Addiction rehabilitation is a hard thing in itself, but making it harder is the criminal aspect of drug addiction. Due to the classifying of certain dangerous drugs as illegal, drug users are less open about their addiction and their need for help. Drug rehab should be available for all, even those who could not afford to be bailed out of jail.
A drug addict may have made the wrong decisions in taking drugs and eventually becoming dependent on it, but this should not be a reason for them to die slowly from their disease. Unfortunately, due to the criminal nature of drug pushing and use, people would not want to be caught and thus hide their problems so as to avoid being caught by the authorities.
This is not a petition for all dangerous drugs to be legal, but merely to show that the law sometimes complicates and exacerbates a situation to the point of creating a whole different monster. Instead of cocaine addiction being treated in rehabilitation centers, we have crackheads resorting to violent means in order to get their fix, rather than be discovered.
Also, would the Mafia be as dangerous as they are without their control of the illegal drug industry? As Tony Montana in ‘Scarface’ points out, it is precisely the goons who want drug pushing to remain illegal. Imagine if heroin and cocaine were completely legal. You wouldn’t see as many mobsters’ mansions, that’s for sure. And the increased availability of addiction treatment would surely offset the number of cases of a idiot who tries out legalized ecstasy just as they would sample rat poison out of curiosity.
The point being, the horrible issue of drug abuse should be primarily a health issue. Addicts must be allowed to heal above all, just as those with excessive red blood cells experience too much blood clotting, or just as those with excessive parasites experience digestive system disorders.
Whatever may have led one to get hooked on dangerous substances, other people can detect signs of drug abuse. The earlier this is treated, the better. Of course, it is a difficult matter to get one to first admit that they have a problem, and next, to do something for their condition. It is a sad reality that unless one surrenders one’s pride and admits they have a problem, no remedies could help them overcome their addiction.
The best drug rehab techniques involve a nurturing of an addict’s emotional side. One has to feel important, as well as loved and needed by family and friends. A part of this would involve giving the patient a chance to be of service or of help to others. By helping others, one is empowered and feels they have a purpose. This may seem self-serving, but it is nonetheless true that giving one’s self in altruistic ways is therapeutic and very healthy.
There are all sorts of places to get drug rehab, but there is a lot that can be improved in addressing the needs of a patient. The first step is to make one feel foremost like a patient rather than a criminal, after which they can go about interacting with fellow human beings in a healthy manner.
