Why Rehab should be Required

 

Many people struggle with addiction throughout their lives. According to American Addiction Centers “In 2022 nearly 108,000 people died in the United States from drug-involved overdoses. Additionally, from 1981-2022, unintentional poisoning (from drug overdoses) had become the number one cause of injury-related death in the United States.” With such a big problem in the United States the country should do something to try and solve this problem. A solution to this problem would be requiring addicts to go to a rehab center. The reasons why the United States should require rehab for addicts is because it would help them stabilize their personal lives, help society by being active members, and keep them out of legal trouble. A reason why we should send people to rehab is that in an article by National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics it says, “ 1.16 million American’s are arrested annually for drug related offenses and that 224 thousand of Americans sent to prison annually for drug related crimes.” Instead of sending people to prison they should instead send to a rehab center where they can be treated by a professional instead of being put in prison or sent back home where they can continue their habits. It would also help taxpayers by not having to pay to support them in prison instead that money could be used to help them stabilize their lives at a rehab center. The problem with rehab right now stated by American Addiction Centers is “less than 43% of the individuals who enter treatment for drug and alcohol use complete it.” If rehab was required to be finished all the way through it might lower the number of overdoses and deaths seen throughout the country. Another thing rehab would do for the people going through it is it would show them they are not along. It would help them realize that others are going through the same problem and that their people there to help them get better. An argument against rehab might be that it doesn’t with addiction is sometimes the help people with addiction because they will just relapse. Mentioned in an article The Role of counselling in Drugs and Alcohol Rehabilitation Process “The Recovery Village’, of 2,136 American adults who wanted to stop drinking, only 29% reported a never relapse.” But later in the article it said that relapse is just part of the recovery that it lets the person treating them know that their plan of treatment needs to be adjusted to better help a patient. Another argument could be who would be required to go to rehab, and it should be people that have ether been arrested or have had to be sent to a hospitable because their addiction affected them so much where they needed medical care.