Vancouver Drug Rehab Results
Drug and alcohol rehabilitation center services in Vancouver, BC and throughout British Columbia are in demand by those looking for recovery.
Alcoholism or drug addiction ruins not only the substance abuser, but the entire family as well.
A great effort has been made by public and private residential programs in Vancouver and BC to help people recover. Numerous programs are available to those who want to take control of their lives again and overcome their disability.
Substance abuse is regarded as a ‘disease’ by some who wish to treat it medically. While the ‘disease’ concept has been highly promoted by the psychiatric / pharmaceutical industry, this principal has not advanced rehabilitation, unfortunately.
Rehab is being replaced with words like ‘treatment’ and ‘ongoing care’ in an effort to fit drinking or drugging compulsively into a brain disorder; essentially saying:
‘bad behavior’ = ‘brain / chemical malfunction’. The results are interesting.
British Columbia has the greatest drug problem per capita in Canada. The attitude in BC is that drug / alcohol abuse is a right or minimally not in one’s own control and therefore something one is not responsible for; the drugs / alcohol made them do it, or there is something wrong with them, therefore they can’t be accountable.
You may agree or disagree with the ‘addiction is a disease’ belief. My only interest in beliefs or philosophies of recovery is in their workability. Is a crack abuser continuing to smoke up after a treatment program? Is someone on methadone healthier and no longer contributing to the drug trade?
Methadone is the approved and promoted medical treatment for heroin or opiate abuse. The number one drug of choice of methadone patients is crack cocaine. The death rate to disease of those who smoke crack while taking methadone skyrockets past those who are clean. Yet, their deaths are not attributed to drug abuse, but instead to cancer, HIV, AIDS, Hep C, diabetes, etc.
While interpreting statistics favorably to one’s cause is expected, the medical community could be a little less self-serving when it comes to treatment outcome research.
By Tibor A. Palatinus
Rehab Consultant and Prevention Specialist
3 Responses to “Vancouver Drug Rehab Results”
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Allan Murota Says:
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tibor Says:
Allan,
thanks for your comment. Speaking with 1000s of people regarding the cause of drug violence has opened up my eyes. Alcohol and cigarettes are legal and have some age and use restrictions put on them, yet are responsible for more deaths, injury and violence than ALL the other ‘prohibited drugs’ put together. Therefore prohibition is not the cause of drug violence. The cause of drug violence is drug abuse. Preventing drug abuse and offering true rehab and detox services to those who demand and desire it is an effective method of curbing drug violence.
If anything, prohibition has proven to reduce wide spread acceptance and use of dangerous drugs. Thereby reducing potential violence.
While using gut reaction is common place to dealing with a massive society epidemic, the solution is found in looking more closely at the problem. The problem is drug abuse – drug and alcohol abuse reduces consciousness and responsibility for conduct. Violence results. -
Danielle Says:
This is right here, in the present, not the future.
There really is only one way to end drug violence and the current issues of drug addiction and it’s horrendous social impact. It’s really obvious, but for some reason society has seemed to think it’s a “sin” or immoral. Why do dealers exist ? Simple, it’s because they make money. The obvious solution to getting rid of dealers then, is to make it not profitable. As long as there’s money to be made, there will always be dealers, no matter how big the law enforcement force, no matter how severe the punishment. If you consider the problem in this light, the solutions become obvious. The same thing happened during prohibition, which created some very wealthy dynasties, but at the same time there was a lot of violence.
I would really like to start discussions on a workable solution to this problem.