“A Nudge from the Judge”

Perhaps, after your first, but definitely after your second DUI (Driving while Under the Influence) you have been court-ordered to attend addiction treatment. You broke the law, and you were arrested and as part of your sentencing, you have been court-ordered to an alcohol/drug rehab facility.

Protecting you from Yourself

Federal, State and Local judicial systems have passed laws (for the most part) to protect its citizens. In the case of a DUI conviction, the Judge is perhaps protecting you from yourself, as well as the good folks that may be in the way of your 2000 pound hunk of murderous metal, otherwise known as your vehicle. Since selfish, self-centeredness is at the core of alcoholism and the disease of addiction (otherwise known as The Disease), it may be difficult for people in the throes of their disease to comprehend the consequences and implications of driving drunk or high.

Common Reasons Someone is Court-Ordered to Treatment

DUIs are not the only reason someone may get sentenced to a treatment facility. A plethora of drug-related crimes may also be behind the Judge’s decision; from robberies committed in order to buy drugs, to healthcare professionals calling in their own prescriptions for controlled substances. To the public at large, DUI may represent the most common reason someone is court-ordered to treatment, but the courts, businesses and law enforcement know that is far from reality.

According to the Justice Policy Institute, “Increased admissions to drug treatment are associated with reduced incarceration rates… Of the 20 states that admit the most people to treatment per 100,000, 19 had incarceration rates below the national average.” Sending people to treatment serves more than just the individual and the public, it also helps keep prison over- crowding down.

Source: Justice Policy Institute, "Substance Abuse Treatment and Public Safety," (Washington, DC: January 2008), p. 2.
http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/08_01_REP_DrugTx_AC-PS.pdf

Court-Ordered Treatment Decreases the Number of Crimes

For financial reasons, court-ordered treatment makes sense, too. It is more cost-effective in the long-run to sentence a person convicted of a drug-related crime to treatment than to incarcerate them. Court-ordered treatment also decreases the number of crimes committed by such offenders, which saves everyone money.

Source: Justice Policy Institute, "How to safely reduce prison populations and support people returning to their communities," (Washington, DC: June 2010), p. 8.
http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/10-06_FAC_ForImmediateRelease_PS-AC.pdf

Treatment has Several Advantages

So, for Federal, State and Local judicial concerns, court-ordered treatment makes sense on many levels. But what about the individual, the guy on his second DUI? Does court-ordered treatment work for him, too? The short answer is, “yes.” An alcoholic or addict sentenced to treatment has several advantages. From the moment they are incarcerated, then sent to treatment they no longer have to:

1. Deal with the daily obligations of life.
2. They don’t have to take the kids to school
3. They don’t have to work (at least not a real job, right away)
4. They can usually be detoxed in a safe environment, surrounded by caring professionals, rather than in a cell
5. No bills to pay (again, at least not immediately, restitution may be a part of sentencing)
6. They are given a warm place to sleep, food to eat
7. All their basic necessities are provided and all their
needs are met.

Disease Concept

For those being sentenced to treatment, maybe for the first time in their lives, they may feel like this a great injustice! Wait a minute, everything they need to live their life on a day to day basis is provided! How can they be so ungrateful? Well, that’s part of the disease concept that tells us nothing is ever fair or right, whatever we are given isn’t enough and a general need for “more” of everything is at the core of all that is wrong in our lives.

Luxury Treatment

Hopefully, eventually, they will learn to appreciate the “luxury” treatment affords them. At this time perhaps, they are introduced to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and the 12 Steps of Recovery. This may be where the seeds of hope are planted: The hope that any addict or alcoholic can stop using, lose the desire to drink and or drug and learn a new way to live. They learn that the programs of AA and NA offer freedom from active drug and alcohol abuse. They learn about living life in a safe, protected environment without the worries of day-to-day situations that in past may have triggered them to get high or drink.

Does court-ordered treatment work? The long answer now is, “only if you work it.” Work, in this case, means working a program of recovery, which is the 12 Steps with a sponsor. Many addicts and alcoholics “work” the Steps in treatment, but this really isn’t the same as working the Steps with an AA or NA sponsor. In treatment, it may help with identifying issues that caused them to drink and or drug, which is another advantage to being court-ordered there: Free Therapy!

Treated as a Whole Person, Not Just the Symptoms.

A different modality is taking effect in treatment centers, especially at The 12 Palms of Recovery, where a patient is treated as a whole person, not just the symptoms. The drinking and drugging are really just symptoms of the disease. Treatment is not a substitute for the 12 Steps, it is usually in conjunction with 12 Steps. AA and NA are both proven methods of recovery. Countless alcoholics and addicts get clean and sober and have stayed drug and alcohol free through the 12 Steps. So when we say, “It works if you work it,” the work IS the 12 Steps. If a person wants to stay clean and sober and heals the damage that causes them to drink and drug, their prospects for doing so is increased exponentially. “Does court-ordered treatment work? Yes, but you have to want it and be willing to work for it.”