Treatment

Treatment works! As part of Florida’s 2009 Drug Control Strategy, the Florida Office of Drug Control, in partnership with the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association and the Departments of Children and Families, Corrections, Juvenile Justice, Health and other public, private, and non-profit agencies, works toward increasing substance abuse treatment efforts to help those who have been caught in the devastating web of addiction.

Understanding Addiction and Treating Substance Use Disorders

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. Drug addiction is considered a brain disease because drugs change the structure of the brain and how it works. These changes can be long-lasting and undermine a person’s ability to choose not to take drugs. The effects of drugs on the brain largely explain why drug addiction is often characterized by compulsive, dysfunctional drug use that continues in the face of extremely negative consequences.

Given proper treatment, people can overcome addiction, counteract the damaging effects of drugs on their brains, and regain control of their lives. Comprehensive drug treatment is effective at stopping drug use and helping individuals to return to healthy, productive roles in their families, workplaces, schools, and communities. Research indicates that drug treatment reduces drug use by 40% – 60% while also significantly decreasing criminal behavior. In fact, it is estimated that for every dollar spent on addiction treatment programs, there is a $4 to $7 reduction in the costs of drug-related crime, criminal justice costs, and theft. Total estimated savings can exceed costs by a ratio of 12 to 1 when healthcare savings are added. Significant benefits to individuals and society come from decreases in interpersonal conflicts, improvements in productivity, and reductions in drug-related accidents, injuries, and diseases.

Since addiction often impacts many different dimensions of a person’s life, the most effective treatment programs will offer comprehensive services that meet the psychiatric, medical, social, vocational/educational, and legal needs of the individuals they serve. The ideal continuum of care is both customized and comprehensive, often involving a combination of evidence-based therapies and services that address the needs of the whole person. Often, a short-term, one-time treatment episode is simply not enough to produce complete and lasting sobriety. Treatment episodes that do not result in complete and long-lasting abstinence should be regarded as incomplete successes rather than failures, particularly since the treatment of chronic diseases like addiction involves changing deeply imbedded behaviors. In fact, relapse rates for addiction are comparable to those seen in other chronic medical diseases that have physiological and behavioral components like diabetes, hypertension, and asthma. For many individuals, treatment is a long-term process that involves multiple treatment episodes and attempts at abstinence. Florida’s 2009 Drug Control Strategy recognizes that increasing funding for effective treatment must be a national, state, and local priority.

Drug Courts Break the Cycle of Crime and Addiction

Drug courts have been appropriately labeled the "crown jewel" in the Florida treatment system. Drug courts are cost-effective alternatives to incarceration, providing mandated substance abuse treatment in lieu of jail or prison time for non-violent offenders, conditionally based on their successful participation and completion of treatment programs. Drug courts significantly reduce crime, result in better treatment outcomes, and yield significant cost benefits when compared to other criminal justice strategies. We must expand drug courts across the state to offer alternatives to imprisonment for non-violent drug offenders. The end result will be fewer addicts and drug users, less demand for drugs, less drug trafficking, less drug-related crime and violence, safer communities, and fewer people behind bars. In order to achieve these beneficial results, Florida’s front line agencies in this effort must work with the court system and expand their collaborative efforts. To learn more about drug courts in Florida, please see "Drug Courts in Florida: Frequently Asked Questions and Quick Facts". [PDF 129KB]

Links to Treatment-Related Agencies

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF)

Office of State Courts Administrator’s Drug Court Web page

Links to Treatment Resources and Reports

If someone you know needs help for substance abuse addiction or problems with alcohol, where do you turn to find treatment? The Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator was created for just this purpose. It is a searchable directory of more than 11,000 addiction treatment programs around the country that treat alcoholism, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse problems: Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator.

"Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction" (National Institute on Drug Abuse)

"Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide" (Second Edition) (National Institute on Drug Abuse)

"Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations: A Research-Based Guide" (National Institute on Drug Abuse)

"Overarching Principles to Address the Needs of Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders" (SAMHSA’s Co-Occurring Center for Excellence)

"Comorbidity: Addiction and Other Mental Illnesses" (National Institute on Drug Abuse)