Pitcher 1

Madison Pitcher
Tamara Webb
English 1010
12/02/2015
Position Synthesis
Addiction is on the rise in the United States. Death rates, partly stemming from
substance abuse, are increasing among middle-age white Americans. In response to what is
being called a heroin epidemic, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has proposed legislation
that would give hospitals the power to force treatment on drug addicts. Is this an effective
approach to the problem? (New York Times, 1). There is a problem in our country, where
addicts are being failed of treatment and dying. This could be a parable to disease such as
cancer killing off many. We see campaigns and drives for cancer or diabetes, yet a strong
rarity in campaigns for addiction. I personally am affected by this problem dealing with my
father as an addict. He is an alcoholic. The biggest step in recovering is admitting that you
have a problem. Most think that it is easy for an addict to realize when they have hit rock
bottom. I beg to differ. My father has lost his family, lost his home, lost his truck, lost his
bank account, lost his company, and most important of all has lost himself. He has been
found passed out for several days cold to the touch after drinking rubbing alcohol, Listerine,
and vanilla extract. He lives in a trailer once owned by our family on a dairy farm in Idaho.

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He has been on probation for over a year not being allowed alcohol. His parole officer only
check in on him twice a month. Because of his relapses caught he was admitted to jail for
two months without medical attention. His body cannot survive without alcohol in his
system which caused him to get extremely ill. If he were in proper care he wouldnt have
become so sick and could have been in a better place of recovery. There may be reasons why
addicts should be given a choice to attend treatment, however many more reasons why
addicts should be forced into treatment. I believe that with certain standards to be met, with
a physician's approval and professional care addicts that are affected by their addiction,
making them unable to live their life on a normal basis, should be forced into an appropriate
treatment that suites their needs; emotionally, mentally, and in some cases spiritually.
In the article Addiction Is a Disease and Needs to Be Treated as Such" author
David Sack compares addiction to a disease. When a person is diagnosed with common
diseases such diabetes or asthma they are often immediately taken to a facility for diagnosis
and treatment. Once that has taken place they are most commonly put on a medication to
help them overcome or deal with this disease. Addiction and disease are related. First by
having a lifelong course defined by frequent relapses. Second, like other diseases genetics
plays a large and very important role. If we were to look at addictions as diseases would we
still treat them ignorantly? By seeing addiction as a disease the view can suddenly be
changed. That view of seeing a human suffer from relapse after relapse with little hope to

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survival. Survival is a part of human nature, only a very ill minded person would prefer to
see someone dying who didnt have to be. For me, watching an addict suffer is torture. Just
as any doctor would see disease killing someone, it is important to see that addiction is the
same. Imagine a woman suffering cancer in need of treatment. The family and herself
frantically trying to find a treatment center available to house her Chemo or radiation
treatment. After what seems like decades this woman finally finds a facility, she has
progressed with great measure as the cancer retrogressed. A side effect to her cancer has
done enough damage to her brain that she is unable to make realistic decisions. This causes
her to decide to leave the treatment center two weeks early insisting the cancer is now gone,
because of this her cancer comes back and she is not received with treatment anymore.
Would a doctor allow this mentally sick patient to decide this for herself? In no case would
a doctor allow that. Addiction is a disease and should be treated as one.
Just as the cancer spread woman mentioned in the story above could not mentally
make realistic decisions, either can an addict. In the article Drug Addiction Recovery Often
Starts with Coercion the author Robert L. DuPont discusses how addiction hijacks the brain.
Most addicts do not enter into treatment without the use of some form of coercion. He
argues that not everyone who is an addict should be committed to treatment, however some
addicts need to be. The statistic he states is that ninety five percent of people suffering from
substance abuse do not think they have a problem or need treatment. Because of this high

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percentage coercion should be used to commit the addict to treatment. Ashely Welch, over
health and wellness for CBS news, discusses the amount of drug related addicts in Nearly
10 Percent of Americans Struggle with Drug Problems. Ashely Welch informs America that
nearly ten percent of Americans struggle with drug addictions, which is roughly one in ten
Americans! Most of which do not get treatment. Only 3.2 percent of them get treated. She
says Work is needed to destigmatize these disorders and that only can happen at a societal
level (5). It is also stated that people with these disorders are skeptical of treatments and are
unaware of newer, more advanced options. Not only do they not want to get treated they do
not understand the options available to them. By forcing those into treatment physicians are
forcing addicts to see the options available to them.
Sally Satel, a consulting psychiatrist at a methadone clinic in Washington and a
resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, states that most addicts who voluntarily
enter a rehabilitation center on their own will drop out sooner. First of all, finding an addict
who will voluntarily put themselves into a recovery is very rare. Second being that even
though they put themselves into the program they are more likely to drop out earlier being in
control. The longer an addict is in recovery the higher the chances of them becoming sober.
By using coercion we are able to keep them in a program longer increasing that chance for
change. Another important part in change for an addict is the program they are admitted to.
Some addicts need help getting to an emotional state. This requires more counseling and

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therapy for them to understand where the addiction stems from. Another type of treatment
center is for those on a spiritual level. Treatment centers offer programs often referred to as a
twelve step program. These types of programs believe in a higher being. Most commonly
praised is God. By having God in their life they are able to overcome more than they can on
their own. It is amazing to observe the exponential growth in recovering addicts from these
programs. By paying attention to the needs of these addicts physicians can admit them into a
program that will allow them to recover from these addictions they are battling on their own.
Not all Americans agree with this way of approaching addiction.
In refutation an article Attract Patients to Addiction Treatment, Dont Force them
into it. By Maia Szalavitz she states that using coercion is not the most effective away for
addicts to become sober. She believes that we should not be working on forcing addicts into
recovery but by making recovery more friendly inviting. The reason to making rehab more
inviting is to give them hope at the end of the tunnel. Who would want to start a program
being expected to fail? She uses an analogy given by her grandma that sugar attracts flies
better than vinegar. In saying that she uses the addicts as the flies and being kind to them
will attract them more than treatment centers that use coercion and other forces. I do agree
that making treatments better for addicts is a good idea. The reason why this would not be
effective in my opinion is because, as I stated above, over ninety five percent of addicts do
not think they have a problem. This means that only five percent of addicts are actually

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looking at these treatment centers. Rather they are more appealing to the eye and mind or
not, these centers are only attracting the five percent of addicts. Another reason that using
force on addicts to enter into a program is because it is also seen that addition is a choice not
a disease. An addict is not in the correct mental state of mind to make proper decision on
their own making impossible to decide if they need treatment. Just like my fathers story.
He hit rock bottom years ago and still doesnt think he suffers from an addiction when he
clearly does. Addiction takes over the body and disallows an addict to make choices.
Addictions is a disease not a choice.
In conclusion, to most effectively get Americas addicts under control hospitals must
use force to help addicts achieve a better future. To solve this problem addiction must first
be seen as a disease. Addicts cannot make proper decisions on their own. They must also
understand the mental state of an addict and why they cannot make these decision. Lastly by
keeping them in treatment to help the addict understand their problem and release them when
they believe they are able to live on their own addiction free. Physicians are the ones to make
these decisions for an addict. There would be certain standards an addict must meet to be
considered into a recovery program that a physician would make. Addicts should be forced
into an appropriate treatment that suites their needs emotionally, mentally, and in some cases
spiritually. By doing so we prevent the possibility of the addict dropping out from recovery

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early and relapsing. I agree with Gov. of Massachusetts Charlie Baker in his decision of
hospitals being allowed to admit addicts to treatment.
DuPont, Robert L. "Drug Addiction Recovery Often Starts with
Coercion." New York Times. New York Times, 12 Nov. 2015. Web. 19 Nov.
2015.
Josepher, Howard. "Make Addiction Treatment Better and More
Available." New York Times. The Opinion Pages, 11 Nov. 2015. Web. 18 Nov.
2015.
O'Connor, Peg. "No Quick Fix or Simple Approach to Addiction." New.
The Opinion Pages, 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Sack, David. "Addiction Is a Disease and Needs to Be Treated as Such."
New York Times. The Opinion Pages, 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Satel, Sally. "Compelled Drug Addiction Treatment Works Because of
Retention." New York Times. The Opinion Pages, 11 Nov. 2015. Web. 18 Nov.
2015.
Szalavitz, Maia. "Attract Patients to Addiction Treatment, Dont Force
Them Into It." New York Times. The Opinion Pages, 11 Nov. 2015. Web. 18
Nov. 2015.

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Welch, Ashley. "Nearly 10 Percent of Americans Struggle with Drug

Problems." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 18 Nov. 2015. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.