They're people with a serious medical problem and need to be helped just like any other sick person.

Hi, I'm Carlos, alcoholic. Have been sober for 10 years, 6 months and 2 days. I never thought I could quit. I thought I'd die a drunk. I consumed about a half a liter a day of scotch. I felt I hit rock bottom the day I got arrested and charged with a DUI. I thank the cop that pulled me over. I'd be dead otherwise. Cheers.

I think drug addicts are people that have a medical problem and need help. I think it's sad for everyone involved from the loved ones to the addict. From what I've read addiction is not a choice, once you have the exposure and are hardwired for addiction the battle begans. Yes, they chose to try it like many other people unfortunately it's not as easy for them stop once they started.

Drug addicts
Mentally ill
Homosexuals
Poor
Criminals

People
People
People
People
People

Me
Me
Me
Me
Me

I'm... not sure yet what I think. On the one hand, I recognise that it's an illness that needs treatment, but at the same time I have too many memories of abuse from my mother to feel any sympathy for alcoholics or, especially, cigarette smokers. I realise it's a very uncharitable view, though.

Addiction is a public health issue and should be treated as such. There is a point where some addicts really do hurt others but the addiction itself is a disease.
The War on Drugs allows for some types of addicts to be treated as criminals and some to be treated as humans. It's a way to further classify people. Alcoholics are treatable (although account for loads of harm) whilst an elicit drug user is a criminal.

Addictive personality disorder is caused by elevated dopamine levels. The primary chemical cause of an addictive personality is abnormal dopamine levels. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that binds to certain receptors in the brain and helps to regulate emotions, feelings of pleasure and movement.

Research indicates that children with parents who abuse alcohol or drugs are more likely to try alcohol or drugs and develop alcoholism or drug addiction. ... Plus, children of parents who abuse drugs may inherit a genetic predisposition (or greater likelihood) for addiction—having an “addictive personality,” so to speak.

This information is easily found on the internet and the research is fairly consistant. With just this information it is clear why currant short term rehab doesn't work effectivly. More needs to be done. Removing the stigma would be a good place to start as well as placing "addiction" under the mental health umbrella along with harm reduction clinics and access to counsilling to help with transition into society.

Convincing governments to allocate monies to mental health is the biggest hurdle.

I have read that there is pain behind addiction. If you treat the pain you stand a better chance of curing the addiction. What I do know is other countries are much better at treating substance abuse than the US is, but what else is new.

What I also know is addiction is a disease, it is not a judgement of anyone's self control or worth. It is in my mind a type of cancer that is damn hard to cure because relapses are like a metastasize of the disease. It is a disease that causes people to break laws from time to time, but it does not make them criminals

I'm of the mind of following Portugal's example.

"Portugal decriminalised the use of all drugs in 2001. Weed, cocaine, heroin, you name it — Portugal decided to treat possession and use of small quantities of these drugs as a public health issue, not a criminal one. The drugs were still illegal, of course. But now getting caught with them meant a small fine and maybe a referral to a treatment program — not jail time and a criminal record.

Among Portuguese adults, there are 3 drug overdose deaths for every 1,000,000 citizens. "

It's amazing when you treat addiction as a health issue instead of a criminal one that people get the help that need.

I'm an addict. But I quit doing drugs for my kids. I don't know...i do think it's something that can be overcome and if people care enough, they can do it. I only look down on the ones that are stealing from their family and friends and becoming destructive and dragging others down. But think we all have vices

But with that being said...cigarettes is the hardest drug I've ever tried to quit. I'm still fighting that battle.

Who among any of us hasn't made some foolish choices? We are or at least become what we do. Sometimes the doing that defines us does serious, lasting or even permanent harm to others who've made no such choices and happen to be in bad places at the wrong time.

They and others like them have a right to do what's necessary to prevent further harm. There is no room for consideration in that for those causing the harm.

The most importan fact anyone dealing with an addict must bear in mind is that fault or no fault, they are NOT 'in charge of their own ship'. Secondly, they vehemently deny that fact because their cognitive faculties have been taken over by the addiction itself; their own worst enemy. Promises are worthless. They are sick people and it doesn't matter HOW they became that way. Blame fo rthe state really doesn't matter and won't until a means emerges to guarantee return to mental health and control over themselves. There is no such thing and no such amount of money to serve in it's place. If it existed, it would be more important as compensation to victims who made no foolish choices.

Society, like individuals comprising it, has the right to act in it's own self defense. If malignant members must be eliminated to that end, so be it. It isn't heartless. It's showing heart where it belongs.

I feel sorry for them. I am fortunate to have genetic and mental traits that help to protect me from addictions. Most people don't, and some have traits that encourage them to be addicted.

Let me tell you about addicts. My daughter was a heroin addict and died last year. My wife was addicted to prescription narcotics and died in 2011. I view addicts as people. They arent scum. They are people with a problem.

It's not something I've been around addiction but I'd say that addicts who want help deserve a chance I'd help if

Once we can quit looking down our nose at people with addictions, we can help them easier. I know there are some drugs that destroy everything around them, like meth, heroin, cocaine, and in most cases, alcohol. But I find if you make it clear that you cannot be around the drug, and not them, and still maintain contact (which is now doable thanks to the interwebs), you leave a line of communication and hope for the future.

I got wind of the following Ted Talk through the NPR Ted Radio Hour show Confronting Stigma and it really caused me to rethink how I think about addicts... in a BIG way. In fact, I now think about why in the F--- do we treat addicts in a way that CAUSES addiction?

[npr.org]

Watch it and if you want, we can discuss it after?

Addiction is psychological long before it is physical. Treating the particular addiction itself is merely addressing a symptom. I'm not a fan of 12 step programs of any type because they often merely substitute addictive behaviors and rarely address the cause BUT having a group to interact with over the problem is often very therapeutic. The simple act of accepting help and support from others makes one open to actual change. I feel for those who are addicted and try to guide them towards a secular group setting.

Each and every individual is just that, an individual and ergo must be treated differently.
Each case is unique.
Life rarely allows for a one size fits all solution.
This is the sad state of affairs in healthcare and will only get worse as legislators look at things in "black & white"; right or wrong; good or bad, case only.
Nearly everything is on a spectrum and must be dealt with accordingly.

Hello, my name is Oscar, and I am a heroin addict in recovery. I have relapse multiple times and I can't seem to fight my cravings. I don't think I'm a bad person, I like to think I am a good person with a big heart. But in all honesty, it's always been a choice for me, and I've made the wrong choice many many times. I hate how people judge me and think I'm just wasting my life and ruining my health. Some people will never understand what addicts go through on a daily basis. It's really hard to say no. I wish there was more help out there instead of throwing people in jail because that makes everything worse. The way they deal with drug addiction actually ruins people's lives and makes them feel as if nobody cares. Because of my addiction, I will never be able to live the life I've always wanted to and that sometimes leads me to not care about my life anymore or what happens to me. Everybody is different but I've found a way to stay off of drugs and stay out of trouble but it took many attempts before I found something that worked for me

So a scientist puts a rat in a cage with a pure water bottle and a water bottle laced with heroin and/or cocaine and the rat eventually drinks only from the drug laced water until it eventually od's and sites the addictiveness of the drug as the reason for the death of the rat. The experiment is repeated many times with the same result.
Another scientist sees a possible flaw in the experiment. He conducts a similar experiment with rats. They have a choice of drinking pure water or drug laced water except these rats were put in cages he called Rat Paradise. There was plenty of toys and tunnels and other rats to play with and have sex with and lots of their favorite foods, ect. And after a while, none of the rats drank the drug laced water. It was relatively un touched. No rat od's.
The second scientist suggests that what addicts need is love, support, stimulating activities, ect to overcome addiction.

It bothers me when people compare drug addiction to suffering from cancer, diabetes, heart conditions, Parkinson...and to all other conditions they didn't ask for. Sorry, people, but if you don't take the first dosage you won't become an addict.

Please, don't tell me that many individuals don't know how to cope with difficult moments so they reach to drugs to palliate the harshness life presents to them.

On the subject of drugs read chasing the scream to find out why addicts are treated so badly. it appears if you give an addict the natural version of the drug they crave [ which costs the same as coffee to produce] no ultimate harm is done plus after age 28 the hormones that drive us mad subside.

Hi
You are a compassionate Human being.
My grandson died at 36yo from heroin.
It's tough watching my daughter suffer so much at
The loss of her son.
We are sponsoring a ???? run\walk for this horrible
Disease, and you're absolutely right -this is a disease.
It's been a year today since I found him.
Thank you for your post.

I think you understand the nature of addiction very well. I agree with you that it is not so much choice anymore, more like a disease that is incredibly difficult to get rid of. The problem is we tend to get an addiction to things we really like and then we are relying on will power to give up. Having taken a little time in the past looking at the diet industry, the evidence is telling us that we are less than 10% likely to succeed when dieting, and out of the 90% or more that fail most of them overeat after an initial bout of success, and weigh even more than they did before. I do have a lot more sympathy than I used to for people with addictions, but only for the ones who wish they could stop. I don't have any addictions to illegal substances, but have had a 2 litre a day fizzy cola habit for the last 10-15 years. It is not possible for me to completely give up as I enjoy it way too much, so instead I have just reduced the amount I am drinking. We can become addicted to anything as far as I can see, Prevention seems to be the way forward, but completely agree that we should try to find ways we can help people who want that help

Right back in 2001, Portugal decriminalised the possession of "personal" amounts of all drugs - cannabis, amphetamines, LSD, heroin, cocaine, the whole lot - and began to treat drug use and addiction as a public health issue rather than a criminal one. Opponents predicted everything from a massive increase in addiction and drug-related deaths to the complete breakdown of Portuguese society. Here's what happened: [theguardian.com]

My solution: first, complete legalisation (as opposed to decriminalisation) of cannabis and sell it alongside cigarettes and alcohol in shops, priced lower than dealers can charge so as to immediately cut criminal gangs out of the equation. Secondly, follow Portugal's lead in decriminalising harder drugs and use the tax revenue raised by cannabis sales to fund more and better treatment for hard drug addiction. Thirdly, the USA, UK and European Union start buying Afghanistan's entire opium crop every year, offering each farmer a small percentage more than the Taliban can afford and thereby destroying a large part of the organisation's income; the opium is then shipped to the West to be turned into clinical-grade opiates including good quality, clean heroin to be supplied to addicts for free provided they sign up and adhere to programs designed to help them beat their addiction.

It might not work, but the way we're currently doing things very clearly isn't working either - so we may as well try a few new ideas.