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Jan 13, 2009 06:32 PM | 11
Despite 20 years of scientific evidence showing that drug treatment programs work, the feds fail to offer enough of them to prisoners, according to a new study. Currently 7.1 million adults—over 2 percent of the population—in the U.S. are locked up or on probation; about half of them suffer from some kind of addiction—heroin, alcohol, crack, crystal meth, you name it—but only 20 percent of those addicts actually get effective treatment, say researchers from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.
"For every dollar that you spend on treatment of substance abuse in the criminal justice system, it saves society on average four dollars," says study co-author NIDA director Nora Volkow, a psychiatrist.
Among the studies Volkow and her colleagues reviewed: one of heroin addicts treated with methadone in prison, a treatment program that they continued when they were released. That study found that addicts who received no treatment were seven times more likely than their rehabbed compeers to become addicted to heroin again once back on the streets and three times more likely to commit a crime and land back in prison.
The rehab programs save money that otherwise will likely be spent on re-incarceration of drug addicts and treatment of psychiatric disorders and diseases such as HIV or AIDS that they may contract from dirty needles used to satisfy their addictions, Volkow says.
"Many people with addiction also have psychiatric disorders," she says, noting that recreational drug use often exacerbates the problem. (In fact, more mentally ill people are housed in prisons than psychiatric hospitals in the U.S. "The Los Angeles County jail, with 3,400 mentally ill prisoners, functions as the largest psychiatric inpatient institution in the United States," according to a 2003 report by The New York Times.)
Volkow stressed the rehab programs only work if continued after addicts are released from lockups.
"Addiction is a chronic disease. …For treatment to be effective, you have to provide continuing care," she says. "In some instances, some patients have to maintain [treatment] for several years."
Image credit ©iStockphoto.com/LOU OATES
Tags:
drug rehab,
treatment,
prison,
U.S.
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11 Comments
Add CommentI agree, prisoners with a drug-dependency problem should receive the adequate treatment; if prison authorities fail to do so it could be counterproductive, both for the prison system itself and for the community, if the prisoner returns to his/her community unrehabilitated and unprepared for life on the outside.. Human Rights Watch has published a very interesting article about New York inmates with substance use problems and the way the system is dealing with them. http://www.hrw.org/es/news/2009/03/24/new-york-stop-sending-prison-drug-users-box
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThanks for the article.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRocky
<a href=http://www.drugstrategies.org>Drug Treatment Centers</a>
Thanks for the article.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRocky
<a href="http://www.drugstrategies.org">Drug Treatment Centers</a>
This is simply awesome. These drug treatment programs are very useful for the drug addicted person. It helps them to get rid from their addiction activities.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAmy Cooper
<a href="http://www.drugtreatments.com">Drug Treatment</a>
This is simply awesome. These drug treatment programs are very useful for the drug addicted person. It helps them to get rid from their addiction activities.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAmy Cooper
[url=http://www.drugtreatments.com]Drug Treatment[/url]
There is so much truth to this article it actually hurts me. I speak from experience. I lived a life full of addiction and crime until August 18, 2007 when I was arrested and sent to prison. In California, where I live, most of the prisons not only offer drug programs, but if you have any drug related crimes on your record, they are mandatory. I owe my new life to the fact that I was ordered to go through treatment. In fact , it had such a profound effect on me that I am now enrolled in college and studying to become a drug and alcohol counselor. These programs may not work for everyone, but I think we owe it to our society to at least offer help to addicts. Whether they decide to apply it in their lives or not is up to them.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.soberliving.com/blog/what-is-the-cost-of-not-going-to-treatment-part-ii-legal-issues
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.soberliving.com/blog/what-is-the-cost-of-not-going-to-treatment-part-ii-legal-issues
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGreat Article. Thanks for adding this article.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisVista Bay
http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200902/1234352549.html
People can get addicted to all sorts of substances. When we think of addiction, we usually think of alcohol or illegal drugs. But people become addicted to medications, cigarettes, even glue! And some substances are more addictive than others: Drugs like crack or heroin are so addictive that they might only be used once or twice before the user loses control.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisEasily find the list of testing facilities by city & state.
<a href="http://www.testcountry.com/drug-testing-center-facilities/">Drug Testing Center</a>
The consumption of drugs provides a certain kind of thrill to the addict, but at the same time it kills them. Addicts generally use drugs to escape from reality, to fight depression and to get euphoric effects. There are various drug treatment methods through which one can kick the addiction. Drug addicts can be given a complete treatment at a drug rehabilitation center and can also be provided with psychological help. Treatment for Drug Addiction is a must.
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