AHS Views

When looking at the overall cost of drug rehab programs, there are several things to consider. One of them is, what is the cost if you don’t try to rehabilitate? This means crime, incarceration, lives lost, broken families, spread of disease, etc. This also is a number that multiplies each year the addiction is left untreated. Some estimates have found that society saves $7 for every $1 spent on drug rehab programs.

Depending on which drug rehab program you choose, the cost can vary. The cost of a residential drug rehab facility is about $7,000 per month. While some groups, such as methadone clinics, tout lower costs for outpatient treatment or only 30 days in rehab, it doesn’t mean they work. The relapse rate is actually pretty high for drug replacement treatment, regular outpatient rehab, and even traditional 30-day drug rehab programs.The Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (www.datos.org) provides statistics on this.

To increase your chances for a successful recovery, a longer-term stay is going to be more beneficial, so you should expect the cost of drug rehab to be anywhere between $15,000 and $40,000 when looking at 90 days or more. But as mentioned earlier, you must compare the monetary cost to what it is really costing you – your life!

A recent LA Times Editorial criticized Governor Schwarzenegger for reducing and diverting drug rehab treatment funds from California’s Proposition 36 into a different fund that would provide the money to the counties who use it the most, but with restrictions.

Proposition 36 was overwhelmingly passed in a statewide vote in 2000 to approve funding for nonviolent drug offenders to be given drug rehab and addiction treatment instead of jail. Under the measure, offenders were given up to 3 chances to successfully complete a treatment program.

The Governor’s desire for change was sparked by the release of study information from UCLA saying that approximately half of the people sentenced to drug treatment programs from Prop 36 never completed and about one quarter never even showed up.

On the upside, the study showed that the initiative still saved the state $2.50 for every $1 spent diverting non-violent drug offenders into treatment instead of jail or prison.

The Governor wants there to be some additional ramifications for those who fail to comply with their sentence, including some jail time, and possibly look at individual cases instead of a blanket sentencing agreement and financial obligation.

Perhaps one major flaw in the system is being overlooked. Failure isn’t in the intent of the law or even necessarily in the way it has been carried out over the last six years, but rather in the drug rehab treatment practices themselves. Programs that produce successful results should be funded, rather than those that are just part of the traditional system or are state-money savvy. Programs must also be held accountable along with the individuals attending them, and follow-up monitoring is essential.

What are your views on other states adopting similar drug rehab programs to California’s Proposition 36? And what do you think would make it more successful? Despite the less than rave reviews, should more nonviolent drug offenders be given the chance to complete a successful drug treatment program before being sentenced to jail or prison?

Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers has checked into a rehab facility to keep up with his recovery from alcohol abuse. Meyers, star of the current Showtime series The Tudors, recently finished shooting his upcoming flick ‘August Rush’ opposite Terrence Howard and Robin Williams in New York.

Rhys has scheduled his next project to start after he completes the alcohol rehab treatment program.

Seems drug and alcohol rehab is becoming quite the celebrity trend - others who recently checked into rehab include Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Kate Moss and Desperate Housewives heartthrob Jesse Metcalfe.

Some drug rehab centers are concerned about a guidance document that is currently on the Food and Drug Administration’s Docket (FDA No. 2006D-0480) that reveals plans to reclassify all vegetable juices, herbs and vitamins as FDA regulated drugs. Even things like massage oils and massage rocks will be classified as “medical devices”.

According to the document, once these vitamins, minerals and other natural methods are regulated, the FDA can then ban anything that they feel is a drug and these supplements can be taken off the market. Currently, there are millions of people using natural supplements as they are much safer and cause no side effects in comparison to many of the drugs that are being approved and promoted by the FDA everyday.

This could be a blow to the drug rehab field. It’s been shown that drug free methods to handle addiction with the use of natural supplements statistically achieve the best success rates.

Many of the clients that undergo this type of drug rehab treatment end up being successfully rehabilitated from addiction and do not have periods
of relapse. Trying to regulate these natural methods would be disastrous in the substance abuse treatment arena as many non-traditional treatment methods are now being used.

To comment on this docket

According to a recent article, NIDA (National Institute on Drug Addiction) is set to begin a study through New York University’s Medical Center that would provide those addicted to prescription pain pills, more pills to “wean” them off the drugs. This is a similar concept that the methadone maintenance programs use to wean people off heroin.

This study will be called the Prescription Opiate Addiction Treatment Study and will not only be done at the NYU’s Medical Center, Bellevue Hospital but at 12 other sites around the country. Some of the substitute drugs will include buprenorphone/naloxone and Suboxone to handle addictions to drugs such as OxyContin and Vicoden.

With Suboxone, there are many side effects similar to those effects that people addicted to OxyContin and Vicoden experience. According to SAMHSA (the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) side effects of Suboxone/Subutex®, include dysphoric (depressed) mood, nausea or vomiting, muscle aches/cramps, lacrimation (secretion of excess tears), rhinorrhea (excessive discharge of mucus from the nose), dilation of pupils, sweating, piloerection (erection of hair), diarrhea, yawning, mild fever, insomnia, cravings, distress and irritability.

According to the DEA website, some of the effects and withdrawal symptoms from OxyContin include: constipation, nausea, sedation, dizziness, vomiting, headache, dry mouth, sweating, and weakness.

If you really look, there are more negative effects listed for the “replacement” drug like Suboxone. So, how does that solve the problem?

And, the long term success rates for sobriety from drug addiction by using replacement drug approaches does not top 20%.

Is giving people these replacement drugs the same as giving them more of the drugs they are already addicted to? Or is it worse?

Article by Eric

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A recent report by a non-profit children’s advocacy group has found that there is a lack of good information to determine the effects of methamphetamine on Arkansas’s child welfare system.

Methamphetamine “is seen as the leading cause of all the problems that plague the child welfare system and is considered a significant factor and something that has to be addressed, but you can’t prove that,” said Paul Kelly, senior policy analyst with Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. “With all the public attention on it, is that warranted, and, should we be focusing on methamphetamine or should we be focused on substance abuse?” he said.

The report by the AACF did find that meth was one of the drugs abused by adults that harm children.

According to the study, pregnant mothers are more likely to test positive for cocaine and amphetamines. The study, “Poison, Problem and Perspective: the Impact of Methamphetamine on Arkansas Child Welfare System,” also found that in 2004, parental substance abuse surpassed parents going to jail as the most prevalent factor for placing children in foster care.

Kelly said this is troubling because there is a shortage in Arkansas of substance abuse treatment for women and children.

Arkansas is widely believed to have a statewide problem with methamphetamine abuse and with the lack of good treatment available this will continue to be an issue.

What do you think? Should the focus in Arkansas be on methamphetamine or substance abuse in general?

Article by Eric

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A new documentary series on HBO that has been airing in recent weeks has been creating buzz about the use of medications in the treatment of drug abuse. As we announced a few months ago, this show is actually 9 short films by various directors and many are promoting the use of medications as a “cure” to handle addiction.

Basically, it is stating that putting people on drugs to get them off drugs is the best course of action to take.

Could this be just another way the pharmaceutical companies are seeking to increase profits?

If this type of thinking becomes more accepted, unfortunately many drug abusers will remain trapped as addicts and continue to tear their lives apart. A quick fix like this for a problem that has taken time to develop can’t be effective and will prevent many people from getting effective treatment.

What do you think? Should we be using drugs to get people off drugs or is this just another band-aid “cure”?

Article by Eric

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Currently there is a new drug being abused by many school aged kids called “cheese.” No, this is not the fattening, processed or non-processed, dairy product sold in grocery stores, restaurants etc. As we covered before, “Cheese” is actually a form of black tar heroin that is blended with crushed Tylenol PM or other similar cold medicines.

The abuse of this drug is spreading the fastest in the West and Midwest parts of the country. In recent days, Dallas, TX has reported having major problems with the abuse of this drug.

Because it is very inexpensive ($2.00 per hit on average) school age children are its most common abusers starting as young as age 9. Once someone uses this drug they become hooked almost immediately because of the addictive qualities of the heroin and will then continue to use this drug as many as 10-12 times per day.

Some that first try the drug will experience physical withdrawal symptoms after the first 6 hours of use. Many kids that start using this drug cannot stop once they’ve started using “cheese” because of these heavy physical withdrawal symptoms including nausea, vomiting and headache.

Apparently, “cheese” got its name because when the drugs are mixed, it looks like Parmesan cheese.

Currently areas that have the most problems with “cheese” abuse addiction are trying to get many people from the community educated on this drug and its signs and symptoms of use and abuse in an effort to stop new users from trying this drug.

For the many already hooked on “cheese” a drug rehabilitation program is the only solution.

Article by Eric

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Under the state of California’s Proposition 36, anyone convicted of drug possession has three chances to complete a drug and/or alcohol rehabilitation program before they are sent to prison to serve time for their offenses.

According to a recent article released by the San Francisco Chronicle, an assessment of California’s Proposition 36 has just been done and shows that half of those sentenced to drug rehab never completed a program and a quarter never showed up. And even those that complete most treatment programs often do not end up staying off drugs long term as many programs offered have a permanent recovery rate of 3-10%.

In fact, I spoke to a former addict who told me that while in a program he was told that only 1 out of 10 would complete it and out of those, one would stay off drugs.

Currently in California, the governor demanded that judges be allowed to put those in jail who do not complete treatment and/or who continue to use drugs. But, statistics show that jailing drug addicts also does not solve the problem.

There are a few drug rehab programs offered that have over 70% success rates for recovery but why are these not offered to those required to do treatment so that they have a very good chance for permanent recovery from addiction? Why would the government not fund or provide financing for those programs that achieve very good results?

Are we setting drug addicts up for failure by allowing them to go to programs with low success rates?

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According to a recent study done by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, the use of methamphetamine and amphetamines increase the risk of stroke in young adults. This includes the use and abuse of the illegal drug methamphetamine, which is a dangerous stimulant that is widely abused in the United States, as well cocaine and other amphetamines.

Currently there are many legally prescribed amphetamines for “diseases” such as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) that produce the same effect as a drug like methamphetamine and/or cocaine that have been widely abused over the last few years.

The abuse of prescription drugs like Adderall and Ritalin is a national problem.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, visits to U.S. emergency rooms rose 21% from 2004 to 2005 because of the misuse of prescription drugs. Visits to the ER because of abuse of illegal drugs stayed the same.

Many people who were prescribed drugs such as Adderall or Ritalin as children later end up abusing illegal stimulants such as methamphetamine or even cocaine as adults. According to many drug treatment centers and those using both methamphetamine and/or legally prescribed amphetamines are at a higher risk for stroke and other health issues as young adults and later in life.

The most alarming thing about this is that many school age children are put on these drugs on a daily basis. But, do we really understand the side effects and long standing damage we are doing by putting kids on drugs?

Are we setting them up for major medical problems and even addiction later in life? And is there a better way to handle learning disabilities and problems in school that does not involve drugging children?

Article by Eric

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