A Quintessentially American Solution

Recently, we had the chance to interview Dr. Robert DuPont, the first director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. He is the author of numerous books and hundreds of articles on addition, and he was the chief drug policy advisor to two presidents. His most recent book is: Chemical Slavery: Understanding Addiction and Stopping the Drug Epidemic.

During our wide-ranging discussion, Dr. Dupont said he had been working in the drug treatment field for twenty years before he really understood recovery. –This from Harvard-trained psychiatrist who did part of his residency at the National Institutes of Health. What could he possibly have meant by this statement?

Dr. DuPont explained that one of his patients helped him see the light. One day, his patients confronted him: “You really don’t understand this thing, do you?” Dr. DuPont was taken aback. He was a professor, an author and an acknowledged expert. But, he admits, he didn’t “understand the wisdom in the Twelve Step programs.”

Previously, Dr. DuPont had believed that a person could be treated for their presenting problem, like heroin addiction, and that the treatment provider didn’t need to worry about other drugs or complete abstinence. If the treatment provider could just help the addicted person get over the immediate problem, then they had done their jobs. At the time, he was running a well-known heroin addiction program in Washington, DC, and many patients had seemingly been successful in kicking their habit.

One day, Dr. DuPont met with an advisor to the program who had once been a patient—a former heroin addict. He asked him what happened to the other former advisor/patients. He learned that they had all died of alcoholism. Dr. DuPont was stunned. Alcoholism? They had been heroin addicts. The sole survivor reported that he was doing well because he was the only one who had started attending Twelve Step meetings. From that point forward, Dr. DuPont saw the light.

Previously, he had believed that people suffered from specific problems, like alcohol use disorder, cannabis use disorder, opioid use disorder, and so on. “No, you don’t!” said Dr. DuPont. “It’s all one disease.”

His point is that once a person becomes addicted to any substance, they must abstain from all substances. It’s not advisable to stop one addictive drug but keep using others.

We have seen this mistake made by countless patients and practitioners, and there is still a portion of the treatment field that believes this approach is best. Some believe that harm reduction is a practical goal, in part because it’s more easily achievable than total abstinence. There reasoning is: “If we can get a person off heroin by putting them on medication and allowing them to drink, what’s the harm?” Dr. DuPont answered this question for himself with one word: death.

“Many of my colleagues don’t understand that this is one disease. They don’t understand what recovery is, they don’t understand that addiction is more than just stopping drug use.” He went on to state that there is a significant character dimension to addiction, beyond the use of drugs, and that the healing of these defects through the Twelve Step recovery process, produces greater contentment and joy in life.

“Addiction is the only disease where getting well is more than getting well. It’s better than well,” he said.

Listen to The Best Minds Podcast with Dr. DuPont.

Dr. DuPont said: “AA is a quintessentially American invention—it’s people helping themselves by helping others. And it’s not just helping others, it’s a very well thought out program. It’s something America needs to recognize as the best of America.”

Dr. DuPont carries a message of great hope. The Twelve Step programs are everywhere and they’re free. The major goal of treatment must be to point toward the solution that already exists in every community.

“Why are there so many AA meetings and NA meetings and other twelve step programs, and so relatively few of other things? What does that mean?” he asks. “It is the judgement of individual people. Does that mean everybody goes to AA? No. But it sure means that an awful lot of people do. And that’s something to be noticed and respected.”

He makes the hopeful point that 31% of American teenagers do not use alcohol, marijuana, nicotine or any other drug. A tremendous success in the struggle against addiction.

This article was previously published in the Grosse Pointe News.