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“These medications really do help...” Did she really just say that?... I’m sorry was I hearing her right? I had been fighting addiction and drug use my whole life, consequently here I am arrested, broken, here against my will, subject of court authority, to check into drug rehab and they are offering me more drugs? I politely declined the intake person’s offer of a new prescription. Even I knew myself well enough that I couldn’t and wouldn’t try another “new drug.” This wasn’t my first experience in trying to abstain from drugs, but it was my first encounter with drug rehabilitation as an institution.
That was spring of 2002 when my journey into the recovery process started. I was one of the fortunate ones. One of the minority who actually, would find a way out from drug addiction. A way that saw me lose my desire to ingest the methamphetamine that my body so craved. I was thrilled when this happened to me. Initially I thought the process of rehabilitation was generally successful for everyone. Over the next few years, as I became more and more engaged in the world of drug rehab, I realized the astronomical failure rate of this process. By the time 2004 had rolled around I found myself enrolled in a college program to become a certified drug and alcohol counselor (CADC) and working as an intern in a 22-patient rehab inpatient facility. (Genesis Recovery Center)
That’s when reality slapped me in the face. I kept seeing the vast majority of patients failing in their attempts/our attempts to heal them. It was disheartening to say the least. I mean just about everyone knows that drug and alcohol addiction is a major problem in our society. Addiction is hard for many people to understand and is hard for many people to have compassion for. My best description of the hunger of addiction is just that—it is a true hunger—just like that feeling you have when you wake up in the morning for something to eat or drink. It is that addiction to drugs and alcohol, that hunger, that desire that causes addicts to do virtually anything to get their drug to satisfy that hunger, consequently when an addict is in full blown addiction they many times turn to crime.
In many communities across America (including our own) drug addiction is a major cause of crime. The Untied States government is well aware of this and has dedicated billions of dollars towards this industry of “drug prevention” so far, it has not resulted in success of curing drug addiction and/or Alcoholism. The simple fact remains, we are having very little success and we need a solution! Thankfully the U.S. Government has branched out and is experiencing very positive results in a different approach to recovery from addiction. Just recently there has been a shift in some of the funding of government dollars to find a more acceptable path to recovery instead of what has become known publicly as “ drug re-hab,” the results of this new approach are eye-opening. The percentage of people actually finding recovery at faith based institutions has been very promising; it seems we have found a more successful way. Fueled by this hope we continue in the process to cure addiction and to find answers to this problem, when we look at the current reality. Secular drug and alcohol treatment centers are highly ineffective, consequently the recidivism rate is unacceptable. Drug and alcohol addiction is a major problem in our society and our local community. Drug addiction/abuse causes the crime rate to increase, and causes families to breakup and struggle, therefore we still need a viable solution to this problem. Thankfully, we are seeing new, and verifiable breakthroughs in faith based recovery.
What a joy life is when you are drug and alcohol free! I spent over 20 years of my life being addicted to something, when I became clean and sober I was so thankful to the process I wanted to give something back. That’s when I decided to enroll in college at 42 years old and become an alcohol and drug counselor. In school is where I learned a lot of psychology and statistics not to mention treatment approaches to help victims of addiction recover. The psychology in general was very educational in many ways and I saw some of it applied later in my internship. I also saw many different secular treatment methods being put to use. I commend those of who have dedicated their lives to this process and we all recognize the major societal problems addiction brings.
To make one clarification and the ease of understanding I take the issue of alcoholism and drug addiction as the same thing, as alcohol is defined as a drug, so the two terms alcoholic and drug addict are interchangeable. With that being said, this addiction problem and problems to society are widespread. For example, alcoholics are just as likely to get married as non-alcoholics, however their divorce or separation rate is at least four times that of the general population.(Clarke-Stewart) More evidence of this shows in an independent study by a non-profit organization. The study shows that there is a strong correlation between alcohol abuse and domestic violence, legal and financial problems, job loss, and sexual dysfunction.(Rand) Anyone would acknowledge these realities as major societal problems. So what have the current secular attempts to deal with this problem been? Here is an excerpt from NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) this is one answer to the question; what is drug addiction treatment?
Treatment medications, such as methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone, are available for individuals addicted to opioids, while nicotine preparations (patches, gum, lozenges, and nasal spray) and the medications varenicline and bupropion are available for individuals addicted to tobacco. Disulfiram, acamprosate, naltrexone, and topiramate are medications used for treating alcohol dependence, which commonly co-occurs with other drug addictions. In fact, most people with severe addiction are polydrug users and require treatment for all substances abused. Even combined alcohol and tobacco use has proven amenable to concurrent treatment for both substances.
Psychoactive medications, such as antidepressants, antianxiety agents, mood stabilizers, and antipsychotic medications, may be critical for treatment success when patients have co-occurring mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorders (including post-traumatic stress disorder), bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia.(NIDA)
In short Medication or more drugs seems to be a big part of their overall treatment concept. In my experience these medications usually contribute to the unsuccessful or pointless effort of leading someone to true recovery. Don't get me wrong there are a few cases where these can be temporarily beneficial and I am quite sure that those involved with secular recovery would jump to these methods’ defense. The reality is, the statistics do not reflect their success. The recidivism rate admitted by most of these institutions is over 80%(Morales).
The other teaching in secular rehab is that addiction is not curable, it is only manageable. That the urge to drink or use is a disease that never fully goes away (King) this is the main argument I would like to focus on. The people in the secular rehab—with this admission--would seem to throw water on their whole industry! So with defeat in mind the secular rehab people have relegated themselves to the next best thing. If you can’t kill the addiction, manage it. They have focused on keeping addicts at bay, employed, and out of jail. This has become their main focus. They keep addicts in lockdown or under strict supervision for periods of time and try to educate them, all the while, many relapse as soon as they leave while some can hold out for as long as 30 to 60 days before they relapse. I read a recent article (January 27, 2011) in the local paper entitled “Someone to watch over me” about an addict that was interviewed as a “Success Story” and was celebrating 1 year clean and sober at a local rehab center for mom’s. Here is what the reporter stated the addict told her of her experience after a year of lockdown in this facility “She said she still has cravings for drugs, but part of the treatment she goes through helps her deal with her deep-seated problems.” (Mann) The article went on to about how successful this program was at saving the government money, because it delays the children’s entry into the foster care system.
Locking addicts in does not cure addiction. I am quite sure this mom’s child would rather have her mom cured of addiction.
Addiction also causes the crime rate to increase.In addition to stopping drug abuse, the goal of treatment is to return people to productive functioning in the family, workplace, and community. According to research that tracks individuals in treatment over extended periods, most people who get into and remain in treatment stop using drugs, decrease their criminal activity, and improve their occupational, social, and psychological functioning. For example, methadone treatment has been shown to increase participation in behavioral therapy and decrease both illicit drug use and criminal behavior.
Data collected from male arrestees in 1998 in 35 cities showed that the percentage testing positive for any drug ranged from 42.5 percent in Anchorage, Alaska, to 78.7 percent in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Female arrestees testing positive ranged from 33.3 percent in Laredo, Texas, to 82.1 percent in New York, New York. Male arrestees charged with drug possession or sales were among the most likely to test positive for drug use, while female arrestees charged with prostitution, drug possession, or sales were among the most likely to elicit a positive test result. Males and females arrested for stolen vehicles, robbery, and burglary also had high positive rates. Test results further showed that opiate use demonstrated a positive correlation to polydrug use: of the individuals who tested positive for opiates, three-fourths also tested positive for another drug (NICD)
As a result of these numbers the secular drug rehab centers have tried to stop the rampant use of illicit drugs by using programs that center around the use of legal or government provided legal drugs such as methadone. By their own admission they are not able to cure anyone. These programs are just a cost savings band aid that produces very little healing. They do however succeed in reducing the crime rate. They still have a very high recidivism rate and have resulted in people basically walking around like zombies. Granted, they are not committing crimes but they have no quality of life.
There is good news. There is a relatively new breed of rehabilitation available through a government program called Access to Recovery. This program was kicked off by President George W. Bush in 2003 and has resulted in new levels of success. It started with 5 states and up to the present time has grown with remarkable success that even the next (Obama) administration has funded 30 states for this program in 2011. What is the difference in this program? It has funding available for the clients choice of programs and 60% of the funding is going to faith based organizations such as churches and other “non-traditional” forms of recovery. The numbers are astonishing. For example 71.4% of those in the Access to Recovery program have achieved complete abstinence of all substances, legal or illegal. 96% are now free from the criminal justice system, 91% are connected socially with other recovery groups or social support groups. 49% are employed. (Morales)
How do they do it? Through faith based Christian organizations and Christian rehab centers people are actually transformed and given power through the Holy Spirit that conquers addiction. Plain and simple these numbers do not lie, the success seen through Christian centered rehabs is astounding.
President Bush implemented this program because he had personal experience with this healing power. My story was quite similar to his. Part of my recovery process was to attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings that teach the concept of having a higher power. I was truly blessed to have a Christian sponsor who led me to Jesus and the saving power of the God in the Bible. The day I gave my life to Him I completely lost the desire to take drugs. It was my faith in Him that cured me, my decision to believe.
I realize there are many in our society that cannot grasp the concept of God. I say to them take a look around you, realize that these drugs are the devil’s tools. They are evil, and secular man is powerless against evil. This is why the people in secular rehab centers have given up trying to cure addiction. This is why we still have ever increasing crime rates. This is a large part of why there is so much dysfunction in our society. I call this discovery by our government a remarkable breakthrough. (for them)
The exciting part for me is these funds have been approved for Oregon this year and in Jackson County there is a new Access to Recovery office. Our area has a terrible problem with drug addiction and I am excited to see this program to become available. Currently there is only one Christian recovery center in Jackson County even though there are a few Christian churches that offer a Christ centered 12 step programs. We have had much success at Trail Christian Fellowship with the Celebrate Recovery program. We have seen people truly recover from addiction. They have completely lost the cravings and of those who have completed our step studies—not one person has relapsed!—this is an amazing process that is working on a local level.
However many in our area do not have access or even know about these programs. There are some in our area that work at secular centers that doubt a church’s ability to cure anyone of addiction and are very skeptical that this process works. I say we prove to them that there really is a better way. We do not have to put up with mans inability to cure addiction. We do not have to put up with unacceptable recidivism rates at drug rehabilitation centers. We do not have to have these high crime rates. These breakthroughs at Christian rehab centers are a true reality
The time to act is now. We need Christian recovery centers in our area. We have a solution to one of our community’s greatest problems. We have a drug (methamphetamine) that is rampant in our area. We have the ability as the body of Christ to help in this area especially now. So with that being said I would like to share some words of encouragement with a quote from Ronald Reagan “The Great Communicator” said it best in one of his speeches from early in his tenure as President. Reagan was trying to pull the country out of economic turmoil “We have much greatness before us, we can restore the economy and build opportunities like none we've ever had before. All we need to begin with is a dream, a dream that we can do better than before. All we need to have is faith and that dream will come true. All we need to do is act, and the time for action is now.” (Brokaw) In the recovery field in Jackson County we have a great opportunity before us to help those held captive by addiction. Do you have anyone in your life, in your circle of friends or family that needs help in this area… real help? I get many calls being a lay minister for Celebrate Recovery from people that need intensive treatment. I currently have nowhere to send them in good conscience. We can solve this problem.
That was spring of 2002 when my journey into the recovery process started. I was one of the fortunate ones. One of the minority who actually, would find a way out from drug addiction. A way that saw me lose my desire to ingest the methamphetamine that my body so craved. I was thrilled when this happened to me. Initially I thought the process of rehabilitation was generally successful for everyone. Over the next few years, as I became more and more engaged in the world of drug rehab, I realized the astronomical failure rate of this process. By the time 2004 had rolled around I found myself enrolled in a college program to become a certified drug and alcohol counselor (CADC) and working as an intern in a 22-patient rehab inpatient facility. (Genesis Recovery Center)
That’s when reality slapped me in the face. I kept seeing the vast majority of patients failing in their attempts/our attempts to heal them. It was disheartening to say the least. I mean just about everyone knows that drug and alcohol addiction is a major problem in our society. Addiction is hard for many people to understand and is hard for many people to have compassion for. My best description of the hunger of addiction is just that—it is a true hunger—just like that feeling you have when you wake up in the morning for something to eat or drink. It is that addiction to drugs and alcohol, that hunger, that desire that causes addicts to do virtually anything to get their drug to satisfy that hunger, consequently when an addict is in full blown addiction they many times turn to crime.
In many communities across America (including our own) drug addiction is a major cause of crime. The Untied States government is well aware of this and has dedicated billions of dollars towards this industry of “drug prevention” so far, it has not resulted in success of curing drug addiction and/or Alcoholism. The simple fact remains, we are having very little success and we need a solution! Thankfully the U.S. Government has branched out and is experiencing very positive results in a different approach to recovery from addiction. Just recently there has been a shift in some of the funding of government dollars to find a more acceptable path to recovery instead of what has become known publicly as “ drug re-hab,” the results of this new approach are eye-opening. The percentage of people actually finding recovery at faith based institutions has been very promising; it seems we have found a more successful way. Fueled by this hope we continue in the process to cure addiction and to find answers to this problem, when we look at the current reality. Secular drug and alcohol treatment centers are highly ineffective, consequently the recidivism rate is unacceptable. Drug and alcohol addiction is a major problem in our society and our local community. Drug addiction/abuse causes the crime rate to increase, and causes families to breakup and struggle, therefore we still need a viable solution to this problem. Thankfully, we are seeing new, and verifiable breakthroughs in faith based recovery.
What a joy life is when you are drug and alcohol free! I spent over 20 years of my life being addicted to something, when I became clean and sober I was so thankful to the process I wanted to give something back. That’s when I decided to enroll in college at 42 years old and become an alcohol and drug counselor. In school is where I learned a lot of psychology and statistics not to mention treatment approaches to help victims of addiction recover. The psychology in general was very educational in many ways and I saw some of it applied later in my internship. I also saw many different secular treatment methods being put to use. I commend those of who have dedicated their lives to this process and we all recognize the major societal problems addiction brings.
To make one clarification and the ease of understanding I take the issue of alcoholism and drug addiction as the same thing, as alcohol is defined as a drug, so the two terms alcoholic and drug addict are interchangeable. With that being said, this addiction problem and problems to society are widespread. For example, alcoholics are just as likely to get married as non-alcoholics, however their divorce or separation rate is at least four times that of the general population.(Clarke-Stewart) More evidence of this shows in an independent study by a non-profit organization. The study shows that there is a strong correlation between alcohol abuse and domestic violence, legal and financial problems, job loss, and sexual dysfunction.(Rand) Anyone would acknowledge these realities as major societal problems. So what have the current secular attempts to deal with this problem been? Here is an excerpt from NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) this is one answer to the question; what is drug addiction treatment?
Treatment medications, such as methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone, are available for individuals addicted to opioids, while nicotine preparations (patches, gum, lozenges, and nasal spray) and the medications varenicline and bupropion are available for individuals addicted to tobacco. Disulfiram, acamprosate, naltrexone, and topiramate are medications used for treating alcohol dependence, which commonly co-occurs with other drug addictions. In fact, most people with severe addiction are polydrug users and require treatment for all substances abused. Even combined alcohol and tobacco use has proven amenable to concurrent treatment for both substances.
Psychoactive medications, such as antidepressants, antianxiety agents, mood stabilizers, and antipsychotic medications, may be critical for treatment success when patients have co-occurring mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorders (including post-traumatic stress disorder), bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia.(NIDA)
In short Medication or more drugs seems to be a big part of their overall treatment concept. In my experience these medications usually contribute to the unsuccessful or pointless effort of leading someone to true recovery. Don't get me wrong there are a few cases where these can be temporarily beneficial and I am quite sure that those involved with secular recovery would jump to these methods’ defense. The reality is, the statistics do not reflect their success. The recidivism rate admitted by most of these institutions is over 80%(Morales).
The other teaching in secular rehab is that addiction is not curable, it is only manageable. That the urge to drink or use is a disease that never fully goes away (King) this is the main argument I would like to focus on. The people in the secular rehab—with this admission--would seem to throw water on their whole industry! So with defeat in mind the secular rehab people have relegated themselves to the next best thing. If you can’t kill the addiction, manage it. They have focused on keeping addicts at bay, employed, and out of jail. This has become their main focus. They keep addicts in lockdown or under strict supervision for periods of time and try to educate them, all the while, many relapse as soon as they leave while some can hold out for as long as 30 to 60 days before they relapse. I read a recent article (January 27, 2011) in the local paper entitled “Someone to watch over me” about an addict that was interviewed as a “Success Story” and was celebrating 1 year clean and sober at a local rehab center for mom’s. Here is what the reporter stated the addict told her of her experience after a year of lockdown in this facility “She said she still has cravings for drugs, but part of the treatment she goes through helps her deal with her deep-seated problems.” (Mann) The article went on to about how successful this program was at saving the government money, because it delays the children’s entry into the foster care system.
Locking addicts in does not cure addiction. I am quite sure this mom’s child would rather have her mom cured of addiction.
Addiction also causes the crime rate to increase.In addition to stopping drug abuse, the goal of treatment is to return people to productive functioning in the family, workplace, and community. According to research that tracks individuals in treatment over extended periods, most people who get into and remain in treatment stop using drugs, decrease their criminal activity, and improve their occupational, social, and psychological functioning. For example, methadone treatment has been shown to increase participation in behavioral therapy and decrease both illicit drug use and criminal behavior.
Data collected from male arrestees in 1998 in 35 cities showed that the percentage testing positive for any drug ranged from 42.5 percent in Anchorage, Alaska, to 78.7 percent in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Female arrestees testing positive ranged from 33.3 percent in Laredo, Texas, to 82.1 percent in New York, New York. Male arrestees charged with drug possession or sales were among the most likely to test positive for drug use, while female arrestees charged with prostitution, drug possession, or sales were among the most likely to elicit a positive test result. Males and females arrested for stolen vehicles, robbery, and burglary also had high positive rates. Test results further showed that opiate use demonstrated a positive correlation to polydrug use: of the individuals who tested positive for opiates, three-fourths also tested positive for another drug (NICD)
As a result of these numbers the secular drug rehab centers have tried to stop the rampant use of illicit drugs by using programs that center around the use of legal or government provided legal drugs such as methadone. By their own admission they are not able to cure anyone. These programs are just a cost savings band aid that produces very little healing. They do however succeed in reducing the crime rate. They still have a very high recidivism rate and have resulted in people basically walking around like zombies. Granted, they are not committing crimes but they have no quality of life.
There is good news. There is a relatively new breed of rehabilitation available through a government program called Access to Recovery. This program was kicked off by President George W. Bush in 2003 and has resulted in new levels of success. It started with 5 states and up to the present time has grown with remarkable success that even the next (Obama) administration has funded 30 states for this program in 2011. What is the difference in this program? It has funding available for the clients choice of programs and 60% of the funding is going to faith based organizations such as churches and other “non-traditional” forms of recovery. The numbers are astonishing. For example 71.4% of those in the Access to Recovery program have achieved complete abstinence of all substances, legal or illegal. 96% are now free from the criminal justice system, 91% are connected socially with other recovery groups or social support groups. 49% are employed. (Morales)
How do they do it? Through faith based Christian organizations and Christian rehab centers people are actually transformed and given power through the Holy Spirit that conquers addiction. Plain and simple these numbers do not lie, the success seen through Christian centered rehabs is astounding.
President Bush implemented this program because he had personal experience with this healing power. My story was quite similar to his. Part of my recovery process was to attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings that teach the concept of having a higher power. I was truly blessed to have a Christian sponsor who led me to Jesus and the saving power of the God in the Bible. The day I gave my life to Him I completely lost the desire to take drugs. It was my faith in Him that cured me, my decision to believe.
I realize there are many in our society that cannot grasp the concept of God. I say to them take a look around you, realize that these drugs are the devil’s tools. They are evil, and secular man is powerless against evil. This is why the people in secular rehab centers have given up trying to cure addiction. This is why we still have ever increasing crime rates. This is a large part of why there is so much dysfunction in our society. I call this discovery by our government a remarkable breakthrough. (for them)
The exciting part for me is these funds have been approved for Oregon this year and in Jackson County there is a new Access to Recovery office. Our area has a terrible problem with drug addiction and I am excited to see this program to become available. Currently there is only one Christian recovery center in Jackson County even though there are a few Christian churches that offer a Christ centered 12 step programs. We have had much success at Trail Christian Fellowship with the Celebrate Recovery program. We have seen people truly recover from addiction. They have completely lost the cravings and of those who have completed our step studies—not one person has relapsed!—this is an amazing process that is working on a local level.
However many in our area do not have access or even know about these programs. There are some in our area that work at secular centers that doubt a church’s ability to cure anyone of addiction and are very skeptical that this process works. I say we prove to them that there really is a better way. We do not have to put up with mans inability to cure addiction. We do not have to put up with unacceptable recidivism rates at drug rehabilitation centers. We do not have to have these high crime rates. These breakthroughs at Christian rehab centers are a true reality
The time to act is now. We need Christian recovery centers in our area. We have a solution to one of our community’s greatest problems. We have a drug (methamphetamine) that is rampant in our area. We have the ability as the body of Christ to help in this area especially now. So with that being said I would like to share some words of encouragement with a quote from Ronald Reagan “The Great Communicator” said it best in one of his speeches from early in his tenure as President. Reagan was trying to pull the country out of economic turmoil “We have much greatness before us, we can restore the economy and build opportunities like none we've ever had before. All we need to begin with is a dream, a dream that we can do better than before. All we need to have is faith and that dream will come true. All we need to do is act, and the time for action is now.” (Brokaw) In the recovery field in Jackson County we have a great opportunity before us to help those held captive by addiction. Do you have anyone in your life, in your circle of friends or family that needs help in this area… real help? I get many calls being a lay minister for Celebrate Recovery from people that need intensive treatment. I currently have nowhere to send them in good conscience. We can solve this problem.
1 comments:
Steve! Great article, and I am excited for the future of people who desire to live a life free from the bondage of addictions.
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