drug addiction and drug abuse: Treatment

Treatment of substance abusers depends upon the severity and nature of the addiction, motivation, and the availability of services. Some users may come into treatment voluntarily and have the support of family, friends, and workplace; others may be sent to treatment by the courts against their will and have virtually no support system. Most people in drug treatment have a history of criminal behavior; approximately one third are sent by the criminal justice system.

Both pharmacological and behavioral treatments are used, often augmented by educational and vocational services. Treatment may include detoxification, therapy, and support groups, such as the 12-step groups Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Cocaine Anonymous. Nonresidential programs serve the largest number of patients. Residential facilities include hospitals, group homes, halfway houses, and therapeutic communities, such as Phoenix House and Daytop Village; most of the daily activities are treatment-related. Programs such as Al-Anon, CoAnon, and Alateen, 12-step programs for family and friends of substance abusers, help them to break out of codependent cycles.

Some treatment programs use medicines that neutralize the effects of the drug. Antabuse is a medicine used in the treatment of alcoholism. It causes severe and sudden reaction (nausea, vomiting, headache) when alcohol is present. Naltrexone, to treat alcohol and heroin abuse, and acamprosate, used to treat alcoholism, both reduce cravings. Other programs use stabilizing medications, e.g., methadone or buprenorphine maintenance programs for heroin addiction. Acupuncture has been successful in treating the cravings that accompany cocaine withdrawal and is being used with pregnant substance abusers to improve the health of their babies.

For every person in drug treatment there are an estimated three or four people who need it. Many who attempt to get treatment, especially from public facilities, are discouraged by waits of over a month to get in. Evaluating the effectiveness of treatment is difficult because of the chronic nature of drug abuse and alcoholism and the fact that the disease is usually complicated by personal, social, and health factors.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• History
• Legalization and Decriminalization
• Reduction of Demand for Drugs
• Supply Reduction
• Fighting Substance Abuse
• Treatment
• Effects on Society
• Effects on the Family
• On the Individual
• Effects of Substance Abuse
• Motivations for Drug Use
• Illegal Substances
• Legal Substances
• Types of Abused Substances
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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