Challenging the 'cycle' of withdrawal and relapse

(Baonghean) - In recent times, Nghe An has effectively implemented drug addiction treatment at labor and social education centers as well as in the community and voluntary methadone treatment facilities. The problem is that post-treatment management is difficult, and the rate of relapse is high.

90% relapse after quitting

NVT, 25 years old, is a student at the Vinh City Social Labor Education Center. T has been in the center for 5 months. After a period of withdrawal and detoxification, T's health has gradually recovered, and he is fully participating in physical activities, sports, and production labor such as growing vegetables, raising livestock, processing goods, as well as learning welding and construction.

Regularly receiving the attention and sharing of the center's staff, NVT gradually realized his "bright path": "Coming here, I can feel more clearly the care, concern and expectations of the State and the community. I will try to quit my addiction soon to be able to return to my family and start my life over."

Like NVT, nearly 172 remaining students at the Vinh City Social Labor Education Center are addicted to both heroin and crystal meth, have criminal records, and are “big shots”. When they first entered compulsory drug rehabilitation, the students all had unstable thoughts, always looking for ways to resist and escape.

However, after going through 5 steps of drug addiction treatment (detoxification, education on regulations and State documents, labor therapy, counseling on changing personality and behavior, and preparation for reintegration into the community), the students not only stabilize their psychology but also become excited, optimistic, and confident in their path to rehabilitation and reintegration into the community.

Students participate in occupational therapy at the Vinh City Social Labor Education Center.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Toan - Director of Vinh City Social Labor Education Center said: Established in 2008, the center has so far treated nearly 1,000 students. In the past 3 years, student management has been strictly implemented; the center's educational environment is friendly, without prejudice or discrimination, helping students have a sense of work and reform, and obey discipline well.

However, Mr. Toan also worries: Methadone treatment is only compatible with "old addicts" (using opium, heroin), and has not yet approached or controlled the situation of many addicts using crystal meth (a synthetic drug with a different addictive mechanism and destructive to health, leading to difficulty in controlling behavior and many times more difficult to quit than heroin).

Drug addiction is a disease that causes chronic, irreversible brain damage. Over 90% of addicts will turn to drugs again after rehabilitation. Many people at the center have relapsed after rehabilitation.

Nearly 10% of drug addicts do not relapse after rehabilitation thanks to favorable factors such as sympathy, sharing, and facilitation from relatives and the community, plus their will to give up drugs.

At the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Center of Nghe An province, every morning, more than 260 patients - addicts come here to take medicine before starting a new day of work and activities.

Mr. LVK - a patient who is being treated with methadone shared a different situation: He himself has been to a rehabilitation center many times, but after returning to the community for a short time, he relapsed. Unable to quit, he turned to methadone to replace illegal drugs.

Measures to reduce relapse

Also at the HIV/AIDS Prevention Center of Nghe An province, after taking the medicine, LVK did not rush home but stayed at the center just to chat with dozens of other people on methadone treatment.

LVK explains his "free time": "No one will hire me when I apply for a job, and I don't have capital to open a store, so I have a lot of free time"...

Mr. Ho Van Tien, a successful drug addict for 10 years, affirmed: If you want to avoid relapse, you must definitely have a legitimate job to earn a living. Work will help you forget your obsession with drugs. Besides, you also need encouragement and support from your family and community.

Nghe An has organized vocational training for 2,136 people at Labor - Social Education Centers, and vocational training for 1,277 people after drug rehabilitation in the community. The trained jobs are close to practical requirements, helping the subjects after returning to their localities to have the opportunity to find jobs and reintegrate into the community quickly. There have been many cases of people after drug rehabilitation who have not relapsed and have been economically effective, and have been commended by authorities at all levels.

Mr. Dao Xuan Luc - Head of the Department of Social Evils Prevention and Control of Nghe An province said: The reasons leading to difficulties in solving employment for addicts: Firstly, due to prejudice, few businesses accept addicts after rehabilitation;

Second, the vast majority of drug addicts after rehabilitation have limited courage and poor ability to work and produce on their own. Although the State and the province have policies to prioritize loans to support production, very few people borrow on their own.

In theory, there are jobs for drug addicts after rehabilitation, but in reality, in the province there are still many unemployed graduates from secondary schools, vocational colleges, and universities. This disadvantaged group cannot compete. Without jobs, the path to rehabilitation for the 1,490 new drug addicts who were rehabilitated in 2016 is likely to be very difficult...

The government has spent a lot of money to educate and care for drug addicts - this special patient group. However, all the efforts and money will be wasted if these people relapse and commit acts that are dangerous to society.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Toan commented: Given the current situation of relapse as well as the limitations of methadone, it is time for the State to conduct a specific survey and propose new drug addiction treatment directions, and especially all levels and sectors need to pay attention to job creation.

Thanh Son