researchers have long known that drug addiction is a disease, not a moral failing.But not everyone believes that, in particular in the law enforcement Community, said Johann Farley, a general practitioner and specialist of the addictions.That's one reason Farley spoke at a dinner last week at the Aladdin Pita in Merrillville about the process of drug addiction and how the human brain responds to drugs like cocaine and heroin. "I think it's really important to educate the public and professional law enforcement, as well as the medical community, that addiction should not be treated as a moral failing, "he explained to an audience of about 100 doctors, nurses, police and court staff. But only locking up addicts is no effective treatment. "Farley said that he is on a crusade to reach as many people as he can to show there is help out there. "But you have to choose which help very carefully," said Farley, an adjunct professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine-Northwest Campus in Gary. "I have a passion for this."Policemen and doctors attending the session felt comfortable enough to ask questions about addictive behavior, drug treatment dosing for patients in the withdrawal and the latest science behind the treatment of addiction.Farley explained how users are dependent on drugs by a series of neural transmissions that he demonstrated with slides of the brain. "We must further the science and erasing the stigma (addiction), "he said. He claimed that the best treatment of the addiction combines Medicine, counseling and surveillance — observing and testing of addicts under treatment for illicit drug use, usually take between 6 to 12 months to heal from a drug addiction. He stressed the need for ongoing monitoring and drug tests during the process of treatment.Farley described a 15-year-old female patient who had been kicked out or drug treatment programs before for the continuation of illicit drug use. He said that her parents vowed she didn't leave the House and couldn't use. "But her students as pinpricks were and we learned her boyfriend was dropping off of drugs in the mailbox, so that they don't even have to leave the House to use," he said. "I don't believe in the babying of sick drug users. They must be supported and nurtured, but limits should be established. "Inga Lewis-Shannon, judge at the Gary city drugs known as the "second chance"-program for nonviolent drug offenders, said to learn more about the process of addiction helped her understand more about the science behind drug dependency. "Sometimes in dealing with suspects we get caught up in their behavior and forget that a disease, "said Lewis-Shannon.
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