Drug treatment that insists on abstinence? Federal agencies are just saying no
Drug treatment that insists on abstinence? Federal agencies are just saying no
The Biden administration has significantly opened the door to drug treatment strategies that help reduce substance use, even if patients aren't fully abstinent.
"Abstinence" is an appropriate word here, but it did make me do a mental double-take imagining what drugs required you not to have sex.
I thought the same thing at first lol. Like, woah woah woah.
This is a more compassionate approach. The idea of all or nothing puts a lot of pressure on someone when they're trying to change. The flip side is that many people can't moderate and any amount of substance can make them spiral, but start with something that helps them feel the encouragement of others even if they falter from their goals.
The path to sobriety isn't cut and dry, and this approach will help reduce the shame that's often felt along the way. Shame can lead people right back into the same patterns that got them where they are. The dehumanizing stigmas don't go unseen by the people they're applied to. Those stigmas become internalized and self deprecating in a very hurtful way. We're our own worst enemies.
Imo expecting someone who's done drugs to quit and never do it again, is one of the dumbest, most bone-headed things anyone has ever come up with. Like, shit man, drugs are awesome. Yeah, they can seriously fuck you up if you get addicted, and some drugs are extremely addictive. However, expecting someone to toss all those crazy experiences, the good and the bad, into the trash and never, ever even be tempted to pick up drugs again is... stupid. It assumes that drugs only create bad experiences, but that obviously isn't true because even the most non-physically-addictive drugs can become addictive with the right environmental factors. So obviously people aren't doing drugs just because they're addictive, they're doing them because they're fun, or because they give you an escape. As such, imo, it's better to teach people how to use drugs in moderation than to try and attempt total abstinence. Unless their body is so fucked up from drug use that they literally can't do drugs without risking death, you should be teaching them how to use them in moderation; like as a reward for getting a promotion. That sorta thing.
We can't teach people to critically think about the shape of the god damned globe and you want them to self-moderate on drugs? You ask far too much.
I think addicts doing less drugs is so fucking obvious, even to them, that the ones capable of moderation are probably mostly already doing it. Millions of us moderate our use of alcohol. But other millions fail to.
When it works, great, but I don't think people capable of moderation are what anyone is talking about when talking about addicts.
That's not how any of this works. People with substance use disorders use drugs because their brains have literally changed from drug use, not just because "they're fun". People in later stages of addiction aren't having much fun, they're barely surviving. If we could just teach them to use moderately, that would be amazing.
In an ideal world we'd get people to stop using drugs entirely. Unfortunately, that's a tough goal to reach for many people. So we try to get them to use less, or differently (eg smoking instead of IV), so that they're less likely to die.