My friend Patrick as SpiritualRiver reminded me of an issue that I think is somewhat obvious to many drug addiction researchers but may not be to others.

The way I see it, there is a specific reason behind much of the research into medications, or other interventions, that will help drug addicts in their transition to recovery:

If we can figure out a way to reduce the extreme hold that drugs have over addicts, we may just make it possible for a much larger proportion of them to get their life back and succeed in addiction treatment.

Long term drug use causes some serious alterations in the neurological functioning, and therefore the behavior, of substance abusers. As it stands, it requires a great deal of motivation, support, and perseverance to overcome a serious drug habit.

Still, if we can somehow make it easier, either by intervening earlier, or by somehow speeding up the brain’s recovery, or by creating the kind of functioning needed for the person to be able to make deliberate, informed decisions, we could just even the playing field a little. Right now, there are some medications out there that do just that, and as far as i’m concerned, regardless of what people say about substituting one addiction for another (which they do for methadone and buprenorphine), if we can get addiction back on the road to a functioning, contributing, life – that’s recovery too. Harm reduction is just that, a way to make people’s lives easier even if they can’t, or aren’t ready, to completely give up drugs. I for one don’t understand why so many people are insisting that it’s all or nothing. In case you haven’t figured it out, that’s not how life normally works, in recovery or anywhere else.

And by the way, that’s definitely not the only way to intervene – medication like modafinil and other pharmacotherapies that help addicts make better, less impulsive choices, also work; add to that bupropion (an antidepressant and a nicotine addiction medication that has a low abuse potential), as well naltrexone (good for opiate overdose but also for alcoholism treatment) and you begin to see that this area of treatment is getting better at providing solutions that are meant to supplement, not replace, traditional treatment modalities.

The end goal is to help the addict and as I’ve said before, I think we should use all our tools.