On Monday morning I heard a great report on NPR’s Morning Edition about the new U.S. drug Czar, Gil Kerlikowske. Apparently the Obama administration is placing new emphasis on treatment in their approach to drug policy. Part of that will include hopes to double drug court funding. I was so encouraged to hear about this positive shift. When you consider those dealing with the disease of addiction and if they step outside the law, why would the only option be a prison system where they get no treatment for their disease and often maintain as much if not more access to drugs while incarcerated? So when they are released, they are back in society, often in worse shape, to continue down the road of destruction to themselves, their loved ones, and the community. If the courts emphasize treatment, and I do mean intensive multi-modality treatment that challenges and promotes growth and change, as an option then I believe we would see positive change. And apparently, that’s what many are thinking now too.
Plus, statistics are showing that communities save over 4 dollars for every dollar spent on treatment. That savings is in crime reduction and medical care. This comes from a University of KY study which also showed that participants in treatment programs one year after discharge committed fewer crimes and earned more money. The study’s author Robert Walker said “It suggests that treatment services not only benefit the individual but serve society at large.” As a side note, my opinion that treatment should be considered in drug court is not to suggest that incarceration is not the appropriate judgement in some cases.
Source: The Lexington Herald-Leader http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2008/addiction-treatment-cuts.html
If you’d like to hear the NPR news story in its entirety: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105393165&ft=1&f=1014
Treatment works. I know it can be frustrating when you see people who have to go to treatment more than once. But addiction is not an acute disease, it is recurrent. That means it doesn’t go away just because symptoms and behavior go away, it requires continuous care. Don’t give up on your loves ones or yourself. I’ve heard it compared to giving up on insulin as a diabetic just because you had to take insulin again. I understand flaws in that comparison, but I feel it is appropriate to put addiction clearly in the context of a disease. I say all of this not as a treatment professional, but as someone who has searched for understanding myself. One of my favorite scriptures says, “get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7
Blessings- Ginger
