It's fine to have addictive treatment in healthcare reform; however, when an addictive is admitted to programs, never show up, discharged, comes back and is readmitted several times in a year it COSTS lots of money. Also, the addictive person's whole family needs some degree of prevention or treatment or both. This is true for mental health disorders also. Has those who make up the 75% thought of that or if they have a family member with the addiction will they be willing to have the treatment also. Polls are great but generally only get the answers that the pollest wants because of the wording of the questions. Let's get those enrolled in treatment doing treatment first.

Out of 300 million people in America I don't think this proclamation is very accurate. I for one do not think this is a health care issue. Alcohol and drug treatment cost should be beared by the individual. This is a personal behavioral choice and adding this to the cost of overall healthcare is not what I believe America wants. Just recently here in California that similar type of scheme was tried and voted down by taxpayers. (Prop 5) Let's get a better sampling by your headlines and the way it's being framed in this article is deceiving!

As an addiciton counselor I always am amazed when people say that it is a choice for someone to be addicted. Maybe in the beginning but there is brain research that shows that there is a chemiclal change in the brain of those who are addicted to drugs, and cellular change to the whole body with alcohol. Having more funding does help. I do see some people who go to treatment more than once, however, they do make progress.

Boogie - what happens to a diabetic that does not eat properly? Are the effects on that person not related to a disease? If a diabetic maintains proper insulin levels for an extended period of time, and at some point they go out of whack is that a failure? In my mind, no. That persons disease is being successfully managed. Until we recognize that addiction needs to be treated on a chronic disease management model in this country we will continue to fail. Is heart disease "personal behavioral choice"? Isn't it somewhat diet related? Americans would do well to recognize this as a disease because it is, and what's really the saddest is that it's treatable. Homer, the agruement that addiction MIGHT require return treatment is weak. How many diseases require return or ongoing treatment? All chronic diseases... right? Do we say, oh, I treated the person's heart disease, they better not have to return? Sorry, we're done. Treatment of addiction will SAVE the health care system money folks, and lots of it. Addiction causes a host of very expensive drains on our countries resources and IF we treat it and pay for it, amazing preventive cost savings will begin to become very evident.

how were the 1000 surveyed contacted? I am always concerned if those surveyed is a true sample.

I did over 30 years of prison time because of my addiction to drugs and alcohol.how much money do you think I cost the state and federal goverments,without including the violence and emotional toll on my family and the rest of society. Therapeutic help would of made the difference for me. Funding is essential to stop the progression of criminal behavior and save cost to the tax payers,wise up and look around quit being indiferent to the ills of your communities.

Addiction is accepted as a disease by the AMA, APA, NIH, NIMH, NIDA and NIAAA. But there is an initial period when it is a choice. Young people in particular think that addiction will not happen to them and when they find out differently, it is generally too late; the brain changes have already happened. When my doctor told me my fasting blood level was “pre-diabetic” I chose to lose weight, exercise and change my diet. If I had not made that choice, I might now have the disease of diabetes. This is why early education about drugs and alcohol is so important. A dollar spent now, convincing a young person that their body and brain are being affected whether they think it can happen to them or not, will save hundreds of dollars in the future. The average alcoholic takes 3-5 attempts at recovery before they succeed. If a person relapses, the best thing we can do for them is to encourage them to try again, not condemn them as failures.

yes,educating the youth is great but you gentleman fail to see that we have done that for awhile and it didn't work,or else the prisons and youth detention centers would be empty.We need to focus on the addict today, it's a crisis and all of you are looking for the easy solutions. Being indiferent to the addict just bacause he commits crimes and of a course because that was his choice,right? It's time to start looking at the real causes that cause the disease of addiction,to name a few;pressure,disfunctional families,gangs,abuse,sexual and violent.We need to focus primarily on treating the addict,training the successful ones to go to the schools to share their experiences and become the providers of hope for other addicts and the example for people that are having a tough time with their addictions.scrder

Thank God the system worked. We lock up crimminals. Criminals who learn their lessons while in jail have paid for their behavior and they can enjoy their freedom and get back in society and not have society continue to take care of them. Anyone endorsing paying the health care for criminal behavior or personal bad choices of individuals ought to think twice because they are probally going to get pimped. I love the way it stated above " Addiction is accepted" not "proven" this in itself validate the point of those of us who knows this is a fraud which has beed perpetrated way too long on tax paying citizens by knuckle heads who can't get their life together for one reason or another and use substance abuse to get away from it all. NO EXCUSES!

Sorry -"No Excuses" doesn't hold much promise as a public health care policy nor a public safety policy. Criminal activity should be punished, but there are many intelligent, informed, God fearing knuckle heads on both sides of the political aisle thinking the real fraud to the American taxpayer is the idea that we are supposed to willing to pay for incarcerating every addicted / alcoholic person in the country if they step out of line. We incarcerate more folks than any place in the world and it is not solving our addiction issues. Look at incarceration rates since 1980 you will see what I am talking about. The incarceration problem is snow balling, and I am tired of my money paying for it! Call it, unintended consequences but 50% of the people we incarcerate are in for none violent, alcohol or drug related offenses and issues. I do not want to pay for some addict/alcoholic to sit in jail nor do I want to pay for raising his/her family through the social services network, because that person sure isn't taking care of their family or raising their kids while they sit in jail. Especially when it has been "proven" this is a disease, it is treatable, and good outcomes happen when you invest in treating the disease. Less emergency room visits, lower crime rates, lower domestic violence incidents, and increase work place productivity, just to name a few we gain by investing in prevention and treatment. You're right - NO MORE EXCUSES and NO MORE DELAYS - we must act now. Parity Law changes will make a difference, but it is just the beginning. We still have a ways to go... after all we're just knuckle heads, it is going to take us a while.

Wake up America to the lie! "Addiction is a choice". Breaking the law for whatever reason you deserve to go to jail. If we don't pay for incarceration for people who break the law, the next time you may be the victim. This is not a scare, it's the truth. If you let first time offenders off most of them commit more crime. What's more expensive a trip to jail for them or an early trip to the grave for you or someone you love because one of these knuckleheads did not do the time for the crime. Don't be fooled! Let's build more jails, if necessary, or tents or whatever we have to do to put these folks away when they break the law, not a get out of jail free card called "I have "alcoholism or drug addiction disease" which has never been difinitely proven to be anything more than an "acceptance" of such by those not willing to take resposibilty for their bad habits.

So maybe I am missing something here. This site is titled "Join Together- Advancing effective alcohol and drug policy, prevention, and treatment." Some of these posts appear to oppose this philosophy. If so do you read this to get upset and angry or are you actually looking to change your perspective on Advancing effective alcohol and drug policy, prevention, and treatment?

i am grateful for those resources to reach out to the less fortunate.meth addiction is no respector of social status, but those in need with no resources are the ones who need to be offered help without financial burdens keeping them in hiding with their addiction.i did not know of resources offered when i was an addict,the epidemic is rising of meth addiction, we need more facilities willing to offer service to those who can not afford it or are afraid to ask for help.we are to reach those who have less than us.let us be a blessing and God will bless us.

As good taxpayers we should be concerned about the less fortunate; but not people who make their own beds hard. We can't take care for everyone, especially people with bad habits. But, I will suggest that if people producing the subsatnces, which is causing the problem, maybe we should go after them for the money after all they sold the product which is to blame for the condition. But, then was it a matter of someone just willing bringing this on themselves and therefore they should be willing paying for any treatment they receive or be made to make restitution if the tax payers have to bail them out of their stupidity. footnote: most users don't want help, but prefer to be left alone, so why in God's name don't we leave them alone until they are ready for help and ready to pay either pay restitution or it could be by institution (jail). They make the decison to use, they are capable of making the decision "not to use" (freedom of choice). But, if they break the law, they go to jail which advances the cause of justice for all.

Boogie, it makes me very sad to see comments like those you have made. The brain actually rewires in an addict, and there is a strong genetic component to addiction. I'll bet you have never read a book on the subject, or taken a class in college that dealt with addiction. Attitudes like yours are causing millions of Americans to die. The decision is initial, but while some people can stop, some are just not able to stop. Also, addiction is often concurrently presented with other issues, such as depression and PTSD. I suppose you think that these are also choices, which miraculously respond to drug therapy. How sad for you. And for us, that this kind of ignorance still exists.

I read many books on this subject, I have a Diploma for Drug Counseling. I have many college study hours on this subject. I have used drugs,cocaine,Crack,PCP, Angel Dust, Sherm,Red Devils, Yellow Jackets and a few thing I can't remeber the names of. I just didn't talk off the top of my head. I have been in the mix and dealth with and paid for the consequences of my bad habits one way or another, But everything I did and and everything I put in my body I made that choice to do so. I did not then, buy into any preconcieved notion that I had a disease, I just like what I was doing during that period in my life and I accepted even going to jail for it and I accepted having to pay the price set by those for my getting caught, It didn't stop me from what I wanted to at that time, even with forced 12 step programs. I played thier game and as soon as I was finised I got back in to my game. There was no way I was going to put in this cult like mentality of "addiction" when I knew I made the choice to do the thing I did and as my mom always, "grownfolks" make choices whether good or bad it has nothing to do with genectics, "maybe monkey see monkey do". People do what they like even if that getting high or drunk! Oh, by the way a good book I read was, The Truth About Addiction and Recovery" Dr. Stanton Peele, PhD and Archie Brodsky