Drug Rehab Statistics
The statistics on drug abuse in the United States are staggering. According to a study from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 112,085,000 Americans aged 12 or over report having used an illicit drug at least once in their life. That is 46.1 % of the US population aged 12 and over. Out of these people, the same study estimates that there are 30 million US citizens addicted to drugs, either prescription or illegal.
The rehab treatments available for addicts vary as much as the addictions themselves. The first step is to ascertain the severity of the person’s addiction and their drug of choice. Other issues, such as age, gender, race, sexual orientation and environment are also factored in to the mix. Once that information is gathered, the counselor can work to find the best treatment for that particular person. Most treatments begin with behavior modification to help people cope with their drug cravings while at the same time offer them suggestions on ways to avoid drugs This is sometimes the hardest lesson for people to accept as the first suggestion is usually to avoid known drug users, which often cuts the person off from their friends. There are many medications that have been used successfully in fighting drug addiction. These include, but are not limited to, methadone, naltrexone and Levo-Alpha Acetyl Methadol, known as LAAM.
Methadone has been an accepted form of detoxification from narcotics for over thirty years. The patient receives a carefully monitored daily dose of methadone, a synthetic narcotic suppresses the opioid receptor in the brain that is triggered by opiate use and allows addicts to change their addictive behaviors. It reduces the cravings and uncontrolled impulses seen with heroin addiction, but the patient must then be gradually weaned from the methadone, a process that could take years. However, since the harmful side effects of illegal drugs are gone, the patient can be helped to return to a normal life.
Naltrexone is not as well known as methadone, but it is highly effective in persons truly motivated to overcome their addiction. Naltrexone, when used in conjunction with clonidine, can shorten the detoxification time to one day as opposed to the two weeks necessary for the same results from methadone. This results in considerable cost savings. However, people using naltrexone have a higher relapse rate then patients using methadone. Doctors theorize that this is because naltrexone does not have side effects, such as the withdrawal symptoms experienced by methadone users, when it is discontinued.
LAAM is another alternative to methadone. It needs to be administered only three times a week, which, like naltrexone, results in significant cost savings. Studies have shown that patients on LAAM may need more counseling and support when they first begin treatment as their ignorance of the treatment causes more anxiety in them.
Besides behavior modification and medical intervention, there are many other forms of rehab that can be used concurrently with the former two treatments. These include substance use monitoring, support groups, counseling, family services such as childcare, housing and transportation, education, medical care, financial aid and legal services. These subsidiary services are needed to help the patient return to a productive life since many addicts have concurrent problems such as depression or other psychosis.