Most any addiction professional would agree that addiction to drugs or alcohol is one of the most difficult conditions to overcome. As a result, the medical industry has tried to develop medications, techniques and procedures that try to help. But the industry as a whole has largely given up on a cure for addiction. In fact, in 2004, the president of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Professionals recommended “compliance” rather than “success rate” as the quality indicator of treatment.
Accordingly, various industries develop procedures or devices to try to fix the problem since real solutions to addiction are hard to come by. In 2005, a European company announced the development of a drug-delivery system in the form of a dental appliance that can be permanently affixed to the teeth. It automatically releases medication for addiction treatment. Compliance with a medication schedule is complete and almost unnoticed. In Canada, heroin-addiction treatment is administered to heroin addicts who did not succeed in other forms of treatment. In this program, these addicts are given prescribed heroin as a way to keep them from using illegal heroin, committing crimes or suffering health problems related to heroin usage.
In the U.S., medication assisted treatment uses an opioid drug to help prevent withdrawal symptoms that occur when withdrawing from opiates such as heroin, morphine or prescription opioids like hydrocodone or oxydcodone. In many cases, however, this treatment turns into maintenance as a way to ensure “compliance” – in some cases, for as long as four years.
“When existing treatment methods do not result in sobriety, many people may think that sobriety is unattainable,” stated said Derry Hallmark, Director of Admissions and Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor at Narconon Arrowhead. Narconon Arrowhead is one of the country’s leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, located in Canadian, Oklahoma. “Much of the addiction treatment industry has settled on substitute medications as a way to prevent the unhealthy lifestyle often experienced by those who are addicted. We have found that it is possible to help a formerly addicted person build a new, drug-free life. It takes longer than 28 days but it can be done.”
The Narconon Arrowhead rehabilitation program uses a thorough detoxification program followed by counseling and life skills training to bring about a recovery from addiction. The length of the program varies from person to person but normally takes three to five months. Seventy percent of Narconon program graduates go on to live drug-free lives.
To find immediate help for someone who is having a problem with drugs or alcohol, contact Narconon’s free addiction consultation and referral helpline at 1-800-468-6933 or visit their website at http://www.stopaddiction.com/. The Narconon program was founded in 1966 by William Benitez in Arizona State prison, and is based on the humanitarian works of L. Ron Hubbard. In more than 120 centers around the world, Narconon programs restore drug and alcohol abusers and addicts to a clean and sober lifestyle.
