Drug Addiction Treatment
Throughout this semester we have talked about stigmas surrounding various diseases, illnesses, and infections and how they can affect how some may see the people affected. We have also talked about health care in Los Angeles and its discrepancies with the level of care different economic classes receive. I wanted to focus on the possibilities of treatment for people who have drug addictions and the price of treatment as well.
Over the past few years, Los Angeles has become a hub for drug treatment centers with about a thousand centers surrounding the greater Los Angeles area. However many of these treatment and detox centers do not have proper licensing or a licensed staff which can hurt many people with drug addictions searching for treatment. Out of those one thousand treatment centers most are detox centers which only scrape the surface of curing a person's addiction because detoxing is only the first step. There are also many sober living places ad rehab centers where people can live in the center for 30-90 days, these centers help very much but the cost of treatment usually drives people away because it is so expensive. What education have you had based on drug addiction?
Many treatment centers will only allow people with insurance as well which means that you have to have money if you want to get help. How do you think the stereotypes/stigmas associated with drug addiction affect the health care/treatment of people who have drug addictions? Do you think that the high number of drug treatment centers in Los Angeles are there to actually help people facing drug addictions, or do you think some centers are all for profit instead of health care?
Over the past few years, Los Angeles has become a hub for drug treatment centers with about a thousand centers surrounding the greater Los Angeles area. However many of these treatment and detox centers do not have proper licensing or a licensed staff which can hurt many people with drug addictions searching for treatment. Out of those one thousand treatment centers most are detox centers which only scrape the surface of curing a person's addiction because detoxing is only the first step. There are also many sober living places ad rehab centers where people can live in the center for 30-90 days, these centers help very much but the cost of treatment usually drives people away because it is so expensive. What education have you had based on drug addiction?
Many treatment centers will only allow people with insurance as well which means that you have to have money if you want to get help. How do you think the stereotypes/stigmas associated with drug addiction affect the health care/treatment of people who have drug addictions? Do you think that the high number of drug treatment centers in Los Angeles are there to actually help people facing drug addictions, or do you think some centers are all for profit instead of health care?
https://www.ocregister.com/2017/05/21/how-some-southern-california-drug-rehab-centers-exploit-addiction/
ReplyDeleteHere is an interesting article I found about the exploitation of drug addicts in SoCal. It turns out that you don't even need a medical license or a degree to open a Rehab Center, so almost anyone can do it. There are only 16 inspectors to look over 2000 rehab centers in California, so they are not well regulated either. This reminds me of Peter Countrymen's letters and also the idea of the deserving and undeserving sick as well as visible illnesses vs non-visible illnesses. People are clearly more willing to protect those who they think are undeserving. However addiction is a disease, not a choice. I wonder what is taking so long for people to realize this.
The addiction treatment industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, so there is obviously an incentive to make profit. After reading up on some articles, there are allegedly some treatment centers that focus on profit rather than supporting recovery. These centers have hired people to solely find drug addicts and bring them into the center, making around 500 bucks per person they bring in. Treatment facilities get paid by insurance through detox, rehab and outpatient treatment, so it is easy to see why centers would want to extend a patient’s time at their facility. In fact, there are claims that centers provide opportunities for their patients to relapse so that they stay longer. By no means do these claims discredit the many programs that are legit, but it does go to show how some may be value driven. Some stigmas I have heard associated with drug addicts is that helping them is futile because they will revert back to their habits. Obviously, this type of stigma will deter drug addicts to continue with their treatment. Kinda cringe but “those who think they can, and those who think they can’t are both usually right.” When stigmas associate treatment with inevitable failure, those who have the potential to quit are no longer motivated to continue with their treatment.
ReplyDeleteI think that restricting people's access to treatment of any sort strengthens the perception of rich people being healthy. Many other affiliated stereotypes such as poor people doing drugs are only worsened by their inability to seek treatment in an affordable/sustainable way. The discrepancies between health care also contribute to a feeling of superiority by some people. It would be beneficial if California focused on funding detox centers in addition to other long term treatment options because it would incentivize people suffering from addiction to seek help. Additionally, if treatment was conducted in a similar way as hospitals (Help offered regardless of patients ability to pay for treatment) more people would be treated and receive the care they need.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/49116/2000178-How-are-Income-and-Wealth-Linked-to-Health-and-Longevity.pdf
I was similarly surprised by what I found when researching problems with LA rehab center practices. The city with the highest per-capita number of rehab centers in California is Malibu, followed by Cosa Mesa, and there are a huge number of rehab centers in Pasadena, Murrieta, San Bernardino, and Woodland Hills. I’m interested in how and why different rehab centers end up where they are, and which types of patients different places attract. I know that many of the Malibu clinics, and other West Side places, are widely viewed as luxurious, exclusive, and private “retreat-type” centers that charge a high premium for longer programs. Malibu, however, has 47 licensed rehab centers, which makes me wonder how many of them may be capitalizing off of stereotypes about West Side treatment centers in order to appear more exclusive, well-staffed, or luxurious than they actually are. In this article from the OC Register, they discussed the different types of clinics around Los Angeles, including halfway houses. In the article, they discuss a man in San Clemente who repeatedly cycles in and out of rehab facilities, using insurance that his mother pays for. According to the article, he has been to rehab around 40 times– each time, he goes to the detox center of a local hospital, then gets sent to a halfway house, then secretly buys and uses drugs, then is kicked out of the halfway house. Even when he is picked up or taken in by a halfway house or treatment center designed to help people get back on their feet, he’s kicked out swiftly when they discover that he’s high or using again. The cycle of entering and re-entering rehab seems endless for a lot of people, and I wonder whether how the treatment they’re receiving at rehab centers may affect the cycle.
ReplyDeleteFor the next urban lab, I chose the topic of drug addiction and we were looking into a few places to go, so we researched some drug rehab centers in LA. We were a bit taken aback because a lot of the rehab centers that came up had pictures of large, modern mansions with pools and huge lawns– and it made me kind of wonder who was really allowed at those centers. It gave off this idea that only those who could afford treatment were worthy of treatment. I read an article about this really successful rehab center in Malibu - Cliffside Malibu - and it discussed how certain treatment centers like this one give sobriety a price of tens of thousands of dollars. But if you are looking to change your lifestyle and get sober, how do you go about doing that when you can’t even afford it? People are always talking about making quality medicine and treatment accessible, but what demographic are they really talking about- who really has access?
ReplyDeleteI think the reason why drug addiction is so stigmatized is because people associate a lot of addicts with being criminals, further associating them with being just fundamentally bad people. In addition, people blame addicts for their addiction, seeing it as a lack of willpower and something they should’ve watched out for or done something about a long time ago. We see people only as their addiction, and nothing else. However, it’s important to realize that diseases don’t discriminate– they don’t pick on certain people or choose certain groups to affect. In reality, addicts are normal human beings who were dealt bad hands, but they have a lot more substance and a lot more to offer than their addiction.
I agree with Kevin that due to the association between drug users and poverty, it is hard for them to seek help/treatment when needed. This leads to them continuing their drug use, which furthers the association. I think that we need to help them by providing free clinics where doctors volunteer their time to help these people. I am surprised by Coco's information that there are only 16 inspectors in California, which shows how little the state cares about the facilities. I think that we as citizens of California need to push our leaders to offer more support for drug addicts.
ReplyDeleteEducation on drug addiction has definitely been lacking in my experiences (and I assume throughout the country and perhaps the world as well). Even though Poly does have a relatively comprehensive human development curriculum, (to my recollection) we never really talked about serious drug addiction, and I definitely haven’t been exposed to that information in any other context. Thus, I don't know much about drug addiction and the methods through which the disease is combatted, and I think that’s both a cause and an effect of the prevalence of addiction in our current world. Because the subject is taboo and people can’t really see it as a disease and not a choice or a character flaw (even if they logically understand that that’s scientifically the case), people don’t receive nearly enough education on the topic, which means more people will suffer because they don’t understand the risks. And that suffering, the shame of “not being strong enough to avoid it” in turn makes people less likely to discuss the problem, which means that less education is available.
ReplyDeleteThat was super unnecessarily long-winded but the point is that without widespread education, I would assume that ineffective and/or misguided “treatments” would prosper because the people seeking help would have trouble making informed choices due to a dearth of common information. And although, again, I don’t really know much about this, it seems like rehab and detoxification have been commodified in an odd way in current culture, which further complicates the path to recovery as new centers spring up so frequently to ride the wave of the current fad.
After doing a little research, I found that almost anyone can run a rehab-related clinic in California. No degree, medical background, or any form of education is required to get a license. Despite there being over 2,000 rehab centers in the state, there are only 16 inspectors to manage and oversee these operations. Subsequently, from 2013 to 2016, consumer complaints nearly doubled to over 500 per year. It's clear this is an issue that is only growing bigger as many of these clinics are using a loophole in the Affordable Care Act that requires insurance companies to pay for addiction recovery. Because of this, rehab centers pay for ads on TV, radio, and more to convince potential addicts to come to southern California to receive treatment. In their time there, these centers often charge unnecessary medical bills covering anything from detox monitoring to psychological check-ups which provide little help in the recovery process. It would be great if we could take a closer look at the unethical practices many rehab centers are utilizing and see if they're targeting a specific demographic.
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to the article:
https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF02/20171212/106716/HHRG-115-IF02-20171212-SD007.pdf
I think the stigmas surrounding drug addiction are very impactful and important when talking about the topic of health care and rehabilitation centers. It's almost as if certain there are two types of people who have drug addictions and only one gets the option of curing their addiction. Like Charlotte, I also chose the topic of drug addiction on our next project. When seeing the very expensive and refined rehabilitation centers I was confused because most individuals can't afford to go to those types of centers. Drug addiction is also a very expensive addiction which makes an expensive rehab center even more unrealistic for most. It does cause me to think these types of rehab centers may not care about helping individuals more than making money. Which sadly sometimes doesn't surprise me. Looking around at the country and specific area we live in money and image are very important to people.
ReplyDeleteLike many others have already mentioned, there are over 2,000 rehab centers in California with only 16 inspectors, which shows just how little time and effort goes into each inspection. Without proper care of the centers, people will be easily dissuaded from staying in these clinics. It’s sort of similar to the issue with mental health centers: when they aren’t as professional and serious about their work, the patients are more likely to return to their initial state. Additionally, I feel like I read this somewhere but I’m not positive, but I think in some country, maybe the US but pretty sure it’s in Canada, but the government-run/owned centers where people can safely do drugs aren’t typically used because they feel like they are being watched. I know that that’s not really related, but I think it’s interesting how some of the facilities provided to keep people safe aren’t being used. Something to think about.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAside from the outrageous expenses of first/second step, in-patient rehab facilities in Los Angeles that most people talked about, I think that the stigmas surrounding addicts and treatment is prevalent - if not more prevalent - in the final stages of recovery, when housing and transitional living comes into play. I believe that there are several housing facilities in Pasadena, for example, that specialize in providing housing for recovering addicts, which I would imagine as being one of the final stages of treatment programs. The stigmas surrounding recovering addicts as criminals, dishonorable, and dirty plays into the same mentality of NIMBYism and affordable housing: for people experiencing homelessness, in particular, it's nearly impossible to recover from drug addiction without shelter, and it's difficult to provide housing for recoverees because people don't want facilities housing former drug addicts next door. On another note, my close friend was in in-patient rehab over the summer. The place was marketed as a high-end facility with a view of the beach and animal therapy...the whole package, right? It turned out that many of the staff were unlicensed, with the actual "treatment itself proving to be entirely unproductive. I'm not a clinical expert, obviously, but based on how my friend has described their experience, the facility was entirely for-profit. I still can't believe that drug treatment and rehab centers can go unlicensed. In fact, the allowance of unlicensed centers and staff really trivializes addiction as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI came across LA County’s Public Health fact sheet on drug misuse in Los Angeles, and it stated that, “Drug overdose, including unintentional alcohol poisoning, is the fourth leading cause of premature death in Los Angeles County and the 17th leading cause of death overall. It is the fourth leading cause of premature death among men (15,446 deaths) and the seventh leading cause of premature death among women (5,495 deaths).”
ReplyDeletehttp://publichealth.lacounty.gov/sapc/factsheet/drugusefactsheet.pdf
I also found the demographics for drug use interesting. In 2015, it was reported that 51% of heroin users are white, 62% of meth users are hispanic, 41% of alcohol abusers are hispanic, 61% of marijuana users are hispanic, 66% of cocaine users are black, and 57% of opioid users are white.
https://ndews.umd.edu/sites/ndews.umd.edu/files/u1424/los_angeles_scs_drug_use_patterns_and_trends_2016.pdf
Los Angeles is known as a rehab paradise. LA sells its beaches and coastal views as ideal places for rehabilitation, and the first rehab centers advertised on the AddictionCenter’s website were found in Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Beverly Hills, and Huntington Beach. It states that “outpatient detox ranges from $1,000 to $1,500 in total”, “inpatient rehabs may cost around $6,000 to $20,000 for a 30 day program”, and outpatient rehab costs range from $5,000 to $10,000.
https://www.addictioncenter.com/rehabs/california/los-angeles/
With costs like those, I doubt that the majority of those afflicted with addiction are able to access adequate treatment. The AddictionCenter mentioned that “the crack cocaine epidemic that swept the nation in the 1980s destroyed countless lives and families across the U.S. The epidemic is believed to have originated in South Central Los Angeles, where imported Colombian cocaine was converted to crack and sold in impoverished, black communities. In low-income neighborhoods of South Los Angeles, the enduring lure of the cheap, potent drug ‘has changed the architecture of the community.” Drug abuse how undoubtedly had an incredible impact on the lives of poor neighborhoods, and we have read about it in Always Running. I think it’s also interesting how the cost of drugs (which ranges from low to unbelievably high) can be cheaper than rehab.
In 1996, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist wrote a series in the San Jose Mercury News called “Dark Alliance”. The articles exposed the distribution network, aided by the CIA, that blanketed South Central Los Angeles with crack cocaine to fund the Nicaraguan Contras in their war against the Sandinistas, and as a consequence, he was ostracized, later becoming the subject of a movie called “Kill the Messenger”. Conversely, our country is fixated on the drugs that are “pouring across our borders” from Mexico and holding China accountable for the manufacturing of Fentanyl that ends up on the streets of our country. Opiates are seen as the problem along with those that traffic them. The users are, however, seen as victims of these terrible people and in need of medical attention for their addiction. Not so for the crackheads! No dignity or compassion was ever shown to them. They have always been considered lowlifes, deserving of their addicted, pathetic state, and of jail or death. Rehabilitation centers vary in quality, with the best care going toward our most valued, monied citizens.
ReplyDeleteAs pretty much everyone has mentioned, rehabilitation centers and other treatments for addiction are extremely expensive. Subsequently, this limits their accessibility and only a certain demographic is able to utilize those services and get treatment.
ReplyDeleteStigma and stereotypes surrounding drug addiction are extremely harmful, as are all the other stigmas and stereotypes surrounding other illnesses that we've talked about in class before. I feel like in conjunction with the stereotypes surrounding drug addiction there are also just a lot of misconceptions about people who have substance issues. The one I hear the most often is that it's a choice/they can just stop/they did it to themselves. This is obviously extremely harmful as we understand that there are a multitude of complex reasons people become reliant on addictive substances, and that like with everything else we've ever discussed in COA, you cannot isolate one "reason" (I don't think that's the best word for it but I can't think of the right word right now) from another.
It's interesting to compare the reactions people have and metaphors they create towards different health issues. I think people tend to create metaphors surrounding illness that make them feel better about themselves by creating a target group and separating themselves from the problem.