Is It Time to End the War on Drugs? - King County Bar Association

5. Some basic principles should inform <strong>the</strong> evaluation of treatment options.“The past decade has seen a wealth of new research-based resources for drug andalcohol treatment providers . . . [and] consensus statements on <strong>the</strong> state of <strong>the</strong> science ofdrug treatment, produced by blue-ribbon panels of experts, convened by <strong>the</strong> Institute ofMedicine . . . , <strong>the</strong> Office of National Drug Control Policy . . . , <strong>the</strong> American PsychiatricAssociation . . . , and <strong>the</strong> National Institutes of Health . . . . The National Institute on DrugAbuse [NIDA] (1999) recently produced an accessible 54-page guide <strong>to</strong> research-basedprinciples of drug addiction treatment. The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment nowdistributes Treatment Improvement Pro<strong>to</strong>cols, providing best-practice guidelines for drugabuse treatment (see http://www.treatment.org/Externals/tips.html).” 121 To “ review <strong>the</strong>substantive findings of <strong>the</strong> growing empirical literature on drug treatment outcomes” isbeyond <strong>the</strong> scope of our task. 122 But because <strong>the</strong>y provide a framework that is useful inassessing many (but not all) important components of a comprehensive treatment plan, <strong>the</strong>thirteen principles of effective treatment from <strong>the</strong> 1999 NIDA report referred <strong>to</strong> above,Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Approach, are quoted in fullbelow.“[NIDA] Principles of Effective Treatment“1. No single treatment is appropriate for all individuals. Matchingtreatment settings, interventions, and services <strong>to</strong> each individual's particularproblems and needs is critical <strong>to</strong> his or her ultimate success in returning <strong>to</strong>productive functioning in <strong>the</strong> family, workplace, and society.“2. Treatment needs <strong>to</strong> be readily available. Because individuals who areaddicted <strong>to</strong> drugs may be uncertain about entering treatment, taking advantage ofopportunities when <strong>the</strong>y are ready for treatment is crucial. Potential treatmentapplicants can be lost if treatment is not immediately available or is not readilyaccessible.“3. Effective treatment attends <strong>to</strong> multiple needs of <strong>the</strong> individual, notjust his or her drug use. To be effective, treatment must address <strong>the</strong> individual'sdrug use and any associated medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legalproblems.“4. An individual's treatment and services plan must be assessedcontinually and modified as necessary <strong>to</strong> ensure that <strong>the</strong> plan meets <strong>the</strong> person'schanging needs. A patient may require varying combinations of services andtreatment components during <strong>the</strong> course of treatment and recovery. In addition <strong>to</strong>counseling or psycho<strong>the</strong>rapy, a patient at times may require medication, o<strong>the</strong>rmedical services, family <strong>the</strong>rapy, parenting instruction, vocational rehabilitation, andsocial and legal services. <strong>It</strong> is critical that <strong>the</strong> treatment approach be appropriate <strong>to</strong><strong>the</strong> individual's age, gender, ethnicity, and culture.50