| Since it was established in 1974, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has supported research on drug abuse treatment for individuals who are involved with the criminal justice system. |
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This guide is intended to describe the treatment principles and research findings that are of particular relevance to the criminal justice community and to treatment professionals working with drug abusing offenders. The guide is divided into three main sections: (1) the first distills research findings on the addicted offender into 13 essential principles; (2) the second contains a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs) about drug abuse treatment for those involved with the criminal justice system; and (3) the third is a resource section that provides Web sites for additional information. A summary of the research underlying both the principles and the FAQs is available on NIDA’s Web site at www.drugabuse.gov.
Research on drug abuse and addiction runs the gamut from basic science to applied studies. We now understand the basic neurobiology of many addictions, along with what constitutes more effective treatment processes and interventions to help individuals progress through the stages of recovery. Increased understanding of the neurological, physiological, psychological, and social change processes involved will help us develop interventions to improve therapeutic engagement, stabilization of recovery, motivation for change, prevention of relapse, and long-term monitoring of the substance use problem over its course.
Scientific investigations spanning nearly four decades show that drug abuse treatment is an effective intervention for many substance abusing offenders. Because the goals of drug abuse treatment—to help people change their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors—also apply to reforming criminal behavior, successful treatment can help reduce crime as well. Legal pressure can be important in getting a person into treatment and in improving retention. Once in a program, even those who are not initially motivated to change can eventually become engaged in a continuing therapeutic process. Through this process of change, the individual learns how to avoid relapse and to successfully disengage from a life of substance abuse and crime.
This booklet will provide a complement to NIDA’s Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment, A Research-Based Guide, which was prepared to assist those dealing with drug addiction both in and out of the criminal justice system. It relies primarily on drug abuse treatment research supported by NIDA, and focuses largely on individuals for whom drug addiction is a debilitating disease.
Nora D. Volkow, M.D.
Director
National Institute on Drug Abuse |
