More drug addicts who have committed non-violent crimes will now have the opportunity to get treatment for the drug addiction instead of going to jail, according to a Supreme Court ruling. Previously, only first offenders had that option, now those with prior convictions will be able to enter New Jersey drug rehab programs.

About 40,000 people are arrested for possession and the use of narcotics every year in  New Jersey, but there are many more crimes committed that are drug-related: More than 30 percent of prisoners are there for drug related offenses.

Prison time without drug treatment that addresses the problems that got the person on drugs in the first place. And the drugs are often the reason the person got into criminal activity. Stealing to get drugs, and so on. Getting into a successful drug rehab program in New Jersey will kill two birds with one stone – while getting them off drugs, it will also remove the reason they’re breaking the law.

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I read an article this morning about crack cocaine users and the problems they have getting treatment; their erratic, uncontrollable and distrustful behavior makes them unwelcome in facilities that could hook them up with the drug rehab they need.

The author described crack cocaine as a ‘devastatingly effective shortcut’ to rock bottom. According to the article, which was about Toronto – a typical city – 50 percent of the homeless are on crack, but no one knows which came first, the homelessness or the crack.

Snorting powdered cocaine constricts the blood vessels, and raises the temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. Those are bad enough, but when you add the side effects of smoking cocaine in the crack form – coughing, shortness of breath, severe chest pains, lung trauma and bleeding – you can see why the life of crack users may be shortened without drug rehab.

Add to that the fact that cocaine is somewhat like opiates in that the user sometimes needs more and more cocaine, or crack, to get the desired effect, and you’ve got a deadly drug on your hands. Cocaine and crack users often combine the drug with alcohol to intensify the effect – a combination which sometimes leads to sudden death.

Crack addicts can be difficult to tolerate. The extreme restlessness, irritability and anxiety users experience can really make them seem pretty crazy. Nevertheless, they need help to get into a successful drug rehab program as soon as possible.

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Today while on the Internet, I came across an interesting service for sale on E-bay – a Sobriety Companion who “babysits” someone who’s addicted to drugs or alcohol. The cost was $300.00 a day, and the job is to make sure the person they’re babysitting doesn’t use drugs. Looking into this a bit more I found several articles on the sobriety companion and saw that some celebrities with substance abuse issues are using them to help them stay clean. This sobriety companion delivers no actual drug rehab services.

For anyone who’s been involved in Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous, the sobriety companion is very similar to the ‘sponsor’ system – a person who’s been clean for a while is teamed up with a newer person who is trying to kick the habit. The sponsor is the support system who keeps the new guy on the straight and narrow. AA or NA’s sponsors are free, and it’s an around-the-clock service.

An article reports that actor Owen Wilson hired a sobriety companion after his recent suicide attempt. Wilson’s paying $750.00 per day, according to the article. Wilson was apparently told he needed drug rehab to handle his drug problems, but chose the sobriety companion instead of treatment. Another article reported that Pat O’Brien also hired a sobriety companion but, in his case, it was after he completed treatment.

While it may be true that a sobriety companion can temporarily keep someone from using drugs, it cannot take the place of drug rehab. O’Brien’s solution, however, was a good one. Sometimes a former addict doesn’t have clean and sober friends to return to after a successful drug rehab program – a sobriety companion could be the positive influence he needs. And if that will help prevent relapse, it’s worth the money.

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When an individual completes a drug treatment program the expected result is that they stay off drugs permanently. Although some substance abuse treatment programs promote the idea that “relapse is apart of recovery,” this should not be the case if the drug rehab program was done correctly and thoroughly.

Let’s take Britney Spears, for example: According to the newest media reports, she may be checking into drug rehab for a second time as more information on her alleged drug addiction has been leaked to the media by a former bodyguard. The bodyguard recounts an incident where Britney overdosed on drugs after her stay in treatment, stating that he showed up at a hotel room where Brit’s assistant was trying to contact a doctor to detoxify her. He said that he saw white powder on a table with a straw and a pipe.

Since Britney has completed drug rehab, her life has gone noticeably downhill. From the custody battle, to the horrendous performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, to the videos and pictures of her club hopping in LA. Not to mention the hit and run charge.

If there is anyone that needs to get into drug rehab again, it’s Britney Spears. This time, let’s hope she chooses a successful drug rehab program that will actually help her.

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A Community Council in the Alton Park area of Chattanooga, Tennessee, is planning on creating an alcohol and drug rehab facility to reduce substance abuse and crime. Alton Park and five adjacent areas, while only accounting for 14.3 percent of the city’s population, is responsible for 43.6 percent of all drug complaints. The city councilman who represents the area says they don’t have money to fund a rehab center – but how are they going to handle the drug-related crime if they can’t get the alcoholics and addicts apparently causing the problems through alcohol and drug rehab?

The chairwoman of the Alton Park Piney Woods Improvement League says the crime is related to lack of education and job training. She said that if the addicts had a job, they wouldn’t have to steal from other people. While it’s true that most people wouldn’t have to steal from others if they had a job, the same isn’t necessarily true for drug addicts. Supporting addiction is expensive. Also, until the people with substance abuse problems get through a drug rehab program, they’re not likely to take advantage of any education or job training that might be available to them, and they’re less likely to hold any job they get.

Fortunately, business owners in the community feel differently, although they’re going to be hard-pressed to come up with the money to build the rehab center when the city’s already made it clear that it won’t be a source of the funding.

It would be interesting to look at the city budget and see exactly how tax revenues and other money is being spent. There’s never really enough to go around but if you want a community worth living in, you sometimes have to change your priorities. And for a city plagued with alcohol, drug abuse and crime, a successful drug rehab program could probably improve things more than other initiatives currently being funded.

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Louisiana has had a drug problem for a while, but recent statistics from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed that in the past month more than 46 percent of the Louisiana population aged 12 or older drank alcohol, including 19 percent of 12 – 17 year olds, and nearly 16 percent of high school students smoked marijuana. Louisiana drug rehab facilities were never more needed than they are now.

According to an article in Town Talk, Louisiana’s problems stem from medical and psychological conditions, inter-generational poverty and systemic breakdowns of families, communities and other traditional safety nets.

The article also says that young people should have the self-control and self-respect needed to help them make the right decisions – which don’t include alcohol and drug abuse – and that they need help with that. Agreed.

But where are they going to get that help when they’re surrounded by adults with the same problems? If someone doesn’t get the parents into a successful drug rehab program, the kids are on their own. A very sad state of affairs.

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The University of Wisconsin-Madison is toughening up on alcohol abuse. Students who’ve previously been ticketed for excessive drinking will now have to pass a breathalyzer test at the entrance, or not see the game. Six students landing in alcohol detox with lethal levels of alcohol in their system was the motivation. Unfortunately, these kids are going into detox only long enough to sober up, no real full detox to get it out of their systems, and no alcohol rehab.

Wisconsin is number three in the Top Ten Party Schools list. Here’s the brief description from pubclub.com: “It’s a beautiful campus right on a lake with a weekly Thursday night outdoor student bash. Then there’s State Street, with enough fun bars to warm the soul – even on those chilly fall Saturdays.”

Kids whose parents talk to them about the dangers of drugs and alcohol are 50 percent less likely to turn into alcoholics. So, if you live in Wisconsin and UW-M is likely to be your kids’ college choice, it’s more important than ever to start that education early.

The pubclub’s motto for party colleges is “Win or Loose, We Booze.” With that much boozing going on, it’s likely that your kid’s first stop after college will be a drug and alcohol rehab program instead of their first move into their career.

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When Owen Wilson got out of the hospital following his suicide attempt, he apparently hired a $750 a day ‘sobriety companion’ instead of going to drug rehab. The situation was discussed today in an online column. One of the authors commented “Imagine paying for what all the standard 12-step programs give away free.” He’s referring to the practice of having an AA member who’s been ‘in recovery’ for a while taking the new guy under his wing. I don’t know if AA would be any better for Wilson than his ‘sobriety companion’, but unless that companion is a skilled and experienced drug rehab counselor, Wilson doesn’t have much of a chance.

‘Sobriety companion’ is kind of hard to figure out. Is it someone who keeps you from drinking or taking drugs? Is it someone who’s also trying to stay clean and you’re going to do it together?  Hard to tell.

I don’t know what was behind Wilson’s decision to not do drug rehab. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he doesn’t want to join the ranks of Britney Spears et al who’ve turned rehab into a media event. I don’t blame him.

However, there are other drug rehab programs available. You don’t have to go to the chi-chi places surrounded by paparazzi. A successful drug rehab program will keep you out of the limelight and help you focus on getting down to the bottom of your problem.

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Good news for those looking to help their spouse or other dependant get into a drug rehab program – it may be deductible from your taxes.

A recent press release from the White House – the results of the 2006 survey on substance abuse – showed that of those who realized they needed alcohol or drug rehab but didn’t get it, about 35% said it was because they couldn’t afford it.

Yes, it’s true, it costs money. Drug rehab providers have to pay the rent, too, and their staff. But it’s not as expensive as a car or house, not even anywhere near the cost of a good college. And it could save a life – several, actually, in terms of the quality of the lives of everyone involved such as family and friends of the person needing drug rehab.

I would hope that knowing this is tax deductible will encourage others to get their loved ones into a successful drug rehab program.

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The House of Representatives in Australia, having investigated the drug problem for seven months, handed down 31 recommendations designed to stop drug addiction and abuse. Those who oppose the recommendations called them a ‘disgrace’ and ‘frightening.’ Yes, they’re pretty tough. But are they really too tough? Frankly, unless you live in a country where addicts are beating down the doors to get into drug rehab, I don’t think so.

Here are the highlights:

• Teenagers would be forced into drug rehab.
• If a child under five comes to the attention of child protection services due to parents’ drug addiction, the child would be adopted out – unless the parents could give the court just cause for doing otherwise. And, they don’t get them back.
• Methadone programs would lose their funding unless they can prove they’re actually getting people off drugs, not just substituting one drug for another – e.g. methadone for heroin.
• Harm reduction programs would have funding re-appropriated to drug rehab.

Yes, it’s tough. Those who oppose it say that drug addiction is a more complex issue than the seven-month investigation and report suggests. But when it comes right down to it, drug addiction, or not, is a choice. Just like every other thing we do in life: no matter how we’re coerced, each individual makes the decision to succumb, or not. And each of us can change our mind – no one controls that. And it isn’t as if drug rehab isn’t available to help us out.

In the words of Albert Einstein, “Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.”

This bill probably won’t go through. Pity. A successful drug rehab program can get people off drugs and prevent a lifetime of suffering – for the addicts and for their families. Perhaps higher stakes would force the change of mind needed.

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