EXCLUSIVE: Lindsay Lohan Being Treated For Cocaine Addiction At Betty Ford Clinic
Oct. 11 2010, Published 1:32 p.m. ET
Hollywood wild child Lindsay Lohan is being treated for cocaine addiction at the Betty Ford Clinic, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned.
"Lindsay's primary problem is cocaine," said a source, close to the situation.
"She went through a thorough assessment, and it was discovered that she has a high dependence for cocaine."
The Mean Girls star, who has been to rehab five times and was jailed three times for cocaine related incidents, had previously played down the extent of her drug abuse.
But when Lohan registered a dirty result for cocaine after a court-mandated test while on probation, last month, the actress took to Twitter to declare, "Substance abuse is a disease which doesn't go away overnight."
"It's not surprising that Lindsay returned to cocaine use after her most recent stint in rehab," said our source.
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"There is a great desire for the drug, even when someone stops using it.
"The cravings are very intense the first four to five days after someone stops using the drug, and it then continues along at various levels of intensity for up to two weeks beyond that.
"Some cocaine addicts might still feel a desire to use the drug after that period, even after seeing such things as drug paraphernalia or powdered sugar or sweetener.
"So at this point, Lindsay is at a critical point of her detoxification and recovery, and she is doing well."
Cocaine is said to be one of the most addictive drugs because it modifies and enhances naturally occurring neurotransmitters in the brain.
"People enjoy the feeling so much their bodies crave a repeat of it so intensely that some will put themselves in a lot of danger to experience it again and again," Dr. James West, a doctor at the Betty Ford in Rancho Mirage, California, wrote on the center's website.
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In the past, Lohan admitted trying cocaine to "see what it was like".
"I was only aware of cocaine because of my dad," Lohan said in an interview with British newspaper The Sun.
"I was terrified of it. But I tried it because I was stubborn, stupid and wanted to see what it was like."
Lohan's connection to cocaine has long been documented.
In 2007, she was caught on tape doing cocaine after a friend sold a tape of the actress snorting cocaine and shoving it up a pal's nose, while being crammed into a nightclub toilet during a wild night on the town.
In another photo taken in May this year, while in Cannes, France, Lohan was photographed next to lines of a white powder cut and arranged next to each other.
RadarOnline.com has learned Lindsay has her own treatment team.
According to Betty Ford, such a group includes a physician, nurse, psychologist, primary counselor, case manager, spiritual care counselor, family counselor, dietician, fitness trainer and chemical dependency technician.
The team is responsible for assessing and working with Lohan to establish her plan of care and post-treatment recommendations designed to support her ongoing recovery.
Lohan voluntarily checked into Betty Ford, after relapsing just weeks after being released from her court-ordered stay in Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
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