The Flaws in Manitoba's Outpatient Drug Rehabilitation Programs

Anyone who thinks that Manitoba doesn't have a drug problem is kidding themselves. There are several Manitoba residents who are struggling to deal with drugs right now. The most common drug addictions in Manitoba are heroin, marijuana, cocaine, crystal meth, prescription pain killers, and Ecstasy

It is important to take drug addiction very seriously in Manitoba. When a drug addiction is ignored it usually leads to even more people becoming addicted to drugs. An increase in the number of drug addicts usually leads to an increase in unemployment, crime, homelessness, and suicide. There are several things that the Manitoba government can do to help control the drug problem.

The first thing is to make sure that all drug laws are enforced. The first reason to enforce the drug laws is to help discourage people from becoming involved in drugs in the first place. Knowing that they could be convicted of a crime is often enough of a deterrent to convince people that they shouldn't even experiment with drug use.

The second reason to make sure that drug laws are enforced is that it helps get the dealers and users off the street. By not making these people accessible to the general population, it becomes harder for the rest of the population to get their hands on drugs.

The best reason to make sure that drug laws are being upheld is that being convicted of a drug violation is the only way to convince a person that they really have a drug problem. Until they are caught, the person usually feels that they have their drug problem under control. By being convicted of a crime, the government can force the person to get into rehabilitation and hopefully overcome their addiction.

Most of the drug rehabilitation programs in Manitoba are financed by the government. The problem is that there aren't enough of them. The biggest problem is that the programs are very difficult to get into; every single one has a very lengthy waiting list.

The shortage of outpatient drug rehabilitation programs in Manitoba poses two problems. The first is that it can take weeks for a person to finally be admitted into a program. The amount of time it takes for the person to be accepted into the program gives the addict time to change their mind, decreasing the chances that they will eventually be able to overcome their addiction

The second problem with the shortage of outpatient drug treatment facilities in Manitoba is that the counselors are overworked. The sheer number of addicts who are going through the program means that the programs are over extended. They simply cannot provide the personal attention that many addicts need in order to be able to overcome their addiction

Since the outpatient programs are so overrun any addict who is hoping to overcome their addiction should really look into some alternative solutions. In addition to participating in the local Narcotics Anonymous and seeing if it would be possible to get into a drug rehabilitation program that is located in another Province.

^{Source: http://www.canadarehab.ca/drug_rehab_manitoba.html}