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

SOURCE Narconon Freedom Treatment Center