Source: New York Times (NY) Contact: Fax: 212-556-3622 Mail: Letters to the Editor, The New York Times, 229 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036 Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Pubdate: Sat, 12 Sep 1998 Author: Christopher S. Wren STUDY FINDS TREATMENT AIDS ADDICTS Offering new evidence that treating drug addicts works in the long term, a Government survey has reported that addicts who undergo treatment are considerably less likely to consume drugs or commit crimes to support their use, even after five years. Adolescents were the conspicuous exception. Their overall drug use did not drop significantly after treatment, the study said, and the number who smoked crack cocaine and abused alcohol actually rose. But adolescents have also been identified as the highest risk-taking age group, while adults tend to quit using drugs as they get older. The new survey confirmed that older people were more likely to curtail drug use and criminal behavior than younger ones. It also reported that women responded better to treatment than men. The national survey, which was released on Wednesday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services, surveyed 1,799 people five years after their discharge from drug abuse treatment programs in 1989 and 1990. Their responses on drug use were verified using urinalysis for traces of drugs. Relapse often occurs after treatment, but the study found that the number of people using any illicit drug dropped by 21 percent. The number of powder cocaine users decreased by 45 percent, while the number of crack smokers decreased by just 17 percent. The number of heroin users went down by 14 percent and marijuana users by 28 percent. The number of those using alcohol declined by 14 percent. Addicts who were treated with methadone, a synthetic heroin blocker, showed the most significant drop. Twenty-seven percent of those surveyed stopped using heroin. As for criminal behavior, the study reported that 56 percent fewer addicts stole cars and 38 percent fewer committed burglaries after completing treatment. The number of prostitutes and their procurers declined by 30 percent, the study said. Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, the retired Army general who is the White House's director of national drug policy, called the newest study "extremely important" in showing that treatment was cost-effective. In looking at what happened to graduates of treatment programs, General McCaffrey said in a telephone interview: "You'd expect some pretty bad results. Instead, you find that you've got a significant drop in drug-using behavior." Though Federal spending for treatment has increased 33 percent since the 1993 fiscal year, the Government continues to spend far more to interdict and seize drugs and arrest and imprison dealers and addicted felons. According to the White House's 1998 National Drug Control Strategy, drug treatment is available for barely 52 percent of the Americans who immediately need it. The survey released on Wednesday is formally called the Services Research Outcomes Study and was conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. General McCaffrey is sure to cite it in his effort to persuade Congress to approve the Administration's requests for $200 million more in drug treatment financing and for another $85 million to treat addicted offenders caught in the criminal justice system. The requests, for the 1999 fiscal year, have been blocked in Congressional committee. "This is a litmus test of rational drug policy," said General McCaffrey, who said he would join the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna E. Shalala, in lobbying Congress for more treatment money. Camille Barry, the acting director of the Government's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, said the study confirmed the long-term effectiveness of drug treatment. "We know that the longer you stay in treatment the better the outcome," Ms. Barry said. Yet 58 percent of the people surveyed had undergone treatment for the first time and 44 percent had spent a month or less in a treatment programs. "To have the results come out the way they did is very positive," Ms. Barry said. - --- Checked-by: Richard Lake