Global evidence indicates that mandated treatment of drug dependence conflicts with drug users’ human rights and is not effective in treating addiction. Karsten Lunze and colleagues argue that drug treatment policies must be evidence based and meet international standards
Full Answer
Does drug treatment conflict with drug users’ rights?
Global evidence indicates that mandated treatment of drug dependence conflicts with drug users’ human rights and is not effective in treating addiction. Karsten Lunze and colleagues argue that drug treatment policies must be evidence based and meet international standards
What is mandatory treatment for drug addiction?
Mandatory treatment is defined as “any form of drug treatment that is ordered, motivated, or supervised by the criminal justice system.”
Are Russian drug laws effective in treating dependency?
Russian authorities have stated that the new laws were enacted as motivation for treatment. Our analysis globally examines the acceptability and efficacy of legislative approaches mandating treatment of drug dependence.
Should drug treatment policies be evidence-based?
Karsten Lunze and colleagues argue that drug treatment policies must be evidence based and meet international standards
How does mandatory treatment reduce drug use?
There is some indication that mandatory treatment reduces drug use when provided under the supervision of specialised criminal justice systems such as drug courts rather than in prison. 51 However, when people are ready to change and perceive a medical necessity, and effective therapies are accessible, they see a stronger incentive to engage and remain in treatment than through legal pressure. 52 Efficient coordination between treatment providers and police or courts can facilitate better access to treatment and improve outcomes. 53
What is mandatory treatment?
Mandatory treatment refers to any form of drug treatment that is ordered, motivated, or supervised by the criminal justice system (table). 27 Forms of mandatory treatment are being used in several EU countries, the United States, Latin America, New Zealand, and many Asian countries. 28 Some types of mandatory treatment are compulsory, without informing and allowing the patient to give consent, and do not allow the individual to decline treatment or choose the type that they receive. 29 It is often accompanied by detention in prison or other facilities and detoxification is often done without medical supervision or using evidence based methods. 30 In contrast, quasicompulsory treatment is offered as a choice between incarceration and treatment with informed consent. 31 32 Treatment under the threat of imprisonment if the person fails to comply represents an alternative to criminal justice sanctions and an opportunity for people with drug dependence to accept some form of help. 33 Also referred to as drug courts, the system usually allows some choice of treatment, rehabilitation, education, and healthcare, and does not force offenders to be treated without consent. 29
Who is KL in addiction?
KL is a paediatrician and board certified addiction medicine physician, health adviser for various UN organisations, and public health researcher supported by NIDA grant K99DA041245. BI is a physician, health policy researcher, and NIDA INVEST fellow. MG is a licensed Russian lawyer. AK is physician, professor, and expert on mandatory treatment; she receives funding from the Ministry of Higher Education-University of Malaya High Impact Research Grant (HIRGA E000001-20001). KL is the guarantor.
Is drug dependency considered medical care?
Drug dependence is a chronic, relapsing medical condition, and treatment of criminal offenders or non-offenders for addiction is considered medical care. 48 Mandating treatment conflicts with human rights principles as stated in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, a legally binding UN treaty signed by over 160 member states, including Russia. 49 These principles include informed consent, the ability to withdraw from treatment, the right to confidentiality, non-discrimination in healthcare, and freedom from interference. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the UN body monitoring compliance with the covenant, has emphasised the state’s obligation to refrain “from applying coercive medical treatments, unless on an exceptional basis for the treatment of mental illness or the prevention and control of communicable diseases. Such exceptional cases should be subject to specific and restrictive conditions, respecting best practices and applicable international standards, including the Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and the Improvement of Mental Health Care.” 50
What percentage of people in jail expect to resume drug use after release?
Eighty-seven percent said they expected to resume drug use after they were released. On top of ineffectiveness, several studies showed detainees suffered human rights abuses. In Cambodia, for example, youths who were jailed for drug dependence were forced to complete physical labor, and physically and sexually abused.
How many opiate users were there in 2014?
Drug use in Russia increased after the break-up of the Soviet Union, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that there were 1.8 million opiate drug users in the country in 2014.
Is drug abuse a public health problem?
Trial-and-error, along with some scientific evidence, has allowed us to learn what doesn’t work: arresting addicts and trying to incarcerate the country’s population out of a drug problem. We haven’t yet found the perfect formula for hampering an opioid epidemic, but we’re certainly leaning toward harm reduction and rehabilitation rather than prosecution.
Is Russia the first country to mandate drug treatment?
Russia is not the first nation to introduce mandatory treatments; many Latin American and Asian countries have done so as well.
What is mandatory treatment?
In addition, mandatory treatment, which is defined as treatment ordered, motivated or supervised under the criminal justice system, done without a patient's informed consent violates their human rights and does more harm than benefit to the patient. advertisement.
Is mandatory treatment effective?
Mandatory treatment not effective at reducing drug use, violates human rights, researchers say. Clinician researchers assessed current global evidence and found that mandatory treatment for people with substance use disorders is not effective in reducing their drug use.
Why is mandatory drug treatment important?
Researching the role of mandatory drug treatment is essential because it has wide-reaching policy applications. Of the 2.3 million incarcerated individuals in the United States, 1.5 million meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition(DSM-IV) criteria for substance abuse disorder, and another 458,000 do not meet strict ...
What is mandatory treatment?
Mandatory treatment is defined as “treatment ordered, motivated, or supervised under the criminal justice system.”. Mandatory treatment is defined as “treatment ordered, motivated, or supervised under the criminal justice system.” 1 Going beyond the more common drug court approaches that offer a person charged with a crime the choice ...
What comes to mind when hearing the term "coerced" or "compulsory" treatment?
What comes to mind when hearing the term “coerced” or “compulsory” treatment is typically “the kind of person who’s thinking, ‘I don’t want to do this,’ but is forced into a program anyway,” Dr Farabee observed.
What is compulsory drug treatment?
8 Compulsory drug treatment can be defined as “the mandatory enrollment of individuals, who are often but not necessarily drug-dependent, in a drug treatment program.” 8. Although compulsory drug treatment most frequently consists of “forced inpatient treatment,” it can ...
Is motivational interviewing a stand alone treatment?
Motivational interviewing “has been widely validated as a stand-alone treatment, as a precursor to more extensive treatment, or integrated with other components, such as tailored feedback.” 14 Motivational interviewing has shown good outcomes in criminal justice settings and is a “tool for promoting evidence-based practice in the criminal justice system.” 14
Is pharmacotherapy underused in criminal justice?
Pharmacotherapy. Evidence-based pharmacotherapies for substance use disorders are underused in criminal justice settings. 15 However, research suggests their efficacy in settings of incarceration.
Is naltrexone effective in prison?
15 However, research suggests their efficacy in settings of incarceration. For example, one study found naltrexone prior to discharge from prison to be an effective approach to reduce relapse to opio ids. 16 A major trial currently underway (Studies of Medication for Addiction Treatment in Correctional Settings [SOMATICS]) is investigating the role of extended-release naltrexone opioid treatment at jail re-entry. 17,18 Another study conducted under SOMATICS focuses on methadone initiated in incarcerated people. 19