Need for massive increase in funding for addiction treatment

Wellington alcohol and drug counsellor, Roger Brooking recently made a submission to Government that funding for addiction in New Zealand needs to be increased by 600%. This submission is based on three considerations.

1) Currently only 25,000 people a year receive treatment for substance abuse in New Zeland. The National Committee for Addiction Treatment (NCAT) says there are actually 160,000 New Zealanders who need treatment – and even this is probably a conservative estimate. The BERL report on harmful alcohol and drug use says there are approximately 667,000 Kiwis who engage in harmful levels of alcohol and drug use each year .  But even this figure may be on the low side.  The Alcohol Advisory Council says there are 760,000 Kiwis who binge drink regularly, 125,000 of them under the age of seventeen. ALAC’s figures don’t even begin to take into account those who have problems with cannabis, methamphetamine and other drugs.

2)  Judge John Walker says that 80% of all offending occurs under the influence of alcohol and drugs but currently only 7% of offenders are ordered by judges to attend treatment programmes as part of their sentence.  Judges say that there simply are not enough programmes available where offenders can be mandated to attend.

3) The number of places for substance abuse treatment in prison is in the process of being increased from 174  five years ago to over 1,000 by 2011. This is an increase of nearly 600%. However, treatment in prison is nowhere near as effective as treatment in the community.  The Corrections Department says their drug treatment programmes (for prison inmates) reduce re-offending by up to 13%. However, treatment programmes in the community reduce re-offending by up to 43%.  In terms of value for money, it makes more sense to increase funding for treatment in the community rather than in prison.

Go to this link for the full submission:www.rethinking.org.nz/images/newsletter%20PDF/Issue%2063/02%20090809%20Addiction%20Funding.pdf

For a critical expose of the failure of the justice system to address substance abuse - which is one of the key contributors to crime in NZ, read Roger Brooking's new book: Flying Blind - How the justice system perpetuates crime and the Corrections Department fails to correct.