Wonderful news but I can not help but wonder if this is just news to get the hopes up of people who know others struggling with addictions or who are struggling themselves and then nothing ever happens. Without doubt, imprisonment does not help non violent addicts. In fact, it does more harm than anything. There are many addicts out there who are struggling harder than most so called normal people can even imagine, but they do not have the right family support or money for the expensive treatment to overcome this enormous problem that has taken control of them. I also believe that these enormously priced treatment facilities should be further investigated to see if their treatment is even helping or is it a farce. Are counselors really doing their jobs or are they earning hundreds of dollars an hour to just sit there and listen. Let's get behind these people and PLEASE help these poor addicts.

The first step in respecting the human rights of addicts, rich or poor, is to stop criminalizing the behavior. To characterize an addict as "criminals" simply because of their addiction, and lacking any criminal behavior toward others is repulsive, moral bigotry.

I have been at a 12 step meeting in Tijuana Mexico where I saw very rich recovering addicts serving newcommer addicts off the street water, coffee, and food welcoming them to the fellowship, it has grown to a very large, and strong region. Also a frind of mine visited Iran where there are hundreds of thousand addicts attending 12 step meetings. They have regular meetings with 10,000 addicts attending. It is one of the strongest fellowships anywhere in the world.

I have just come from the prosecutor's office because my "friend" who has been an ex offender(Heroine) robbed a bank. The jobs he applied for were all rejected ( 80) the stress in his life pushed him over the edge--- hoping he would be killed in a robbery rather than live the poor life he had, despite doing under the table contracting work. There are no options for addicts or those in recovery--They belong in hospitals, not jail. His inability to keep clean after 3 years was caused directly by the big "F" on his chest. It is time for America to create opportunities, not failures for those with addictions. Former VP AT&T Human Resources

We might do well to pay attention to the knowledge that we have accumulated over the many years of addressing addictions.The Bio-Psycho-Social approach covers it all but has become "Psychobabble jargon"to most of us,in and out of the therapeutic community.Simply-Children need external guidelines provided by loving, stable adults(in word and deed),which include the ability to manage with adversity and know that you will be"are"o.k.This becomes that internal voice which guides us as we become adults.But for some reason for many of us this does not happen and we must take the initiative to go through this process as adults(in whole or part).This is what treatment should be about.The longer we live with inadequate life skills the more ingrained and frustrating they become. "Dysfunctions"become a way of life.And life can throw us adversities that few of us can handle alone,as we try to.Life becomes chaos and the chaotic are feared,shunned.Effective therapeutic interaction can be a process slowly out of that chaos.Addressing each issue with the best possible course of action that the situation allows.In many cases both rich and poor do not receive the tools to do differently.Wasn't it Einstein who said that,true insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome.There is no secret to a respectful and honest agreement for change...not easy but possible.I believe that we have the knowledge to create international guidelines for drug addiction therapy.In the field we have seen it all in every country..duel diagnosis,effects of poverty...lets stop reinventing the wheel and get the right people together to address the real issues.

I am very grateful that the plight of addiction is being recobnizes. We treat almost 100 opiae addicts, and do it in a amily care setting. My colleague does the most complete physical that many of my patients tell me that theyhave eer received. I would like to personally thank Reckitt-Benkhiser Pharnaceuticals for supplying indigent medicine for people who qualify financially. I have seen so many lives put back together because of getting an indigent supply of medication, that each one would tesify to the change in the quality of their life. However, it is not just the medicine; It is a combinaion of being restored to physical health, which enables them to be fertile ground for individual psychotherapy. A minimum amount of money is spent by myself to help defray the cost of literature. I would like to thank Hazelden Foundation for giving us a grant of literature. This treatment all takes place n the context of a family care practice. Most of all, I would like yo thank The Robert Wod Johnson Foundation, for training me by connecting me with the greatest scientists at Beth Israel Hospital, Dr. Don Des Jarlais and Dr. Ed Salsitz. If we could only get the pharmacies to get on board and cease to stigmatize my patients, it would be a perfect world for the recovery pf opiate addiction. Dr. Barry Schecter Phd, LCSW-R,CASAC, MAC,SAP

I agree with Dr. Schecter that we need to be grateful to particularly Hazelden Foundation for developing effective, cognitive behavioral therapy curricula that work to help addicts learn to change their thinking and their behavior. I also thank Dr. Bill Miller for developing Motivational Interviewing which offers a respectful way for addicts to overcome the shame and fear that goes with addiction and begin to commit to a recovery program by being empowered to care about themselves in a healthy way. I know that empathic listening works when helping clients learn to use the CBT skills to change their lives. And thank God for the 12 step groups, particularly AA, because they really do make a difference in this battle. It is winable if we use the tools that work to help others overcome the disease of addiction, but we must recognize that our enemy is trauma, poverty, destitution, a world that depends on drugs more than it depends on God, and it isn't overcome by a pill. Unfortunately, you can't just throw money at it either. Addiction becomes a god, and addicts eventually have no other place to turn. The twelve step groups, the community programs that use CBT and Motivational Interviewing, and, for those that need it, the methadone or psychotropic meds all have to work together with the community support to help the addict overcome. Dr. Janet Lerner, DSW, LCSW-R

I am currently a Discharge Planner in a county jail and specialize in community re-entry. I have worked over 30 years in the field of addictions and those of us that are out there know that this isn't truly "news". I can't help but wonder how much money was spent on this as well as other "discoveries" about the horrors of addiction that could have been put into treatment? We KNOW there's a problem of epidemic proportions but how about a solution? How much research and statistical information must we pay for before our loved ones, neighbors, friends and acquaintances get the help they need?

When Costa states that the "UNODC is working towards universal coverage for all addicts"-I wonder -what does that mean? What exactly are they doing? I think this is just feel good filler- I have never known the UN to do anything of real substance.

While there's lots of good quality raw material here to help those who read this to aid for search for a better solution; one thing jumps out at me. The celebrities who enter elite rehabs with a grand fanfare are feeding their own egos as outsiders feed these egos in a re-inforced manner. In many cases the deep seated low self esteem of the addict is counterbalanced by exaggerated egotism as the two, thereby, grow steadily more entrenched. It's no wonder that they are heavily persecuted by some of the media for the slightest slip as they make the transition from the protected environment of rehab to re-entry into society and all it's triggers. Those who are a party to this (especially professionals) may do well to discourage this publicity - even if it offers a "quick fix" to the need to have society accept that there is hope for addicts. Let's show society a process. Thank you to the many who gave comments based on logic, data, stated experience or the like; especially if they were tempted to make sweeping and emotion-based comments. I know that I am usually tempted to do so but, I choose not to do so "today."

There is irrefutable evidence that addiction to alcohol and other chemicals has very strong genetic underpinnings that affect the balance and functions of the emotional neurotransmitter systems in the brain. It is virtually impossible to deal with a genetic based addiction without treating the neurobiological imbalances and dysfunctions first. The brain is simply not in any condition to respond to a long-term wellness pattern without doing so. This, fortunately, can be addressed with neuronutritional brain health aids in conjunction with well proven and established psychosocial treatment. It is like learning to ride a bicycle. If you have a bike to use in learning that has two flat tires and a broken chain, does it not make good sense to put air in the tires and repair the broken chain first? Well, of course it does. The "broken brain" is the same. Repair the "broken brain" first and then teach it how to function....strengthen the neural pathways of thought and behavior that have been weakened by genetic and environmental factors and the sheer enjoyment of a new life of functional independence will continue to drive it. Putting "sick people" in prison makes absolutely no sense other than creating jobs for the criminal justice system and undue cost to society as a whole.

I have worked in the mental health substqance abuse arena for years. One thing that I have learned is that laws that further distance the person suffering from these diseases from living a different lifestyle have harmed us all. Everyone of us needs to feel that we are good at something and are valued. If the only nitch we are allowing them is criminal, how can we blame then for valuing it? I have found that one of the problems is that some courts and treatment providers want the addict to "go and sin no more" without having another "skill" to feel good about. There are communities of drug users where someone good at shoplifting, or dealing or hustling the money to buy the drugs is sought out as a partner. We have to be able to understand that for someone who has never had any other type of personal success or been recognized as good at something, giving up the one thing that makes them feel proud is a big deal. We have to help them find something else to be proud of be it school, job training or even just showing up for sessions! We have to work on giving them the tools they need to be able to recover a place in a different community and welcome them to it. With each positive step away from the drug scene, we have a chance to lay a path toward a different goal. That is unless we keep blocking that path with useless laws about preventing them from walking on it.