Drugs for drug addicts

A report issued by the Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes calls for California lawmakers to lift a ban on health-care services at residential drug-treatment facilities.

California has long banned prescriptions or other medical services at private inpatient drug-treatment clinics because treatment was based on self-help and peer-support groups, according to California Watch. But health experts now generally consider addiction a disorder that can require medication.

The report found the law runs counter to guidelines set by health insurers and accreditation groups expecting detoxing patients to have access to medication during their stay. The investigators also found the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs to be inconsistent in its enforcement of the law.

“Almost everyone involved in the current system of regulating residential drug and alcohol programs agrees that it doesn’t work and is not good for clients,” the authors wrote.