Chief
02-17-2008, 06:54 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/120311975471320.xml&coll=7
Society obsesses about stars with substance-abuse woes while ignoring the urgent need for treatment for millions Sunday, February 17, 2008
They tried to make me go to rehab, but I said 'no, no, no' -- Amy Winehouse, "Rehab"
America's febrile obsession with celebrities, particularly celebrities battling addictions, took center stage at last week's Grammy Awards show.
Song of the year? "Rehab," written by Amy Winehouse, the troubled British soul singer.
Record of the year? "Rehab," performed by Winehouse.
Best female pop vocal performance? "Rehab," by Winehouse.
Best new artist? Who else, but Winehouse?
Winehouse was more than just the big winner at this year's ceremony. She also was the big story, performing "Rehab" live -- but by satellite hookup from London because her U.S. visa got snagged because of her history of substance abuse.
Her controversial and deeply ironic appearance on the show, just days after her release from a London rehabilitation clinic, did more than merely personify our national lunacy about celebrities. It also showcased, for anyone paying the least bit of attention, how American society remains in complete denial about substance abuse.
The National Institutes of Health reports that about one in four American children is exposed to family alcoholism or alcohol abuse while growing up. The federal government estimates that more than 20 million Americans abuse alcohol, illicit drugs or both.
The economic and social costs of this epidemic are staggering. They show up in our crippled health system, our burgeoning prisons and our shamefully inadequate child welfare system.
The answer? Rehab. Effective residential treatment for substance abuse can cost as little as $3,000 to $4,000, but we make it inaccessible for people in lower income brackets.
Inaccessible, that is, until they wind up in the criminal justice system. Even there we're more interested as a society in punishing people than in dealing with the causes of what led them into breaking the law.
Don't get Bruce Goldberg started on this. He's the physician who heads the Oregon Department of Human Services, and he fervently believes we must get smarter about fighting addiction.
"What we've chosen to do is glamorize it and build prisons, rather than step back and think about how we can provide treatment," he says. "When we talk about it in terms of Amy Winehouse and celebrities, we're missing the fact that this is a real societal problem."
To their credit, Oregon legislators listened to Goldberg's sermon last year. They allocated $10 million to provide drug and alcohol treatment for parents whose addiction puts their children at risk.
Keeping kids out of the system, and their parents out of trouble, makes spectacular sense. Especially when you consider that 60 percent of Oregon's children in foster care are there because their parents have substance abuse problems.
We've got to try to make them go to rehab. Even if they say "no, no, no."
Society obsesses about stars with substance-abuse woes while ignoring the urgent need for treatment for millions Sunday, February 17, 2008
They tried to make me go to rehab, but I said 'no, no, no' -- Amy Winehouse, "Rehab"
America's febrile obsession with celebrities, particularly celebrities battling addictions, took center stage at last week's Grammy Awards show.
Song of the year? "Rehab," written by Amy Winehouse, the troubled British soul singer.
Record of the year? "Rehab," performed by Winehouse.
Best female pop vocal performance? "Rehab," by Winehouse.
Best new artist? Who else, but Winehouse?
Winehouse was more than just the big winner at this year's ceremony. She also was the big story, performing "Rehab" live -- but by satellite hookup from London because her U.S. visa got snagged because of her history of substance abuse.
Her controversial and deeply ironic appearance on the show, just days after her release from a London rehabilitation clinic, did more than merely personify our national lunacy about celebrities. It also showcased, for anyone paying the least bit of attention, how American society remains in complete denial about substance abuse.
The National Institutes of Health reports that about one in four American children is exposed to family alcoholism or alcohol abuse while growing up. The federal government estimates that more than 20 million Americans abuse alcohol, illicit drugs or both.
The economic and social costs of this epidemic are staggering. They show up in our crippled health system, our burgeoning prisons and our shamefully inadequate child welfare system.
The answer? Rehab. Effective residential treatment for substance abuse can cost as little as $3,000 to $4,000, but we make it inaccessible for people in lower income brackets.
Inaccessible, that is, until they wind up in the criminal justice system. Even there we're more interested as a society in punishing people than in dealing with the causes of what led them into breaking the law.
Don't get Bruce Goldberg started on this. He's the physician who heads the Oregon Department of Human Services, and he fervently believes we must get smarter about fighting addiction.
"What we've chosen to do is glamorize it and build prisons, rather than step back and think about how we can provide treatment," he says. "When we talk about it in terms of Amy Winehouse and celebrities, we're missing the fact that this is a real societal problem."
To their credit, Oregon legislators listened to Goldberg's sermon last year. They allocated $10 million to provide drug and alcohol treatment for parents whose addiction puts their children at risk.
Keeping kids out of the system, and their parents out of trouble, makes spectacular sense. Especially when you consider that 60 percent of Oregon's children in foster care are there because their parents have substance abuse problems.
We've got to try to make them go to rehab. Even if they say "no, no, no."