ONLY A FIFTH OF ADDICTS TREATED

More than 22,000 Utahns are being treated for drug addiction, but about
80,000 more probably need it, a new national survey of substance abuse
treatment centers shows.

A review of more than 2,000 private and government-supported treatment
facilities nationwide and about 150 in Utah showed that nearly half of the
people they serve are receiving treatment for alcohol abuse or alcohol
combined with a secondary addiction of some kind such as prescription
painkillers, methamphetamine, cocaine or heroine.

The survey, conducted by the substance abuse division of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, also showed that the gap between
those who get treatment and those who need it but don't is widening.
Roughly three to four times as many people are actually abusing drugs and
should be in treatment but are not, most likely because they haven't
committed a crime, they simply don't want to get treatment or their
insurance plans don't cover it.

Treatment in Utah is most often ordered by a court and is not a service
people receive from the state because they need it, local substance abuse
program administrators say. Treatment experts believe that both money and
services are withheld from those seeking treatment because lawmakers and
the public in general still view addiction as a moral failing.

Still, Utah spends nearly $500 million, or 11.7 percent of its state
budget, on treatment and drug-related crimes and the health problems drugs
cause, according to the survey. Nationwide, states spend 13.1 percent of
their budgets on substance abuse treatment and prevention with an overall
annual cost of $277 billion for social service programs and drug-related
law enforcement.

According to the treatment facilities in Utah that participated in the
survey, the most popular drugs of choice behind alcohol among those getting
treatment are marijuana (18.3 percent), methamphetamine (17.5 percent) and
heroin (8.1 percent). Most of those in treatment are males; about a third
are females. Men are much more likely to be addicted to alcohol, 70 percent
compared to 30 percent of women in treatment. But both are pretty evenly
matched for cocaine and methamphetamine use. Women are more likely than men
to be addicted to painkillers and other opiates.

Drug treatment is taxing on the state. Utah is 28th in per capita spending
on drug treatment among the 50 states, according to the survey. The
treatment itself is also expensive, which may be a reason more people don't
seek it. Many insurance plans cover a traditional approach, which usually
involves 30 days of treatment at a hospital.

But reasons people aren't getting treated are more complicated than that,
said Leah Young, a spokeswoman for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration. Many people who would like treatment find out
their insurance plans only cover about 10 percent of the services they
need. "And because there is also a stigma among many in the middle class
against going to a public health clinic for services, many simply won't
go," Young said.

Often, if they can afford it, they will pay for the services themselves. A
survey done last April by the the substance abuse administration found that
out-of-pocket expenditures for drug treatment increased about 5 percent in
2000 compared to 1999.

Treating addiction is not like treating other diseases, Young said.
Patients are released often without much follow-up, and relapse rates are
high. Drug addiction is a chronic disease usually requiring a minimum of
six months' treatment, sometimes much longer, with some in treatment for
years, she said.

More than 70 percent of those in treatment say they started using to
self-medicate during emotional or mental stress, Young said. The last time
the agency specifically asked in 1997, of the 381,000 people surveyed who
reported they weren't getting treatment but probably needed it, 272,000
also reported they had made no effort to try.

"Attempts to break a drug addiction without solving the problem that was
the source of why the person began using in the first place don't work,"
Young said.