The 2002 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Centers found that nearly half of the 1.1 million people receiving addiction treatment have more than one addiction, the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise reported Oct. 6.

“The day of the single addiction is almost a dinosaur. Most people are addicted to more than one substance these days,” said Wayne Rushlow, a licensed mental health therapist and substance abuse counselor in Leominster, Mass., and the surrounding area. “If people can’t get one, they have the other to fall back on.”

According to the report, released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 48 percent of the 1,136,287 people receiving treatment in 2002 were treated for both drug and alcohol dependency.

Rushlow said multiple addictions are a result of people experimenting with drugs at a younger age, starting at age 10.”They start with lesser drugs and, being adolescents, they get bored. It escalates very quickly and by the time they reach 21, they’ve run the gamut,” Rushlow said.

The study also showed that 49 percent of rehabilitation facilities provided special programs for people diagnosed with dual addiction and mental disorders.


Source:The Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise reported Oct. 6. 2003