‘Angelic’ website has news, resources

Research suggests that college students are increasingly “doping” themselves to prepare for tests, in the same way that athletes have long used drugs to give them an advantage in physical competition.

As a result, the spectre of students queuing to provide urine samples before sitting exams is being raised by a scientist who says "smart drugs" claiming to boost academic performance have proliferated, making the introduction of routine drug-testing for students inevitable.

That’s the cautionary message delivered by Australian psychologist Vince Cakic in a news story reported by the Angels Community Support Network.
   
Angels is a Vancouver-based Internet clearinghouse for information on addictions treatment resources and related information on substance abuse.  Angels'  founder David Paur launched Angels in November of 2001 to act as a charity support network and supply the best help in addictions recovery.

Among the components of Angels’ vast website is Addictions & Recovery Network News, where Web surfers can go for a compendium of pertinent articles updated twice monthly (scroll down to read the full story on Academic Doping).
  
Paur discovered through his 20-plus years in recovery and change that there were many charities suffering due to government budget cuts. “The results were dramatically reduced services, and even more of the afflicted and needy were falling through the cracks,” according to Paur, whose own resume reads:  “From the boardroom to Skid Row and back.”

“There were many great agencies and wonderful people working tirelessly, in heroic fashion, to make up the difference and to make a difference,” said Paur, “but now, they too needed a hand.”

Disease and addictions were on the rise, and the afflicted – more often hurt, confused and bewildered –  needed to find the right help, “and they needed it now,” Paur continued. “But the question was always the same: where to start?”

Years later, the Angels Community Support Network has become, as Paur describes it, “a reliable, trusted, one-stop resource connecting the public, community of caregivers, special businesses, and other visitors under one domain offering a simple, uncluttered place to go for real help and great information in British Columbia.”

Paur said “the heart of what we do” is Angels’ listing of drug and alcohol treatment resources, including centres and services. Among those linked to the site:

• 24 alcohol/drug outpatient clinics;
• 44 community programs providing addiction services;
• 11 detox centres (for youth and adults);
• 25 methadone clinics;
• 33 treatment centres (community and private)
• 16 residential recovery homes
• 25 physicians who treat addictions
• 15 addictions counselors/coaches

With its focus on youth and prevention, A-DES is linked to the Angels website in multiple categories. The site also links to numerous support groups, from those for substance abuse (like alcohol, crystal meth, or cocaine) to others including Gamblers Anonymous and Emotions Anonymous.

Though the majority of linked resources are Lower Mainland or B.C.-based, others include the renowned Betty Ford Clinic and U.S.-based facilities in the Pacific Northwest. More than a dozen private treatment centers listed are outside of British Columbia, in Calgary or Toronto, and including the program begun by guitarist Eric Clapton in Antigua, West Indies, and another in Thailand on the River Kwai.

Paur estimates that – after including all the charities, nonprofits (like A-DES) and “Corporate Care partners” affiliated with the Angels Network – there are more than 1,000 resources available through the website and Angels connections.

(Anyone wishing to contact Paur may do so by email at: david@angelscommunity.com)