Residential Drug Rehab in Alberta

While drug problems in Canada are not nearly as severe as they are in other parts of the world, the country does have its fair share of problems. Right now, Alberta is experiencing a growth in drug usage. In regards to the use of cannabis, the province of approximately 14.1% of Alberta's general population is addicted to cannabis; this is on par with the national average which is also 14.1%.

Alberta knows that the best way to make sure that their current drug problem does not become worse is to get drug addicts the help they need, and that the most successful form of rehabilitation is in residency rehabilitation facilities. One of the problems Alberta is currently facing is that they don't have enough residential drug rehabilitation facilities to accommodate the number of addicts who need help. Waiting lists to get into the facilities have gotten extremely long, when an addict applies for program they sometimes have to wait for weeks before a bed finally becomes free. One of the things the rehab facilities have done is shorten the length of time a patient spends in the facility from 28 days to 21 days. The creation of additional residential drug rehabilitation facilities would help increase the number of addicts who are able to successfully make it through the program and get started on the road to recovery. Currently there are just two residential drug rehabilitation program with a program lasting longer than 21 days, and that program is only available to Albertans that have excellent comprehensive health care insurance or can pay the fees on their own.

Most of the residential drug rehabilitation programs treat patients with addictions to crystal meth, marijuana, heroin, pain killers, cocaine, crack, and ecstasy. The Program The average residential drug rehabilitation program consists of detoxification, group counseling, individual counseling, family counseling, and a discussion on what post residential rehabilitation program will help the patient stay sober. Some patients are successful after just one stint in the rehabilitation program, but many require more than one stay. The Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission In Alberta, the management of both alcohol and drug rehabilitation is handled by the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission otherwise known as the AADAC. The AADAC serves many purposes. In addition to overseeing the running of residential drug rehab programs, the AADAC  provides individuals with educational materials, detoxification, community-based prevention programs and treatment, counseling for individuals and their families, assessment and referral, and specially designed programs for Alberta's youth population. The AADAC is committed to improving the residential drug rehabilitation programs in Alberta.

The organization knows that in order to treat the addiction they have to look at the person and not the drug. People are unique, and a treatment program that works for one person might not work for another person, even if they are addicted to the same drug. To help make sure that Albertans are getting the best possible treatment, the AADAC is constantly doing researching and monitoring the general recovery of patients. The hope is that the information will provide the key to helping addicts recover faster and decrease the chance of a relapse.

^{References:http://www.canadarehab.ca/drug_rehab_alberta.htmlhttp://www.aadac.com/86_545.asp}