
6
10
13
Welcome to the new Edgewood
News. We are delighted to introduce
this updated, expanded version to our
readership.
We’ve changed the look of our
publication and over the coming
months will be introducing a wide range
of contributing writers who bring fresh
voices and perspectives to the on-going
discussion. Addiction encompasses the
whole gamut of mental, spiritual and
physical matters. Our themes, writers,
photos and suggestions are all about
enriching your understanding of the
disease and reinforcing the time-tested
roads to good health in recovery.
We are also pleased to welcome
Edgewood’s Jeff Vircoe to our editorial
staff. With an impressive background
in journalism and a true news hound’s
nose for a good story, Jeff brings fresh
energy, style and content firmly rooted
in recovery.
What we haven’t changed is our
committment to bringing you
a newsletter that is informative,
provocative and hopefully a darn good
read.
We hope you enjoy our new News.
Feel free to write in and tell us what
you think. Feedback is always gratefully
accepted, remember?
Jeff Vircoe: jeff.vircoe@edgewood.ca
Lis Muise: communications@edgewood.ca
Jeff Vircoe
Editor
Lis Muise
Graphic Design/Editor

EDGEWOOD News
plainly speaking
statistics
marijuana’s risks not to be minimized
Lorne Hildebrand, Executive Director
what you should know
Our experience at Edgewood suggests
the general public, those families who
struggle with addiction, and most
certainly those advocating for medicinal
use of marijuana could benefit from
more information. What we are
concerned with is the lack of knowledge
of the potential addictive qualities of
the drug and other associated health
risks.
As with alcohol consumption, many
people use marijuana without suffering
any apparent negative consequences.
Like the occasional drinker, the
occasional ‘toker’ may not recognize
or give credence
to the potential
for harm from the
substance. It is well
documented that
while consumption
of alcohol is benign for some, it can lead to
addiction issues, physical and neurological
damage, family crisis, or medical and
police emergencies for others.
While statistics for the consequences
of marijuana use are limited, it is
reasonable to suggest a percentage of
those using marijuana run the risk of
experiencing the same types of harms
associated with alcohol. (Most people
choose not to use illegal or controlled
substances, so it remains to be seen if
legalizing marijuana would change its
consumption and/or harm patterns.)
For those genetically predisposed to
addiction, marijuana is both highly
addictive and destructive. For others,
prolonged use can negatively affect
brain function, trigger psychotic
... the occasional “toker” may
not recognize ... harm.
episodes and lead to lung disease from
the constant exposure to toxins in the
inhaled smoke. When despite all of
this, the person using marijuana cannot
stop, that’s addiction. Choice at that
point has nothing to do with it.
For those who support medicinal
use of marijuana the implications of
the method of delivery of the active
ingredient is worth considering. Our
experience with marijuana addicts in
treatment is that they are admittedly
less interested in a controlled dosage
in pill or tablet form. They are more
interested in smoking as much as they
themselves deem
to be “okay”.
And, while
anecdotal evidence
abounds, there
still is no clear
scientific evidence that proves marijuana
an equal, or superior, medicine to
conventional medicines already available.
Society continues to debate the
merits and perils of marijuana use and
its legalization, but if we are going to
engage in debate let us at least be as
informed as we can be on this complex
subject and consider all aspects of its
use. For some, marijuana remains a
benign social stimulant; for others
it can be the beginning of a path to
ruin. Perhaps some of the case studies
presented in this issue of The Edgewood
News will shed some much needed light
on the subject.
canadians big on pot
Tops list for marijuana use
The 2007 World Drug Report of the
UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs
revealed that Canada topped the list
of industrialized nations for marijuana
use. Only four countries, all nonindustrialized,
had higher rates: Papua
New Guinea, Micronesia, Ghana and
Zambia. The report found in 2004 16.8
per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 64
years used marijuana.
Data indicates up to 15% of
Canadian marijuana users are “problem”
users, a proportion more or less the
same for users of alcohol and other
drugs. Fewer adolescents see regular
cannabis use as harmful. They are
initiating cannabis use at a younger age
and more are using it on a daily basis.
COST OF ADDICTION
Canadian angles in drug stats
• In its 2008 annual report on
organized crime, Criminal Intelligence
Service Canada stated that Canada
has become one of the primary source
countries in the world for ecstasy.
• 60% of illicit drug users in Canada are
between the ages of 15 and 24.
• Oxycodone prescriptions (known by
brand names Oxycontin and Percocet)
have increased 85% in 10 years.
• Between 1991 and 2007, opioidrelated
deaths doubled in Ontario.
• For every $5 spent on drug
rehabilitation by the Canadian
government, $95 is spent on
incarceration of drug users.
EDGEWOOD News
3

EDGEWOOD News
Edgewood’s latest growth
CAMPUS CONCEPT CONTINUES TO MATERIALIZE WITH NEW RESIDENCES
Edgewood Treatment Centre’s latest
expansion is now complete.
In keeping with a long-term plan
which began with extensive changes to
the main building in 2006, Extended
Care patients and Insite participants
began to move into Phase II in early
February.
After nine months of construction, a
new $3.8 million, two-storey building
now sits prominently facing a pond at
the end of the covered walkway across
from Edgewood’s main facility.
While the 2006 expansion included
an enlarged cafeteria and kitchen, a
fully equipped gym facility, new offices
and group therapy rooms, along with a
meeting room and offices for the Insite
program, Phase II provides for a whole
different set of needs.
Phase II was designed primarily as
a multi-purpose, residential facility.
The east wing will house guests, such
as family members attending family
conferences, and participants of
Edgewood programs, such as Insite
and labyrinth meditational weekend
retreats. The west wing of the new
facility is designed to accomodate
Extended Care patients. The new
facility features a kitchen and eating
areas, lounges and laundry facilities for
guests, as well as meeting rooms and
offices for staff.
To ensure privacy, neither wing is
accessible to the other and both wings
are designed as discrete units.
As well, a new outdoor labyrinth has
been constructed by the pond as part
of the expansion, offering patients the
opportunity to experience the healing
and calming effects of a centuries old
tool in a natural setting.
Grand opening slated for April 26, 2013.
This new two-story building multi-purpose building now stands on the south-east corner of the Edgewood Campus.
New landscaping softens the curve of the pathway leading to The Residence.
4 EDGEWOOD News

EDGEWOOD News
BOUQUETS
Comments from recent InSite participants
who where housed in our new residence
during their program.
“Comfortable, clean and welcoming.”
“It strengthened connections by
providing opportunities to explore
further our feelings, experiences and
relationships. It is an asset to the
program to have the residence and
for me to enrich my experience.”
“I felt that we did a lot of bonding in
the after hours. It was great!”
“All in all, a very nice facility and
I am so grateful.”
ANNOUNCEMENT
Grand Opening!
The Residence
(on Boxwood)
Join us
Friday, April 26, 2013
2-4 pm
at
EDGEWOOD
Come see our new
residence and discover
the services available!
Open to the Public
www.edgewood.ca
EDGEWOOD News
5

EDGEWOOD News
CANNABIS
addiction
It’s Not “Just” Pot
by Jeff Vircoe
Marijuana addiction is a subject not easily broached
or defined. So many entry points, so many critics
waiting to pounce and voice their rebuttals.
Everyone, it seems, has an opinion. Edgewood
knows a thing or two about its patients’ who have a relationship
with weed. And from the front lines, the view is
anything but mellow.
Chemical dependency is defined as “a committed pathological
love relationship of a person to a mood-altering
chemical substance, a psychoactive drug, in expectation of
a rewarding experience” and those who come to Edgewood
with marijuana as their main drug of choice, battle the same
demons as the alcoholic or even the opiate addict.
Regardless of the consequences, addicts keep using until the pain
of staying the same is greater than the fear of change.
Edgewood case study 1 - ”Bill”
Admitted: Summer 2012 In treatment: 58 days
“Bill” is a 59 year-old man, a blue collar worker from western
Canada. An abuser of alcohol in his mid-teens, by the age
of 23, his drinking had calmed down to a few beers once a
month. His use of alcohol faded to low levels.
His cannabis consumption was a different story.
Bill began dabbling in pot at the age of 20. Just one
joint, once a month. By age 30, it was one joint, twice
a month. By 46, the pattern climbed to one joint,
once a week. Five years later it was one joint, twice
a week. By age 52, Bill was smoking one joint
daily.
The last seven years he bumped it dramatically
to four joints daily.
6 EDGEWOOD News

EDGEWOOD News
“I’d finish what I had before sleep
and I’d worry about how to get it
the moment it was gone.”
The odor of marijuana clung to Bill. At one point, he was
reported to his employer. A doctor recommended he seek
treatment at Edgewood.
“I did not know you could get addicted to marijuana,” he
said. In fact, during his admission proccess Bill made it clear
to staff that it was an anger management deal that had landed
him in treatment.
“I have a pissy attitude and I am quick to judge.”
While at Edgewood, Bill learned about the disease of
addiction as it related to his marijuana use and underlying
issues; how years of verbal and physical abuse in his upbringing
played a part in his anger. Bill’s wife spoke to episodes of
road rage. He was often intense, usually negative, with little
patience for opinions not aligned with his own.
So much for marijuana making things more mellow.
The cognitive damage sustained was obvious too. According
to Bill’s wife, “He was physically present at family events,
but withdrawn and sometimes adversarial. He was easily
confused. I would have to repeat things often.”
Edgewood case study 2 - ”steve”
Admitted: Spring 2013 In Treatment: On-going
“I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I knew I still had it with me.
I’d finish what I had before sleep and I’d worry about how to
get it the moment it was gone.”
How many times have addicts or the counsellors that treat
them, heard a comment like that about a drug? Was it heroin?
Crack cocaine? Oxycontin? Alcohol? It was cannabis.
Meet ‘Steve’, a quiet, likable 23 year-old drug addict. His
story began with a two-year, late teenage love affair with marijuana.
Within months he was smoking five grams of pot a day.
After two years of daily pot intake, the threat of drug tests
put his career in jeopardy. He switched to synthetic cannabis.
Promoted as natural herbs, “Spice” or K2 is a psychoactive
designer drug that is sprayed with synthetic chemicals that
produce the high. When smoked, Spice offers a similar high
to that produced with pot ingestion and it doesn’t trigger a
positive result in most drug screens. But, like most drugs, it
isn’t cheap. Steve was quickly spending in excess of $1,200 a
month. The cost was high in all areas of his life.
THE BRUTAL TRUTH OF ADDICTION
How did it all get this crazy?
In high school, Steve had been a high level athlete, a good
student, close to his family. By the time he arrived at Edgewood,
he was no longer involved with sports, wasn’t talking
to his family and was lying regularly to his girl friend and employer
to hide his abuse of chemicals. In his first assignment,
describing his symptoms of addiction, Steve was brutally
honest.
“I spend most of my free time at home where I can smoke
up without any interruption. Every day I smoke Spice. I convince
myself I wouldn’t be able to function the same without
it, I have resentment towards myself for not being able to
control my addiction.”
As governments scramble to draft laws in response to the
legalization of marijuana and as marijuana lobby groups attempt
to knock down arguments both scientific and holistic
about the potential for trouble with marijuana, treatment
centers continue to battle with the nasty facts of addiction.
Whether it’s heroin, cocaine or marijuana, away from the
campaigns of lobbyists, the truth isn’t pretty. And the truth is
Steve’s story is just one of millions.
“We are increasingly concerned that regular or daily use
of marijuana is robbing many people of their potential to
achieve and excel in school or other aspects of life,” says Dr.
Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug
Abuse.
NIDA supports most of the world’s research on the health
aspects of drug abuse and addiction. As a research psychiatrist
and scientist, Dr. Volkow pioneered the use of brain imaging
to investigate the toxic effects and addictive properties of
abusable drugs.
“Marijuana use that begins in adolescence increases the risk
they will become addicted to the drug. The risk of addiction
goes from about 1 in 11 overall to about 1 in 6 for those who
start using in their teens, and even higher among daily smokers,”
cautions Volkow’s organization.
So Steve’s dilemma is no surprise.
See CANNABIS on next page
EDGEWOOD News
7

EDGEWOOD News
Cannabis Continued from page 7
Though case study after case study shows the necessary
criteria is being met to prove cannabis addiction is debilitating,
a quick search of the web serves up tens of thousands of
sites arguing each point presented by the other side.
Studies indicate heavy users experience significantly
lower educational achievement, lower income and a
subjective, self-assessment of impaired cognitive function,
social life and health. Withdrawal symptoms experienced
by long-term users include: irritability, restlessness, anxiety,
sleep disturbances, appetite disturbances and stomach pains.
Problems also include cognitive decline and under performance
in occupation or trouble in relationships, lack of
energy and inattentiveness.
Edgewood case study 3 - ”ted”
Admitted: Winter 2010/11 In Treatment: 50 days
“Ted” is a blue collar man, a hard-working, single father
of three. Unlike Bill, he says his upbringing was “idealic.”
Still, he was an only child and a bored one. At 14 he began
smoking drugs, one to two grams of pot, hash or hash oil
and continued until he was 24 — a full decade of being
very high. By the age of 26 he had cut down to one joint
daily and remained at that pace for 16 years.
“I used to quit every few months every now and then
just to see if I could,” Ted says. But he couldn’t stay “quit”.
By his mid-forties, he was back up to a gram a day. By the
time Ted arrived at Edgewood, he had been a daily user
for 40 years. “Just an evening pot smoker,” was how he
described himself.
The symptoms of his addiction were clear.
“It destroys your motivation. When it came to my
schooling, well, I’d smoke pot every day at lunch hours.
That doesn’t help make you a good student. It also drew
a line between me and the law. It put me in a counterculture,
where I stayed for a long time.”
He was not happy about having been forced to come
to treatment. He thought he was doing fine. But while at
Edgewood, he says, he “learned all about the addiction. It
was pretty hard to deny I was addicted to pot.”
IT’S ALL TIED IN
Now two years “clean and sober” and active in a support
group, Ted’s life isn’t great. He has Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease which makes it difficult to breathe. Is
it the result of his 40-year pot habit?
“Not exclusively,” he says. “Remember, I smoked tobacco
for 40 years too. But it’s all tied in.”
When he looks at his life in sobriety he says the COPD
has made things tough, so it’s hard to say life is better. But
when it comes to his relationships with his children and
grandchildren, he is pleased.
“Oh, I have a much different perspective as a grandparent,”
he says with a laugh. “But I know I’m an example
for my kids. A different example than I was before — just
a guy sitting in a cloud of pot smoke. That can define a
whole childhood. The house always smelled of marijuana.
That affects the friends that would come over. So I’m a big
example for them. It’s the old, ‘If he can quit’ ...”
So is it “just” pot? Judging by the scientific data and
brain studies of Dr. Volkow, the medical experts on the
ground in treatment centres, and from those most closely
affected by the use of cannabis products—the users and
their families—there is nothing to minimize. If you are an
addict, and you are using marijuana, there are clear negative
consequences to the “rewarding experience” of getting
high on pot. But if you look at the classic symptoms of addiction,
any pot addict will relate to what the cost of that
reward is. An addict will:
• See substance use begin to take a central role in life.
• Deny claims from friends/family that changes are happening.
• Continue to use despite negative consequences
• Lose control, needing increasingly larger amounts.
• Spend more time thinking about using.
• Spend more time and money acquiring more marijuana.
• Get irritable or agitated if they run out of pot.
So the argument that cannabis use has little consequence
is debatable, but not for the addict.
On the ground floor, Edgewood’s clinical team sees
plenty of patients who are trying to deal with their withdrawal
and recovery from marijuana dependence. Dr. Mel
Vincent, Director of Psychiatric Services, agrees that in the
big picture, being addicted to marijuana may not carry the
same damaging consequences as heroin, crack or alcohol
addiction, but addiction to pot is not benign either.
“Well, it’s less problematic, obviously. The problems
with chronic pot users, peripherally, are certainly less than
alcohol. But if they’re coming here to Edgewood, they’re
still running into problems, right?”
NOTE: Cannabis withdrawal has been proposed for inclusion in the 2013
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (often seen as the “bible”
of the American Psychiatric Association). Wilson M. Compton, M.D., a member of
the DSM-5 task force says the addition of cannabis withdrawal as a diagnosis in
DSM-5 comes as a result of the fact that marijuana is so commonly abused.
8 EDGEWOOD News

EDGEWOOD News
FEW BELIEVE
THEY’RE ADDICTED
A physician’s thoughts on cannabis dependence
Dr. Charles Whelton, M.D., FRCP (C)
Edgewood Psychiatrist
An estimated 160
million people
around the world
use cannabis,
and about 10%
of cannabis users
will become
addicted to it.
About half of daily
users will develop
dependence.
Most of my clients have used
cannabis in one form or another.
However, few of them would ever
believe they were addicted to it. Crack,
sure. Heroin, absolutely. Alcohol,
maybe. But not pot. It’s just a habit.
I can go without it, I’ve done it many
times. I just take it to sleep, I don’t
need it. It just calms me down. It’s
socially acceptable, man. Come on, it’s
practically legal. It’s my medicine, I’ve
got a permit. I’ll stop the crack, but
don’t expect me to stop using pot. You
can’t get addicted to pot, doc.
This brings to mind the rhetoric of
another lobby group. Guns don’t kill
people, people kill people. It’s our right
to bear arms and to defend our homes.
You want my gun, you’ll have to pry it
out of my cold dead hands (no offense
intended, Charlton).
Let’s leave aside the fact that Valium
is a medicine. Oxycontin is a medicine.
Medicines can be addictive. Let’s not
go into the evidence linking pot use
and schizophrenia. Or the studies that
suggest heavy use of the drug among
teenagers may lead to an IQ drop.
Let me just point out that marijuana
is a drug you can get addicted to.
Maybe not one of the “big guns” like
crack cocaine and heroin. But little
guns shoot bullets too. Cannabis is the
most commonly used illicit drug in
the world. An estimated 160 million
people around the world use cannabis,
and about 10% of cannabis users will
become addicted to it. About half of
daily users will develop dependence.
More and more people are seeking
help for cannabis dependence. The
problem is that often, treatment
doesn’t work. Cannabis is in fact
powerfully addictive, based on the
relapse rates. Relapses are often due to
the withdrawal symptoms, which can
last for weeks or even months. People
can’t handle the withdrawal symptoms
and begin using again to relieve these.
They’re hooked.
A new study on a cannabis
withdrawal scale tells us cannabis
withdrawal symptoms include:
sleep disturbance, angry outbursts,
irritability, physical tension, anxiety,
restlessness, loss of appetite — these
are just some of them. One symptom,
ranked fifth in the distress ranking of
withdrawal symptoms, was “life felt
like an uphill struggle.” Of course
you’re going to want to use again if life
is an uphill struggle without it. But
what if life really isn’t an uphill struggle
for most of us. What if smoking pot
does that to you? Maybe that’s what the
ads should say. Start smoking pot and
before long life will seem like an uphill
struggle without it. And how long
before dependence follows?
Little guns shoot bullets too, and the
result is the same.
EDGEWOOD News
9

EDGEWOOD News
teens,
genes &
cannabis
... genetic variation linked to ...
psychosis after exposure to
cannabis during teenage years.
— by Lis Muise
Young, and some not-so-young,
advocates of smoking pot argue
if governments and police would stop
harassing them everyone could just
chill and carry on with this “harmless”
activity.
The argument might have held water
in the 1960’s but that was then ... this
is now.
Over the past decades, genetic engineering
of the marijuana plant by
growers has produced a plant with
greatly elevated levels of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC), the main
active ingredient responsible for the
“buzz”. The gene factor, however, is
not limited exclusively to the plant.
A gene that we humans carry, called
COMT, oversees an enzyme responsible
for breaking down dopamine, a
brain chemical that is involved with
schizophrenia. The COMT gene
has two variants. One comes in a
form referred to as MET, the other is
called VAL. Research indicates that the
combination of those genetic variants,
coupled with other contributing factors
can dramatically affect mental health.
Results of large studies exploring the
adverse health effects of non-medical
cannabis use suggest that our own human
genetic variation is linked to the
potential of developing psychosis after
exposure to cannabis during the teenage
years. Individuals carrying two
copies of the VAL form have a “higher
risk of developing schizophrenic-type
disorders if they use cannabis during
adolescence.” Those with the MET
variant remain unaffected.
It’s no secret that the developing
adolescent brain is different from
that of an adult. As we mature, our
adolescent brains go through a kind of
“neural pruning”, a necessary process
of streamlining the brain so it can
work more efficiently. Scientists believe
that any substance that interferes
or impedes this process can produce
“long lasting and potentially devastating
psychological effects.”
Mental illness isn’t caused by marijuana.
But using marijuana in adolescence
can negatively contribute to
existing risk factors such as: mental
illness in the family, a personality predisposed
to psychosis, and childhood
trauma. Even where you live can factor
in; statistically, those living in cities
have a higher rate of schizophrenia.
The amount of drug used, the age of
the individual at first use and individual
genetic variability can all influence
the relationship between marijuana
and possible future adult psychosis.
Source: “Marijuana Abuse” Research Report
Series, National Institute on Drug Abuse,
NIH Publication Number 10-3859
10 EDGEWOOD News

EDGEWOOD News
“Accountability is a hallmark of the
Edgewood culture.”
—The Commission on Accreditation
of Rehabilitation Facilities
It’s one thing to be told you’re effective
at what you do. It’s another thing to
have a team of professionals assess you
and put it in writing.
Edgewood Treatment Centre has
received a three year accreditation from
the Commission on Accreditation of
Rehabilitation Facilities to continue
its work helping chemically dependent
patients and their families.
CARF International is a private,
nonprofit organization financed by fees
from accreditation surveys, workshops
and conferences, sales of publications and
grants from public entities. Since it began
in 1966, CARF standards have evolved
“There’s this consistent high standard of
care that has been checked and verified.”
and been refined with the active support
and involvement of providers, consumers,
and purchasers of service.
For over 18 years, Edgewood has
steadily built its reputation as one of
North America’s top residential treatment
centers which offers patients
a complete spectrum of treatment
services: 24 hour on-site nursing/medical
care, two full-time psychiatrists and
a full-time medical doctor specializing
in addictions medicine and full detox
services. In addition, it offers extended
care programming and housing, and a
wide array of family, after care and outpatient
programs.
A team of CARF surveyors arrived
at Edgewood in late September 2012
to comb through the books and files,
interview staff and patients, and see for
themselves how treatment was being
provided at Edgewood. The areas that
caught the eye of the survey team were
in Case Management and Services
Coordination; Detoxification; and Inpatient
Treatment. In a 22-page report
assessing Edgewood’s provision of multidisciplinary
services in Nanaimo, the
survey team was clearly impressed.
“Accountability is a hallmark of the
Edgewood culture,” the surveyors wrote.
“Edgewood staff members have developed
mutually accountable
relationships that
are founded in patient
care and ensuring that all
resources are directed to
facilitating recovery. Staff interactions
combine warmth and professionalism.
“Edgewood patients receive holistic
and comprehensive services in an
environment that is warm and inviting
and an atmosphere designed to promote
healing and contemplation. Patients
speak of the dedication of the staff and
how Edgewood services are ‘life saving.’
External stakeholders describe Edgewood
as consultive above and beyond
the norm and as providing services that
are ‘unparalleled in Canada.’”
Since 2000, Edgewood has successfully
received the highest level of accreditation.
“Getting another three year accreditation
is a big deal,” says Elizabeth
Loudon, Edgewood’s clinical director.
“It says to me we’ve upheld a certain
level, a standard of excellence, but our
centre consistently does this. When an
outside entity like CARF comes in and
says that to us, that’s amazing. It says
to people trying to get into Edgewood
for treatment that there’s this consistent
high standardization of care that has
been checked and verified.”
The executive director of Edgewood,
Lorne Hildebrand, agrees.
“I think the CARF standard means
less to us than it does to the people out
there who are thinking about where
they should send their loved one. We
love the feedback from CARF, but really
it is not for us here. This is for the people
out there who can now know that
somebody has looked at our facility and
the program we offer, and applied a set
of standards that ensure quality care. It’s
so important for the people out there
who need to have trust. The families
who call in to us are in so much stress.
They need to know that it’s not just us
saying all this great stuff about us, but
somebody independent of Edgewood.”
Besides its main centre in Nanaimo,
Edgewood offers outpatient services in
Vancouver, Victoria and Seattle.
EDGEWOOD News 11

EDGEWOOD News
Fitness Matters
in your grill
“... eating the same way you
did when you were up for a
week on a bender is a pretty
solid way of triggering yourself
back into old behaviours.”
So you just sobered up and are trying
to get this whole life thing figured
out. Meetings are in place, you’ve found
a sponsor, you’re connecting with some
of the people in your recovery community,
but there is just something
missing. Could it be that Kraft Dinner
that you are having for the fourth night
in a row?
You’ve probably heard, “If you do what
you have always done you will get what
you have always got.” Eating the same
way you did when you were up for a
week on a bender is a pretty solid way
of triggering yourself back into old
behaviours.
In early recovery your body has often
been dehydrated and deprived of
nutrients, and will be craving a variety
of things to make up for the deficit. For
many people this creates a scary problem:
how do I learn how to cook?
Don’t panic.
Like just about everything else, it is
not nearly as hard as it looks from the
outside. Take a few minutes to check
out YouTube, search out some recipes,
and maybe call some friends who seem
like they have it going on in this area.
Like many areas of your recovery the
secret here is all in how you approach
it. Your gourmet ideas will fall flat a
few times and that is okay. They are
supposed to. Get curious, have some
fun with it, and don’t be afraid to play
around with new ideas.
Counsellor Bill
Caldwell’s weekly“Bill’s
Grill” sessions show patients
how to plan and
prepare healthy meals.
TAKING SHAPE
Before going through the stages of
beginning a new fitness program
for either health and/or weight loss
benefits, it is beneficial to review
which outcomes you wish to achieve.
We are a people that love to set
resolutions at the beginning of a
new year. The sad reality is that the
majority of us will fail to achieve
them. How many swear they’re going
to lose weight for the umpteenth year
in a row? Or say that this is the year
they will “get healthy” only to stop
going to the gym after one month?
Unfortunately, after a few years of
this, setting resolutions can become
“Success is knowing where
you want to go and having
a plan to get there.”
something to avoid. After all, why
would you consistently set yourself
up for failure?
But what if I told you there was
a better way? What if you could set
yourself up with a better chance of
success? The trick is, you’ve just got
to be SMART about it.
Cheryl Wilson is
Edgewood’s BCRPA
Certified Fitness Leader,
a qualified Weight
Trainer, Group Fitness
Instructor, Third Age,
Yoga Fitness Instructor
and Personal Trainer.
Set SMART goals:
Specific: the who, what, when, where and how of your goal.
Measurable: you’ve got to be able to measure your goal in
some way. Otherwise how will you know if you’ve reached
it? Set some criteria by which the goal can be measured.
Attainable: if you really want to set yourself up for
success, the goal should be something you can feasibly
attain (i.e. winning the lottery so you can quit that job
you hate is probably not a good goal).
Realistic: something that you are willing and able to
work toward. This doesn’t mean you can’t set the bar
high — sometimes just fully believing something can
be accomplished can make it realistic.
Timely: your goal should have a specific time line; a date
by which you want to achieve it. This will motivate you to
get started.
12 EDGEWOOD News

EDGEWOOD News
Body and Soul
in the spirit
Addiction robs people of their wholeness, of their
ability to live their life congruently and enrich their
spirituality. In the world of addiction the drug of choice
becomes “the higher power, the primary relationship and
the voice that is most heard above all the rest.” Spirituality
is lost in the struggle to survive daily in a world of
selfishness, egoism and chaos.
Addicts are not conscious of how their drug of choice
has diminished their self-worth and added to their feelings
of emptiness. They live a life of lies surrounded by feelings
of shame and guilt. These feelings of shame block them
from connecting to a healthy higher power, from living
their life congruently and realizing their wholeness. They
fail to nourish their spiritual growth.
When addicts begin their journey of recovery, they
discover, with the help of others, how to be self-nurturing.
They learn how to empty themselves of all the “stuffed”
feelings and life experiences that have added to their
feelings of shame, which fed their addiction and left them
living in a world of loneliness, suffering and isolation.
The yearning for intimacy with the self begins with asking
the question, “Who am I?” As they work their program,
they learn how to make healthy connections with others.
Hope replaces hopelessness, a sense of peace is felt within
and the spiritual experience takes place as a constant,
nourishing one’s spirituality.
Within these experiences addicts begins to ponder and
ask themselves questions such as: What are my beliefs?
What do I value? What are my truths? Are my behaviours
actions of humility?
Recovery is the rebirth of the presence
of love inside one’s heart enhancing
one’s spirituality.
—Debra Kine, Edgewood
Counsellor/Chaplain
THE WALKING MEDITATION
For thousands of years labyrinths have
been used as contemplative and spiritual
tools.
Patients at Edgewood get to experience
the labyrinth during their stay. With
the recent expansion on the Edgewood
site, an outdoor labyrinth has been
constructed, offering participants its
healing attributes in a natural setting.
Each year, Edgewood offers several
weekend retreats focusing on meditation
and the labyrinth.
Based on the practice of walking
meditation as a path to connection
of mind, body and soul, the retreats
are kept to a relatively small number
of participants, providing a warm
atmosphere of intimacy and comfort.
The retreats include teachings on the
labyrinth, guided meditation, labyrinth
walks and quiet reflection. The threeday
retreats also include two nights’
accommodation at the new Residence
at Edgewood, dinner on Friday and
Saturday evenings, as well as lunches,
healthy snacks and beverages. Evening
sessions include Big Book study and
fellowship.
The retreats tend to fill up quickly; the
April 2013 retreat is already full. The next
retreat is scheduled for November. For
more information, call Edgewood at 250-
751-0111, or 1-800-683-0111 or email
marketing@edgewood.ca.
EDGEWOOD News 13

EDGEWOOD News
The family &
addiction
Zeroing in on helping the whole
system of relationships – family,
friends, even workplace relationships
— who need to recover from
unhealthy interactions and
relationships.
BY dale macintyre
Supervisor, Edgewood
Family Programs
If you do a Google search
of treatment centre
websites, you’ll notice that virtually
every program insists that addiction is
a family disease. But if you look closer
at these websites you’ll see that they
offer very little treatment for this family
disease. Most treatment centres don’t
pay much attention to the relationships
that have been affected, even devastated,
by the interactions and behaviours that
are at the root of addiction as a family
disease. Most treatment centres focus all
their energies on the identified patient –
the addict – while the family anxiously
waits at home for their loved-one’s
return, all their sick, addicted, relational
patterns intact.
Not so at Edgewood.
I’m proud to have been part of a
team that treats the relational issues of
addiction seriously. At Edgewood our
clinical practice zeroes in on helping the
whole system of relationships – family,
friends, even workplace relationships -
recover from their unhealthy interactions
and relationships.
We believe strongly that if the
members of an emotional system (the
family) don’t work on their own recovery
while their loved-one is in treatment,
the newly-sober addict will return
home to an alcoholic family, virtually
every member of which will still feel
compelled to control, enable and blame.
Helping family members understand
this will always be a work in progress,
but our clinical and admissions teams
are tenacious – helping family members
see and understand this is at the
forefront of our clinical approach.
Edgewood accomplishes the difficult
task of treating families in all kinds
of ways: intensive treatment processes
like InSite, educational and support
programs like Bounce Back and
information presentations like Family
Education. I take special pride in hearing
InSite alumni talk about their six-days
in the program as “life-changing” – and
when I get letters from kids who’ve been
through Bounce Back write: “Hi Dale,
I was wondering if I could volunteer to
help the next group.” I also like the less
structured exit conferences that take
place with the family when a patient
completes Extended Care.
I’m grateful beyond words for
the opportunities I’ve been given
at Edgewood – for the wonderful
colleagues I’ve had the honour to work
with and learn from – and most of all
for the people who’ve trusted us enough
to put their lives and relationships in our
hands. It takes a lot of courage to face
this disease and do something about it.
Thanks.
I’m retiring from my work at
Edgewood, and I’m taking what
I’ve learned here into new, and still
undecided adventures. I hope we’ll
bump into one another somewhere
along the way.
14 EDGEWOOD News

EDGEWOOD News
OPINION - Jeff Vircoe
Sobriety & Pot Don’t Mix
As a relative old timer in recovery (nearly
25 years), I am frequently surprised to hear
people refer to themselves as ‘sober’ when I
know they smoke pot. I just don’t understand. For me,
it’s always been a battle to stay open-minded about any
definition of “sobriety”that includes sparking up a big
“fatty” now and then.
You see, I once lost 18 months of sobriety. I’d quit
the booze and dope. But one day I decided that, if I just
didn’t drink and only smoked dope, I’d be fine. I mean,
I’d never gotten in trouble from smoking weed before,
had I?
You know where this train is heading.
Turns out my dealer had more for sale than “just”
pot. Pills, powders and a host of other mind blowers.
While living in relapse (which is what pot smoking is), I
was soon defenseless to decline the other goodies.
I fooled few during my relapse. But no matter how
much I smoked, I couldn’t fool myself. I knew I was full
on avoiding me. Running away. Again. That’s what I do.
Seven months later I skittered back into the meeting
rooms. Sat in the back rows. Sketchy, afraid, desperate,
guilty. So lost.
But I changed my sobriety date and I got honest.
Smoking up had always been my way of escaping. My
way of doing things my way. It disconnected me from
you, hooked me up with the “people of the lie.” It led to
more drugs. The truth is, before I’d picked up again I was
sad. Lonely. Grieving my old life. I wasn’t practicing the
program. I was living in the problem.
I was not willing to accept the truth of what the great
psychologist Carl Jung had told Rowland H. in the early
1930’s. Jung advised Rowland, a hopeless alcoholic,
that the only chance he had to recover from the hell
of his disease was to seek out and have a vital spiritual
experience or transformation. Rowland found that
experience in the Oxford Group. Bill Wilson and Bob
Smith, co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, also found
it there. Wilson and Smith soon left the Oxford Group
and took their boat-rockin’, rabble-rousin’ Alkies with
them, but they were armed with a plan for all addicts to
achieve that vital spiritual transformation: The 12 Steps.
I am convinced getting high on pot is more about me
being unwilling to face personal issues than it is about the
debatable low-level consequences of that drug of choice.
And I know I’m surely not sober if I’m smoking pot.
EDGEWOOD EVENTS
cake nightS at edgewood
The fourth Tuesday of every month Edgewood alumni come back
to celebrate a night of joy, gratitude and hope. Inpatient and
InSite alumni and their families are invited to join us at 7:00 pm
to celebrate their success in recovery.
insite WEEKS AT EDGEWOOD ~ UPCOMING
A 6-day therapeutic, residential program will help you achieve
wholeness and the authentic life you seek. Discussion, group
therapy, lectures, film and guest speakers cover a full range of
topics including: relationships, intimacy, boundaries and more.
RECOVERY insite ~ edgewood vancouver
A 5-day therapeutic process to help you achieve the life of wholeness
and authenticity you seek. Group therapy, lectures, film and
guest speakers cover a full range of topics including:
relationships, intimacy issues, healthy boundaries and more.
Contact: 1-604-734-1100 EDGEWOOD VANCOUVER
explore the labyrinth ~ The Walking Meditation
This 3-day residential retreat includes teachings on the labyrinth,
guided meditation, labyrinth walks and quiet reflection.
Cost: $375.00 (+ tax) Incls. 2 nights’ accommodation+ all meals.
Call for fall dates!
gRAND OPENING “THE RESIDENCE”
open to the public! Join us on April 26th for the official opening
of our new residential facility on the Edgewood campus.
Short presentations followed by light refreshments.
INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT PROGRAM ~ VANCOUVER
A 6-week program that addresses the needs of those who may
suspect they have a problem with substance abuse but do not
require the inpatient services of an addiction treatment facility.
6 Week Session (Mon./Tues./Wed. eves. 6:00-8:30 pm)
BOUNCE BACK ~ Children’s Educational program
For children ages 7-12 of addicted parents. This fun, 4-day educational
program creates a safe, supportive environment where
children can explore and express their feelings freely. Features
games, role play, videos, books, art, songs and group discussions.
fun run ~ support the edgewood foundation
OPen to the public. Third annual Fun Run to raise addiction
awareness. All proceeds to the Edgewood Foundation sponsorship
program for those unable to afford treatment.
For information call 250-751-0111.
5-Day intensive addiction training for Physicians
A unique and practical patient-based program introducing
physicians to current addictions medicine theory and practice.
Observe group therapy sessions and practice,with supervision,
interview/assessment skills.
CONFERENCE 2013: healing & treating trauma,
addiction and related disorders
3-Day conference coming this fall!
For information or to register visit: www.jackhirose.com
or call 1-800-456-5424
MARCH 26
APRIL 23
MAY 28
APRIL 1-6
APRIL 15-21
APR. 29-MAY4
MAY 13-18
April 8-12
EDGEWOOD
VANCOUVER bc
April 12-14
EDGEWOOD
NANAIMO
full
April 26
EDGEWOOD
NANAIMO bc
April 29th
EDGEWOOD
VANCOUVER bc
march 21-24
MAY 9-12
EDGEWOOD
NANAIMO bc
june 21
Westwood lake
NANAIMO bc
fall Date
to be
announced
DEC. 4-6
RICHMOND bc
For more information about these and
other EDGEWOOD programs
Call 1-800-683-0111
EDGEWOOD News 15

PRIZES!
BBQ!
SILENT AUCTION!
FUN!
Edgewood Foundation
3rd Annual
6k or 10k
Run/Walk
for
Addiction
Awareness
Help us raise awareness about addiction and its effects,
join us in the 3rd Annual
“Twilight Run for Addiction”
Friday, June 21, 2013
Westwood Lake, Nanaimo, BC
Check in: 6:00 pm
Race Start: 7:00 pm
F O U N D ATI O N
Together
We Can Make A
Difference!
Entry fee: $30.00
(first 200 registrants receive a FREE T-shirt & Water bottle)
TO DONATE OR VOLUNTEER
Call: 250-751-0111 or Toll Free 1-800-683-0111
Race Director: Colleen Ward - colleen@edgewood.ca