RECOVERY FROM DRUG ADDICTION TAKES HELP

Editorially Speaking

The Phoenix thanks Gina Alexander for continuing to share her recovery from
methamphetamine addiction with our readers.

Alexander, 29, went home earlier this month after three months of treatment
at MONARCH Treatment Center in Muskogee.

Telling her story certainly has to be difficult, and we appreciate her
courage and wish her the very best as she tries to establish a life without
dependency on meth.

Recovery from meth addiction, or any drug addiction, is not easy. One meth
study in southern California found a 50 to 60 percent drug-free rate at the
end of one year based on intense treatment and therapy, but researchers say
that success rate is certainly higher than average.

With methamphetamine, a stimulant, only growing in popularity within the
last 10 to 15 years, dependable studies are only now in early stages.

But like with any recovery, community support and encouragement are
necessary for success. Community assistance for a recovering addict means,
of course, having counseling available when times of temptation or relapse
occur, providing those recovering from meth basic needs until they can
support themselves financially, and helping them get an education if needed
and then back into the job market.

Muskogee can be grateful that this type of support is available for those
trying to overcome drug addiction.

But in smaller towns and rural areas, like Arpelar, where Alexander is
returning, those services often are not readily available and recovering
addicts must have a vehicle, something they may not have, to get to where
they need to go.

All these things pose a challenge for the addict and the community.

But if we want to see success in beating the detrimental effects of meth in
our society, then we somehow have to provide those things. In some cases,
the recovering addict, like Alexander, may have family that can help, and
that certainly is an ingredient for success.

But oftentimes, addicts are where they are because their families are
dysfunctional or part of the problem. For many, the only hope lies in the
community.

So we can't let down in warning youths about the dangers of drug use, and we
can't let down in trying to help those addicted to meth, and we especially
can't let down those, like Alexander, who have made a sincere try to beat
their addiction.