Drug Rehabilitation

Written by:

Muhammad Imran

10U0659

    Pakistan is today notorious for many things, but in last few years drug production and addiction has increasingly become one of the most significant problems. To cope up with the drug addicts, drug rehabilitation centers are made by the public sector as well as the private sector. There are few drug rehabilitation centers in Lahore which include Eman clinic, Lahore Addiction Treatment center, Islamic drug treatment center, Nai zindagi.

     I’ll be talking about the problems which the drug rehabilitation centers and patients face. One major problem which is considered in Pakistan is awareness. Most of the people in country are unaware of the centers, though proper advertising is done. Rich class is more aware of the rehabilitation centers than the middle class.  66% of the addicts didn’t receive education more than matric. (Habib, 1984) In Punjab, 68% of the heroin addicts are found to be illiterate; they didn’t receive schooling of more than 8 years. (Jafri, 1984) it is true that most people in Pakistan are not aware of the rehabilitation centers, due to the high illiteracy rate in Pakistan. This is why each rehabilitation center has only 20-25 numbers of patients.

            Drug rehabilitation centers face financial problems. Government and NGO’s are not providing funds to the private centers; therefore very few number of rehabilitation centers are made up in Lahore. Most of the rehabilitation centers face spacing problems. The centers want to widen up their setup, but due to financial issues this isn’t done. Eman clinic has a small place in which the patients are treated; it includes both male and female patients. They need to make a separate center for females, so the female addicts and their families feel comfortable with it. All the centers observed have four to six beds in each room, though each patient should have one private room

        Even if the government agrees to give financial support, they add some terms and agreements, which mostly include free treatment of a number of patients of their choice. Those patients are street addicts; they spoil the environment of private centers. Due to them, other patients also don’t feel comfortable. Mostly patients in private drug rehabilitation centers belong to good families; they can’t adjust themselves with such patients. This creates problems for the centers, so they don’t agree to take finance. The government should support these centers instead of giving money to doctors at public drug rehabilitation centers. General, Mayo, and Services are government hospitals; these only have a 15 days detoxification treatment. The doctors at these centers don’t care about their patients. The doctors are not even clear about their concepts; they sometimes don’t know that which method they should use to treat a certain kind of patient. These hospitals don’t even maintain basic records of their clients.

           One of the problems that the doctors face at the centers face is of denial. The addict never accepts his problems, which he’s having because of drugs. The addicts feel they don’t have any problem and they don’t want any help. In order for the rehabilitation to succeed, the patient should want to be helped sincerely. Families are also denials; they act stubborn in this case too. They should be supportive to bring the patient on the right track, but they never accept their mistakes. Families create more problems for centers than patients. Family should not deny anything, but should make the patient accept his/her mistakes. They should tell about each and every act made by the patient when he had used drugs. They should help the patient in forgetting about his past and starting a new life exclusive of drugs. The doctors find it difficult to change the thinking patterns of patients. They try to be friendly with them and have a heart-to-heart talk with them. It is very difficult to do that though, because the lifestyle and thinking pattern of addicts is totally different from that of a normal human being. But to start treatment, it is important that the patient is also willing to get treated well.

       The patients just want to escape from these centers; patients are even standing in one posture whole night just to find way to get out of the centers. They just look for excuses to use drugs. Drug cravings are so severe that the addict is ready to do anything to get more drugs. This is because with continued use of drug, the body isn’t able to produce certain chemicals, as those are replaced by drugs. Therefore at first few days of treatment, the body demands for drugs due to cravings. The more the patient uses drugs, more problems he creates for himself. Addicts can abandon all moral teachings just for the intake drugs. These include misdeeds as lying, stealing, teachings, and sometimes even murders. Craving is one of the major factor due to which the patient cannot stop the intake of drugs. The body gets addicted to drugs, just because of the attraction of drugs one can’t refrain taking it.

             Another problem of the patients is aggression and mood disorder. The patient suffers severe withdrawals, sometimes even the patient jumps 2 inches above the bed. It is very difficult for the doctors to build up a good relation with the patients. When the patients are injected, it is very difficult to handle them. Doctors have to cope up with patients in whichever mood they are.

          There are also some after treatment problems. The rehabilitation centers don’t give a guarantee that that the patient will not use drugs again after once treated. This is because the attraction of drugs is so great; that it is very difficult to stay away from drugs.

           In the society, addicts are termed as “rejected people”, even if they leave drugs; they are still called by bad names such as “charsi”. This behaviour of the society may lead to addiction again, because he’s being treated in the same way as before.          

After treatment the first six months include problems of craving, confusion, lack of sleep, and body aches. The next six months include problems of adjusting back again in family, development of new social network, and finding a new job. The next one year includes the problems of relapse, anxiety, peer pressure for drug intake, adjustment to new social network.

           People should help the patient adjusting back in the society and appreciating him/her. This would help him/her to stay away from drugs which would again take their life back to the drug rehabilitation center away from their families. If a person has decided to leave drugs for whole life, then the family should support them and social network should be changed. So, due to the company of addicts, they don’t get back to drugs again

          This is too one of the problems centers face due to the illiterate society. Patients get back to drugs, and they have to pass them through the three months process again. This time it is more difficult, because the person thinks he can’t remove the label he is given by the society.

          So, after treatment classes are given at the turning point. The patients are only allowed to sleep at their homes, but daily treatment is given in the morning by the centers.

       There are very few drug rehabilitation centers located in Lahore, there is still a need for more rehabilitation centers. Government should help with this issue, ANF should be supportive. It is found through the research that though there are only 6 rehabilitation centers in Lahore, but all of the centers have specialized staff, good facilities for patients, and are trying to give all kinds of better treatments to patients.