Drug Addiction and Drug Abuse Treatment Rehab Clinic

Introduction to Drug Addiction

The use of drugs (including alcohol, tobacco and coffee) for non-medical purposes is often misunderstood aspect of human behaviour. The most extensive and solid scientific work on drugs focuses on their chemical compositions and effects on laboratory animals. We also know something about the characheristics of people who trouble with drugs because they are the ones most likely to come to the attention of, for example, doctors, drug agencies and the police, and therefore most accessible to researchers.

But information derived from these areas of research doesn't necessarily help much in understanding the 'everyday' use and misuse of drugs, nor how social and psychological processes influence the outcome of drugtaking behaviour. Instead, it can only offer a very rough guide to whether the consequences will be beneficial or harmful in any individual case.

Drug effects are strongly influenced by the amount taken, how much has been taken before, what the user wants and expects to happen, the surroundings in which they are taken, and the reactions of other people. All these influences are themselves tied up with social and cultural attitudes to, and beliefs about, drugs, as well as more general social conditions. Even the same person will react differently at different times. So it is usually misleading to make simple cause-and-effect statements about drugs, such as 'drug X always causes condition Y'.

The drug-by-drug method of presentation may give the impression that drug users themselves fall into these categories. This is not necessarily the case. While there must be many people who restrict their drug use to alcohol, tobacco, caffeine or cannabis, others (especially comulsive users) will switch drugs depending on availability, or use drugs in combination or one after another.

Drug Taking and Risk Taking

The vast majority of people who use drugs come to no physical or psychological harm, and many will feel that they have benefited (and may well have done so) from the relaxation, diversion or temprarily improved social, intellectual or physical performance that can be afforded by some drugs. But there are very serious risks, and a large part of this web page is about these and how they arise. Some of the most important points to be mase about the risks of drug taking apply to all or most of the drugs. To an extent, these reresent rules of thumb about what not to do with drugs in general, though each drug has its own array of potential risks. It should not be assumed that the extent to which a drug is legally restricted is much of a guide to how harmful it can be.

Overdoing Drug Use

The adage about moderation applies to drugs in two different ways. First, taking too much in one go risks an experience that gets out of control and causes distress or even a fatal overdose. Obviously, the more taken, the greater the risk of accidents due to intoxication, including choking on vomit while unconscious.

Secondly, anyone taking a psychoactive drug frequently, in high doses, and for a long time, is likely to experience a distortion in their perception of and response to their environment, such that normal functioning and normal development are impaired. Social relationships may narrow down to small group of people with similar habits, and finding or keeping work and housing may be difficult. As tolerance/dependence develops, the problems of financing drug purchase can add to the deterioration of diet, housing and lifestyle, and may result in revenue-raising crimes. Normal desires for say food and sex, and eactions to discomfort and pain, may be dulled by the drug, and the resultant self-neglect can damage health. Indirect damage - arising from the drug use, rather than a direct effect of the drug on the body - is often the most significant, but can sometimes be minimised even if drug use continues. Obviously, heavy use is most likely if someone becomes dependent on the drug, when they will find it hard to stop, despite their health being effected.

Wrong time, wrong place

Even in moderate doses most of the drugs (except stimulants) impair motor control, reaction time and the ability to maintain attention. These effects can last several hours. No matter how the person feels, they are not as capable as before, and such activities as driving, operating machinery and crossing roads become more hazardous to themselves and to others. They will also be less effective at their job.

Even stimulants may impair delicate skills and the learning of new sjills, and in high doses will impair performance of tasks they previously enhanced.

Also many drugs amplify mood, such that if someone is feeling - or is in a situation that makes them feel - depressed, anxious or aggressive, they could make things a lot worse. Even drugs (like alcohol-and-tranquillisers) we think of as calming people down can also release aggressive impulses because they weaken the grip of social and personal inhibitions.

Types of Drug Addiction Treatment

Once in the treatment system, the following represents, briefly, the main types of intervention available in the UK.

Advice and Counselling

Intervention can range from individual therapy to counselling, as well as advice in arranging suitable housing, work and benefits. Almost all street agencies and DDUs offer counselling as part of their remit to provide support to problem users.

Opiate (detox) detoxification

The aim of detox is to eliminate the drug, usually heroin, from the body, prior to some form of extended support to help maintain abstinence. Doses of the drug, or a substitute such as methadone or lofexedine in the case of heroin, are gradually reduced over time, or abruptly stopped, until the user is drug free, often using other drugs including substitute drugs to alleviate several of the withdrawal symptoms. Treatment continues until symptoms, or drug use, have ceased. Detox programmes can be administered on an in-patient basis usually in psychiatric units or medical wards, or on a community basis, provided on the NHS by Drug Dependency Units (DDU), Community Drug Teams (CDTs) or by private clinics (some of which take NHS clients). Individuals are usually referred to such clinics either by GPs or drug agencies. On competion of detox, support is provided by CDTs, day programmes and outpatient services.

Methadone reduction programmes

Methadone reduction programmes involve the prescribing of methadone to opiate users to control withdrawal symptoms. The aim is to gradually reduce the quantity prescribed until the user experiences no withdrawal complaints and is drug free. The degree of reduction and length of time afforded to achieve abstinence can vary greatly from a few weeks to several months, depnding on the requirements of the individual. Motivation is often seen as a key issue in such programmes. Participants are regularly asked to review their progress (e.g. weekly), whilst receiving therapy and support as part of a structured methadone programme. Methadone reduction programmes are delivered in a community setting, with care from nursing stff and doctors. Pharmacies are the main suppliers of the drug and often supervise consumption.