Buxton-Smith Center for Research on Addiction Medicine, Free Clinic Movement, 856 Stanyan Street, San Francisco 94117, USA.
J Psychoactive Drugs. 2010 Jun;42(2):121-6. doi: 10.1080/02791072.2010.10400684.
Substance abuse represents a significant underlying cause of the health issues faced in the United States, which severely impacts the nation's health care system and economy. Recently enacted parity legislation mandates that benefits for addiction and mental health treatment be provided on an equal footing with those for treatment for physical health. Diversion and abuse of prescription medications is growing in young people, with much of the diversion occurring between family and friends. Addiction has been accepted by mainstream medicine as a brain disease, and is associated with many other medical disorders. Early intervention and treatment for addiction provides extraordinary cost-benefit outcomes. Additional training for addiction professionals will be necessary. Stigmatization of substance abusers continues to exist at the state and federal levels, although research during the past 10 years indicates that patient compliance and relapse rates for substance abusers are not significantly different than those for individuals with other chronic diseases, e.g. diabetes, hypertension, and cardiac issues. While parity for addiction treatment has become policy at the federal level, great challenges lie ahead in funding access, facilities, and training, as well as redirecting societal perceptions and legislated penalties.
药物滥用是美国面临的健康问题的一个重要潜在原因，严重影响了美国的医疗保健系统和经济。最近颁布的平等立法规定，成瘾和心理健康治疗的福利应与身体治疗的福利平等提供。年轻人中滥用和滥用处方药物的情况越来越多，其中大部分药物是在家人和朋友之间转移的。主流医学已经接受成瘾是一种脑部疾病，并与许多其他医学疾病有关。早期干预和治疗成瘾可以带来非常好的成本效益。需要对成瘾专业人员进行额外的培训。尽管在过去十年的研究表明，药物滥用者的患者依从性和复发率与其他慢性疾病（如糖尿病、高血压和心脏问题）的患者没有显著差异，但在州和联邦一级，对药物滥用者的污名化仍然存在。虽然在联邦一级，成瘾治疗的平等已经成为政策，但在资金获取、设施和培训方面，以及在改变社会观念和立法处罚方面，仍面临巨大挑战。
