ADDICTS LIKE LIMBAUGH NEED TREATMENT, NOT SCORN

Rush Limbaugh has a lesson to teach, although ironically not one he would
endorse.

Limbaugh has previously condemned drug users, publicly taunting addicted
celebrities, such as athlete Darryl Strawberry. In 1995, Limbaugh said that
"too many whites are getting away with drug use. The answer is to find,
convict and send them up the river."

That's an attitude endorsed by many of his followers. Now Limbaugh's
housekeeper, Wilma Cline, reports that he sent her out to illegally acquire
thousands of pills in exchange for large sums of money, and he has admitted
twice entering a hospital to treat a condition that few knew he had: an
addiction to narcotics.

I'm not interested in vilifying or defending Limbaugh. There's a more
important point to be made. Addiction is an equal-opportunity problem. It
can happen to anyone. Twenty-five years ago, it was former first lady Betty
Ford. The Herald-Leader recently noted respected coaches and community
leaders who succumbed to and who overcame alcoholism or other addictions.

Tens of thousands of Kentuckians are addicted to nicotine, alcohol and
other drugs. Tens of thousands are also recovering. This should make us
question attitudes that stigmatize the addict and criminalize addiction as
if it were a problem of bad people. It is a complex social problem not
served by simply labeling addicts and sending them to jail.

New research increasingly shows that addiction is a disease of the brain.
Nicotine, marijuana, cocaine, oxycodone, methamphetamine and heroin all
create similar adaptations in the brain reward center. So does alcohol.

To understand this better, think of heart disease. Too much smoking, too
little exercise, too many calories and too much fat and cholesterol in our
food leads to changes in the body -- enlarged heart, clogged arteries and
high blood pressure -- that result in devastating, often fatal, disease.

In the same way, with ongoing exposure to nicotine, alcohol and other
drugs, our brains adapt literally at the cellular level. In fact, the brain
is attempting to protect itself from the extraordinary stress that heavy or
prolonged use places on it.

Our brain is our window on the world. It is the instrument we use to select
our values and to process the information on which we choose to act. When
the brain becomes distorted, the behavior becomes pathological.

We often have huge compassion for the person who has a heart attack, even
when it's a result of his own risky behaviors carried on despite years of
warning that caused the problem. Yet we condemn the drug addict who has
done much the same.

Addiction is the leading cause of death in Kentucky and the nation. While
death certificates may read stroke, heart attack, diabetes or some other
medical problem, those conditions most frequently result from an addiction.

Those who have not dealt with addiction cannot imagine the power of their
own brains turned against them. According to reports, Limbaugh's behavior
violated his own beliefs and value system, a hallmark of addiction. It
doesn't mean he is a bad person; it means that he was driven by forces of
the brain. Being a millionaire, he has the resources to simply enter
treatment and pay for it.

But many do not. They, too, should be able to get treatment, which, in the
long run, will serve our society and the public pocketbook better than
punitive attitudes that treat the economically poor addict as a moral
degenerate or criminal. There is also good data to show that drug
treatment, done well by trained professionals, is effective.

I am not suggesting that those with addictions escape accountability for
their behavior, especially when they break laws, neglect their families or
cause other harm. Indeed, personal or legal consequences often cause people
with addictions to seek treatment. The real answer to addiction-related
crime is to treat the addiction, not just lock up the addict.

Frequently, the problem is gaining access to treatment. Kentucky has some
laws that support treatment and is beginning to use drug courts and other
alternative sentencing programs. That's good. But funding for treatment is
woefully small compared to the need. We can't change policy overnight, but
it begins with changing our attitudes toward addicted people.

Maybe now, Limbaugh and his fans are learning that, too. I wish him and all
others who are addicted success in their recovery efforts.