For many drug addicts, the most compassionate approach is abstinence
nick cowen, 26 April 2012
This week, Russell Brand held court before the Home Affairs Select Committee, causing a bit of a media stir by appearing in a torn vest and a black hat. Perhaps somewhat overshadowed by his theatrical appearance were his proposals for tackling drug use which represent a blend of harm-reduction and full recovery policies. These approaches have often been presented as diametrically opposed, but increasingly policy-makers and practitioners seem willing to combine the two, drawing on the strengths of each.
Brand appeared with Chip Somers, chief executive of drug rehab charity Focus 12. They were adamant that most drug addicts needed compassion rather than criminalisation, but also argued that there was an overuse of substitute treatments (such as methadone prescriptions) in the current drug treatment regime in England and Wales. Somers explained that addicts could too easily get ‘locked’ in to years of addiction by methadone. Many addicts on methadone prescriptions also fail to come off all illegal substances.
So while there may be some initial health advantages to substitute treatments and other harm reduction strategies (reduced use of shared needles, for example), the long-term welfare prospects for serious addicts remains bleak. Instead, abstinence-focussed treatments that encourage users to cease all drug use and deal with the problems that led them to become addicts in the first place offer a lot more promise.
This is one finding of Rehabilitating Drug Policy, a report that we have just released. The report argues that the availability of methadone and other substitutes is one important public health and crime reduction tool; but that by becoming almost a default option both for GPs and clinicians working in the prison system, it has come to be over-used and misapplied in many cases. The evidence increasingly supports an expanded focus on abstinence as a key path to recovery, especially for seriously addicted drug users.
The full report is available here.
Drug addicts use drug as an easy temporary escape from life’s pressures, but that is life, and you cant blame it for being unfair. It had been here before you were conceived in the womb of your mother. Nevertheless, drugs addicts deserves a second chance for self renewal, but not until they accept the punishments of their prohibited acts.
As a citizen, we all have our rights which should be respected. If a person is convicted with any crime, that person is responsible for his action and should face the consequences of his actions.
People exist in this world to do a certain responsibilities and that is protect ourself against harmful things and to create development for the benefit of every individual. In this modern world some of us are not aware about the right rules and push ourself to engage in a crime. We need abstinence and discipline in ourself in order to create change towards success development.
Taking up drugs is already a violation of our law, however every mistake we’ve made have always a lesson to learn. A drug addict can also change by entering to a rehabilitation. For sure they will be recovered from a dark side. Therefore people are given a chance to make their life better.
Drug addicts are people too. And they deserve mercy and understanding from us. But we can’t afford to disregard the truth that they had been the reason of many of the social issues today. We often read or hear in news that those who commits killing, harassments and offenses of the like are under the influence of prohibited drugs. They deserved punishments for their acts. But they still have the right to be respected and be given a chance to change for the betterment of their life.
This needs to be taken into consideration: I am a recovering drug addict. All of my fellow addicts in recovery that I have spoken to about Insite attest that the only realistic remedy for our addiction is abstinence, and the continued participation in a positive peer-to-peer group setting. Addiction is a disease that cannot be cured. It affects physiological functions of the brain’s inner chemical workings as well as creating other physical problems; it wearies the fabric of the soul through vulnerability to mental illnesses like depression and anxiety disorders; and addiction literally destroys the human spirit’s capacity to enjoy dignity and self-worth.
“Harm reduction” is the single most grievous error in public health policy ever to infect our society. It is absurd, and demonstrates a great lack of respect for the successful abstinence/treatment programs that realize the paramount medical need is to remove all drugs, including alcohol, from an addict’s grasp.
My heart breaks for what judicial activism has wrought. I weep when I think how blind shepherds in the medical community can claim that the provision of free crack pipes will somehow preserve human life.
I thank Barbara Kay for her reasoned column.
Robbie Armstrong, Pitt Meadows, B.C.
It stems from this column: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/10/05/barbara-kay-the-supreme-court-used-flawed-data-to-make-its-insite-decision/