Moyers on Addiction: Close to Home. - Review - video recording reviews

Journal of Rehabilitation, July-Sept, 1999 by Blandon Hunt

The fourth tape in the series, The Next Generation, focuses on how children and adolescents are affected by addiction-their own and their parents-as well as prevention efforts being used with young people. Two particular areas are addressed in this tape. The Next Generation begins by showing how both parents' heroin addiction affects family life, with particular focus on one of the children. The family is involved in a program called "Focus on Families," which is part of the treatment plan at a methadone clinic. The tape follows the family's struggle from the perspective of the 10-year old son, realistically portraying how difficult it can be to get into and stay in recovery, as well as how the entire family is affected by addiction. The second part of the tape describes the TRUST Program, which provides information and support to students at risk for addiction. In this tape, several young people are interviewed about how and why they use AOD. The TRUST program also provides prevention and education programs for younger children in the same school system, using a peer education model. This tape is really useful for pointing out that we have generations of addicts who need treatment, and talks about what we can do to break the cycle of addiction inherent in American society. This tape could be used to educate staff about the influence of AOD use and abuse on the family. Parts of the tape could also be used as outreach to educate professionals who work with youth about prevention and treatment options. For example, the TRUST Program could be used as a model for building collaborative relationships between school systems and AOD treatment programs.

The Politics of Addiction. the final tape in the series, focuses on the political implications of addiction in this country. It begins with a look at Arizona's Proposition 200 initiative, an innovative approach to addiction that mandates treatment for non-violent drug offenders. Proponents of this program believe there is too much emphasis on incarceration for drug-related crimes and not enough focus on treatment. They want to convert from a criminal perspective to a public health approach, which focuses on treatment to stop the cycle of addiction rather than incarceration, which is not stemming the tide of drug-related crimes in this country. Advocates of this approach view addiction as a public health problem, and say it should be treated as such by providing more treatment options for people. As part of the political focus, the tape also shows a variety of people advocating for and lobbying with state and federal lawmakers to provide more and better treatment opportunities for people in need of recovery, particularly for people who do not have insurance. Their view is that people who are actively using cannot serve as a constituency group for more and better treatment, so instead they serve as a voice for this group. People in this tape also talk about sociopolitical ramifications of AOD use and abuse in our society, particularly for poor communities where social forces and scarce resources make it more difficult if not impossible for people to get into recovery. Using this tape would be a good way to show people the power and potential of advocacy, particularly political advocacy for people with AOD issues.