Pubdate: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 Source: Salt Lake Tribune (UT) Copyright: 2006 The Salt Lake Tribune Contact: http://www.sltrib.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/383 Author: Corey J. Hodges Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) NO SIMPLE SOLUTIONS TO ADDICTION PROBLEMS Hard realities come with being around people with addictions. Perhaps, operative words here are "being around." Coupled with this are suspicion and denial. The third component is the cover-up. Denial, excuses and co-dependency are ways in which we unwittingly participate to prolong the problem of addiction in others. By association we have an addiction, subtle or submerged by the undertow. In ways direct or indirect, we exacerbate the problems of someone with an addiction. Here we are talking about loved ones, family members, co-workers or someone in the public eye. Money is given. If not given, money is stolen. Things around the house start to come up missing. A family member charged with managing the affairs of an older parent or relative starts to deplete bank accounts. When family members discover that Mama's or Daddy's retirement savings, monthly Social Security and pension checks are being pilfered to support an addiction, anger, shame and disappointment surface in abundance. Suddenly siblings are faced with having a drug-addicted family member whose thefts from a parent are felonious. What is to happen after the meeting filled with threats, shouting and crying comes to an end? Many families are being faced with whether or not to prosecute for theft a family member with an addiction. Will the next step be punishment or practicing tough love? One thing is for certain. This is no time to disown the problem. To abandon someone with an addiction is to say that the problem will go away on its own. Co-dependency is not a cure. Our state is currently under assault. Among other problems of addiction and its various sources, we as a state and nation are faced with a crisis of methamphetamine addiction. The problem of methamphetamine is as likely to be found in rural areas as along the urban Wasatch Front. A few months ago, the Public Broadcasting Service program "Frontline" documented how bad the methamphetamine problem is nationwide. Utah was not an exception. According to the "Frontline" Web site: "Methamphetamine is the primary drug threat in Utah, and more residents seek treatment for meth abuse than any other drug, including alcohol. In 2004, 2,889 individuals sought treatment for meth addiction or about 26.3 percent of all persons seeking substance abuse drug treatment. Although this is a slight decrease from 2003, when 3,436 individuals sought treatment, admissions for meth addiction have remained in the thousands for the past five years." Even though the latest statistics are 2 years old, jailers across the state are seeing a spike in arrests for the illegal use of methamphetamine, which more than suggests the problem is spreading. In most cases, arrest is not leading to treatment. This is a reality with which our schools, social service agencies, families, churches and jails are grappling. There is plenty of disappointment to go around. In a time when inclusiveness is at the forefront of our thinking, this complex problem is ours. Simple solutions are not to be found. However, treatment programs can be residential, inpatient or outpatient. Some among us are positioned to offer outpatient services. When those treatment options are grasped, the temptations that lead to addiction will be conquered by a living faith in a God who is available for treatment of body, mind and soul. ---------- COREY J. HODGES writes about current events and ideas from a moral perspective. Hodges, the senior pastor of the New Pilgrim Baptist Church in Taylorsville, welcomes comments at