The Prospects and Limitations of Compulsory Treatment for Drug Addiction

Abstract

During the 1980s, social scientists and policy makers have been examining the different kinds of pressures that affect the behavior of drug addicts, and have been discussing how these pressures may be better managed to get addicts into treatment, to change their drug-related behaviors during treatment, and to maintain these changes following treatment. This article reviews the pressures inherent in the legal, social, and treatment systems of the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany, and discusses the utility of combining elements of the legal and treatment systems. The article presents six propositions summarizing the conclusions reached at a conference regarding the assessment and use of pressures in addiction treatment. The article also presents the final recommendations that were made. It was concluded that the present lack of knowledge about the effectiveness of compulsory treatment raises ethical, as well as practical questions. Although compulsory treatment is a tempting solution to the drug addiction problem, a complete social policy analysis of the use of coercive pressure must be undertaken before acceptance would be appropriate. Compulsory treatment must be judged not in terms of moralistic ideas or political expediency, but in terms of the entire range of treatment policy options.