In every town and city, from Rockland to Lowell, people are struggling with the epidemic of the century- the disease of addiction. With every decade, the use of narcotics spreads. The age of a potential
addict continues to lower and the availability of heroin, cocaine and other opiates and amphetamines increases year by year. Narcotic use and sales are no
longer restricted to the inner- city or lower- class neighborhoods; it is widespread throughout suburbia and class is no longer a factor in determining who may or may not be affected by this disease.
The state provides funding for a multitude of services for
addiction treatment, including grants for detoxes, out- patient, and residential programs. These funds, however, continue to be slashed by our legislators, and access to
treatment consistently diminishes while the need for it increases. There is no arguement that facilities are often abused by 'frequent flyers' who appear to drop in for a quick spin- dry, but if the state acknowledges this plague and the disease component of addiction, then they must realize that
recovery comes on an individual basis, and only when an addict has the desperation to say that he/ she has truly had enough. If treatment is no longer available, an addict will in turn continue to use without any intermission and continue to commit crime in order to keep supporting his/ her habit. They also will not have the benefit of exposure to education on their disease and the recovery process, or the support of services to aid in a remedy. This writer proposes that state funds are better
spent on rehabilitation than on incarceration. Statistics show that the majority of Massachusetts inmates commit crimes in direct relation to drug and alcohol abuse, and recidicism is high in these cases. If money were spent on addiction education and recovery, in addition to corrections, and treatment was more available, we may see these numbers go down. I surely would rather my tax money go to a permanent, rather than tempoary solution.
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