SUBSTANCE ABUSE GROUP HEARS PLEAS FOR MORE HELP

An underlying theme characterized the testimony of all those who spoke
Thursday at the U.S. Center for Substance Abuse hearing on treatment: There
are many programs to help addicts, but for several reasons--ranging from
economics to stigma--too few people who need the help are getting it.

The panel of experts on substance abuse issues listened to physicians,
substance abusers and social service workers. The hearing was one in a
series being held around the country.

The organization, which came into existence by federal mandate in 1992,
hopes to use the information gathered to better inform lawmakers on
substance abuse treatment policy.

Patricia Frampton, 17, of Tinley Park, told the panel she abused marijuana,
hallucinogens, cocaine and alcohol.

From the ages of 13 to 15, Frampton had been in and out of detoxification
programs. The detoxification programs helped clean her body out, she said,
but they didn't provide her with the long-term support she needed to deal
with her problems.

Frampton wasn't able to get her problem under control until she landed at
Monarch House, a recovery home in Rockford that houses and treats 10 young
women with substance abuse problems.

"Drug treatment is good for helping you understand your addiction," she
testified Thursday. "But you need more."

She has lived at Monarch House for the last 18 months with the help of a
government grant. Frampton said she is lucky that she got the funding: She
said she is well aware that addicts are rarely offered the treatment they
need to overcome substance abuse.

Nina Henry, clinical supervisor for Recovery Point, a community
organization that works with heroin addicts, told the panel that methadone
maintenance programs have proven to be effective in getting people off of
heroin--but only about 30 percent of her organization's clients have access
to it.

Critics of methadone say it is replacing one drug for another. And often,
states do not even provide funding for the drug.

H. Westley Clark, director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and
a panel member, said overcoming the stigma placed on substance abuse is
crucial in improving treatment nationally. He hopes that insurance
providers can be persuaded to pay for more programs.

He said research shows that the cost could be offset with insurance policy
increases of about two-tenths of 1 percent. In addition, he said current
insurance policies aren't logical.

"Right now, insurance providers will pay for the bleeding ulcer that was
caused by substance abuse or the broken bone from a fall caused by
substance abuse, but they won't pay for the treatment to help the abusers,"
Clark said.