Why We Couldn't Save Nicole (re: drug treatment in the U.S.)

[MountainLaurel]

We're a hardy family, used to weathering all manner of surprises as we've seen four kids through various stages of toddlerhood, childhood and adolescence. So when our fun-loving 22-year-old, Nicole, shocked us by admitting a heroin addiction and asked for our help in overcoming it, my husband and I froze only an instant. Then we leapt into action, firmly believing that with the aid of 21st-century medical treatment, we could help her reclaim her life.

Surely, we thought, college-educated suburbanites like us could locate professional help: drug counselors, doctors, therapists specializing in addiction. Surely detoxification centers would treat desperate addicts and work out a payment plan. Surely we could check her into some kind of residential treatment program with a minimum of delay.

We were wrong.

The next several months of trying to get her affordable treatment were like entering some unknown circle of hell. Then the world as we knew it came crashing down when two policemen showed up -- two years ago yesterday -- to tell us that Nicole had been found dead of an accidental overdose.

We're still adjusting to life in a reconfigured family that bumps along like a wagon missing a wheel. Meanwhile, we continue to probe the gaps in the addiction treatment system to share what we learn in hopes of helping others avoid tragedy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/03/AR2008100303244.html

Absolutely heartbreaking. :cry:

[Dorian Gray]

1. My gosh

it sounds very similar to what my sister in law is currently going through.

It's all so sad, but it's a really important article and topic.

[RaleighNCDUer]

2. The solution is not that difficult -

stop the war on drugs, release everyone convicted of possession or dealing pot, take all the money saved and channel it to medical treatment & rehab of addicts. With what is spent on chasing down and imprisoning pot dealers every year we could open and staff treatment facilities in ever city in the country.

[MountainLaurel]

3. No, it's not

But garnering the political will is almost impossible. Several years ago I worked for the Justice Dept., and one of my assignments involved an interagency task force on a particular illicit drug. Everyone, including the folks from ONDCP and Justice, recognized that treatment needed to be a key component and receive more attention than enforcement or even prevention efforts (deep down they knew that those stupid Partnership for a Drug-Free America ads were useless). However, they also knew that there was no way lawmakers would ever fund treatment programs appropriately.

[RaleighNCDUer]

4. True - perhaps i should have said 'complicated' rather than 'difficult'.

Even when the majority of the public knows what is right, the politicians will cater to the most conservative, vocal minority and do what is wrong.

I almost wish we could muzzle the RW for a year so we could pass all the laws we need to do the right thing without regard to the paleos and religious nutjobs. Just say 'shut up and sit in the corner till the grownups are through talking'.

[MountainLaurel]

5. That's a lovely idea

A girl can dream.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

6. Just read the full story.

She did get help. Not easy to get obviously but she did get help. Very sad. I have seen a lot of people die from bad choices though, some in close time frame to their bad decisions and some years after, it's always sad.

David

[Warpy]

7. With an end to the drug war

and quality control in recreational drugs, she'd very likely be alive. What kills most addicts is either getting a "hot" batch of heroin that's a lot purer than they're used to or getting a batch that's cut with something really terrible, like Drano.

We need to end the drug war, the military incursions into other countries under the pretense of eradicating sources, and the whole hideous waste of resources, treasury, and human potential. People have always used psychoactive substances for recreation and always will. We need to pour our efforts into helping people who have run into trouble with them and have asked for help.

What we're doing now hasn't worked on any level. We need to end it.