Drug Addicts Have Rights – and So Do You

Once in a while I get the question: Can the addict check himself out of treatment once they are in? Or are there any programs that don’t allow you to check out once you check in?

When I get that question, I know exactly why it is being asked: The addict has been to three, four or five detox or rehab programs; always leaving before the program is complete; always going back to using and refusing to go to long term treatment. Usually the person asking is certain that the addict is literally killing himself on drugs and if no intervention occurs, he is surely going to die.

From that point of view I can completely understand why it would seem like a great idea to force someone to stay in a rehab. The person asking this question is hoping and praying that if the addict is forced to receive treatment, they will eventually come to realize that they need to be there, start to improve and participate on their own volition.

The concept of using force to help people has a long, painful and very political history – that is not the topic of this article but understanding this history does have value in understanding why forcing people into treatment is not, in the long term, a viable solution for the individual or society.

There are only two types of programs in the U.S. that I know of that will accept someone against their will: prisons and psychiatric hospitals. If you have personal experience with either, you would probably agree that neither of these treatment models have long term success – if any success at all – in treating a drug addict.

People have natural rights and they inherently know their rights. A person has a right to give or receive – or to not give or receive – help. This right is so fundamental that when violated, the protest can be quite fierce.

There is the argument that addiction is a disease and not a personal choice. Today, this is still only a theory. There is no scientific evidence, no physiological tests or studies that scientifically proves this theory.

The best form of treatment is one that acknowledges a person’s personal choice. Personal choice is superior in power to any force or coercion. Just think about a time when someone tried to force you to do something, regardless of its benefits. How did you react? Would you have more likely done it if you were given the freedom of choice?

And just as a side note, consider the poor addiction counselor who has to work with a unwilling patient. What an uphill battle that is! And for so little gain, who would do it?

OK. So what do you do? Give up on the drug addict? Let them die? Let them ruin not only their life but the lives of those around them?

No. Absolutely not.

Compassion is one of the highest of human virtues. Helping our family and friends is the basis of human relations. Where would we be if someone did not care about us or our welfare?

The way to help a drug addict is to give him back his power of choice. There is a very small percentage of drug addicts that want to be addicted. Most, by far, want to be drug free and happy. They just have no idea how to get there and so assume they will just have to survive the best they can while still using drugs.

There are methods to effectively show the addict the way out of the trap. This is not an easy thing to do, but there are ways. And there are people who are willing to share with you their knowledge of how to go about it.

And finally, the bottom line is: It is your choice to help or not. It is the addict’s choice to be helped or not be helped. And it is definitely your choice to be or not to be in association with any person who is harming themselves and others.