Drug Addiction Treatment is costly! For a celebrity or someone in an upper income level, I suppose it's affordable. The problem is that most Addicts are not in those positions. In fact, honestly, most Addicts are not even in an income level; by the time their disease advances to the point that Treatment becomes a considered option!

Rarely, Treatment is offered at $1500 to $2000 per month. For an example of where the upper end is, look at "Promises" in Malibu. A recent article at eHow.com quotes their rate at $8855 per week. Or, the Cirque Lodge in Utah will treat you for $26,000 per month. Most common are the figures of $3000 to $5000 per month. Just how would your average Addict ever find the money for even 3-5K monthly? They can't!!! Obviously, treatment professionals who are not involved in the non-profit sector do not care about the Addiction Problem in general. They are not concerned about the implications it has on our Society! They do what they do for the money, and make outrageous salaries.

In the non-profit sector of Addiction treatment, "qualified professionals" usually start at about $10/hour and eventually make between $15 and $25 per hour, depending on experience and their geographic location and how good the Government subsidized programs in their area are. In my own experience I have found that these counselors and therapists usually give up a significant time of their own time, off the books. They do this because they care! They care about the individuals and they care about the problem. Treatment professionals who work in State facilities generally are paid $10 to $20 per hour with benefits. And, those employed by County and City programs, usually at Health Departments, receive $15 to $25 per hour with very generous benefits. It's the private, non-profits who have established the results showing continually more and more success, though. They are also the provider who provides services to the greatest numbers. They are also the providers who have the hardest time collecting their fees. Operating under a premise that money is not what it's all about, they often take risks behind their personal ethics. These programs generally have staffs consisting mostly of Recovering Addicts who are working with a passion to "help others", out of a sense of Empathy, and gratefulness for having survived their own battle with Drug Addiction! These highly important professionals live at near poverty level because our money is mostly funding In-Prison programs that are ineffective and financially inefficient, like most all other Government Institution programs are.

It seems that someone somewhere is beginning to see this problem of poor use of taxes by governments. California has Proposition 5 on the 2008 ballot. This is a first attempt to redefine sentencing laws to direct drug offenders into more efficient private, non-profit programs, diverting them from ineffective In-Prison programs. It allocates $460,000,000 annually to improve and expand treatment programs. Its fiscal impact potentially costs the State $1,000,000,000 annually for expansion of treatment programs, but potentially saves $1,000,000,000 annually in corrections costs.Problem!MADD and the State Correctional Officers are spending a lot of money portraying this as a Proposition that will set criminals and Drug Dealers FREE to roam our streets. No one is spending any money to get the true facts out, though. I truly expect the proposition to be defeated and we will continue to pour money into In-Prison, assessed to be failures, programs. It's old, ignorant views of Crime and Punishment over Rehabilitation continuing to cause a major failure for our Society. Though all the statistics and research say that "Treatment" is the answer to the U.S. "Drug Problem", ignorance is causing a continuation of failure to solve a problem that affects every citizen in some way or another. Though the Disease Concept of Addiction has made milestones in acceptance, it is a long way from being "Embraced"!

My hope, as a Certified Counselor and a Recovering Addict is that maybe some of my articles or even one of them will get somewhere that they can do some good, informing people of the incredible need for education and understanding of this problem and the best solution we have, so far.