Understanding the role of drug treatment

Thank you for two uplifting, well-informed articles about the statewide epidemic of opioid addiction and substance use disorder. Dr. Peter Beilenson’s commentary, “Bring addiction treatment into mainstream care” (July 12), provides a clinician’s overview of the value of evidence-based treatment, including medically-assisted treatment. His op-ed describes important steps that policymakers and community leaders can take to improve treatment services, save lives and strengthen families that have been devastated by addiction.

Laura Jane Willoughby’s insightful “Rhythm of recovery: Friends use past struggles with addiction to found music festival” (July 12), puts the human face on how the destructive pathway of heroin addiction can be reversed. The stories of young adults who are successfully living lives of recovery like Jesse Tomlin, Brian McCall and Brandon Novak offer real hope to people who are still trapped in addiction.

We believe that it is vital for everyone to realize the lessons of both of these Sun stories. Treatment does work. People can recover. Substance use disorder is a for-real brain disease that can skew the behavior of people of all income and education backgrounds, of all faiths and from suburban, rural and urban communities. The stigma of people trapped in addiction as being morally weak must be discarded and replaced by accessible, affordable and humane treatment and support services.