The US Department of Health & Human Services Substance – Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration reports a significant decline in the misuse of prescription drugs. The misuse of prescription drugs decreased significantly between 2007 and 2008 among those aged 12 and older, including among adolescents, according to 2008 National Survey on Drug Use [...]

New research on the brain and behavior clarifies the mysteries of addiction by Craig Lambert, Harvard Magazine, March 2000.
Early experiences with drugs, whether in the womb or as an adult, have ineradicable effects. Drug users often describe a wish to recapture the bliss of their first high. But this goal proves elusive because once the [...]

University of Wisconsin-Madison based program aims to better drug treatment

Green-Milon’s apparent success in overcoming her addictions is all too rare, experts say. Only about a tenth of the 24 million Americans who need drug treatment get it, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and at least half of them relapse.
Part of the challenge, [...]

New combination of treatments is effective for alcohol dependence
McLean Hospital researchers, along with colleagues from 11 other study sites nationwide, report that the medication naltrexone and up to 20 sessions of alcohol counseling delivered by a behavioral specialist are equally effective treatments for alcohol dependence when delivered with structured medical management in the Journal of [...]

The Narcotic Farm: The Rise and Fall of America’s First Prison for Drug Addicts is a book exploring an experiment to deal with addicted criminals.
The farm was the first place to look at drug addicts as patients that were in need of treatment instead of criminals in need of punishment. The farm did experiments [...]

From the United States National Institute of Health, Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research Based Guide – Why can’t drug addicts quit on their own?
Nearly all addicted individuals believe in the beginning that they can stop using drugs on their own, and most try to stop without treatment. However, most of these attempts result [...]

National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH on how effective is drug addiction treatment:
According to several studies, drug treatment reduces drug use by 40 to 60 percent and significantly decreases criminal activity during and after treatment. For example, a study of therapeutic community treatment for drug offenders (See Treatment Section) demonstrated that arrests for violent and [...]

The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment is part of the United States Department for Health and Human Services. CSAT promote the quality and availability of community-based substance abuse treatment services. CSAT also supports free treatment referral service to link people with the community-based substance abuse services they need.
The treatment locator includes more than 11,000 [...]

Trends in drop out, drug free discharge and rates of re-presentation: a retrospective cohort study of drug treatment clients in the North West of England, published in 2006.
The proportion of individuals dropping out has increased from 7.2% in 1998 to 9.6% in 2001/02 (P < 0.001). The proportion DDF [Discharged Drug Free] has fallen from [...]

The six steps that are included in many addition treatment programs are: detoxification, diagnosis, cognitive therapy, family therapy, medication and some 12-step type program. WebMD has an article examining Rehab’s Role in Treating Addiction
Experts now agree that addiction is a brain disease with a genetic component, Gordon says. But it’s also affected by behavior. [...]