Bob Nikkel
One issue is interwoven with most of the social problems we have in Oregon: It’s alcohol and other drug abuse.
I see it in my own experience, and I imagine you see it in yours.
I had an uncle who died of alcoholism at age 50. One of his sons, presumably influenced by his father’s example, died young from abusing illegal drugs.
I know colleagues whom alcohol and other drugs impair. These are accomplished people whose ability to do their jobs well is compromised and yet who deny they have a problem.
In fact, my own son told me how he felt isolated in his high school by being alone in not consuming alcohol or taking other drugs.
But alcoholism and drug addiction is bigger than an individual problem.
No question about it: If Oregon didn’t have this problem the 2003 Oregon Legislature could have instantly solved its $1 billion deficit — and gotten change back.
Yes, alcoholism and other drug abuse is that big a deal. Consider: It is at the root of much of the child abuse, chronic unemployment and crime that costs every Oregon taxpayer dearly. For people who already have emotional challenges, alcohol and other drugs only make them worse. Bad decisions made under the influence of alcohol and other drugs are contributors to teen pregnancy and to diseases such as HIV and hepatitis.
But that, as they say, is the bad news. The good news is that most of us probably also know people who are in successful recovery, even if we don’t know who they are. It isn’t something that people talk a lot about.
But the fact is, many people who’ve been in the grips of alcohol or other drugs have found help through formal treatment, 12-step programs, churches or some combination.
That people can move successfully from alcoholism and addiction to recovery is proven scientifically although, admittedly, not everyone moves to recovery the first time she or he tries. I began my career as an alcohol and drug counselor. I remember a young man coming into my office with his wife and their infant daughter. I’d seen the man before, and treatment hadn’t worked for him. This time, coming back as the victim of a disfiguring auto accident in which he almost died, it did.
This is why the Oregon lawmakers acted so wisely in restoring alcohol and other drug treatment to the Standard benefit package in the Oregon Health Plan.
This will help mothers recover and get their kids back. This will help literally thousands of people get into successful treatment and recovery. And that will have a positive ripple effect across thousands of families.
It’s a big problem, yes, promoting so many of the things that are “wrong” about our society. But treatment does lead to recovery, which means reduced costs for costly societal problems.
For more information about treatment options in your area, anytime day or night, contact the Oregon Partnership toll-free at (800) 923-HELP.
Bob Nikkel is administrator of the Office of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Oregon Department of Human Services.
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