A brave new proposal is being considered in the UK to deny public subsidy benefits for those who are addicted and refuse treatment. I have a section in my book, The New Face of Recovery: Unlabeling Addiction as a Disease and Finding Treatments that Work, that talks about Medicaid reform here in America along similar lines. Recently U.S. Senator Orin Hatch from Utah came under fire for recommending mandatory drug tests for people receiving public assistance.
However, the notion in the UK seems to make sense at first, because why should people continue to pay for others’ addictions? If they refuse treatment then they are refusing help. I personally believe the door should be left open to find a way back in, like if they do enroll in an addiction treatment center or drug rehab program then they can become eligible for assistance again upon completion of it, or something like that.
We as a nation, and obviously the UK as well, are wasting tons of money that could be spent in better areas to enhance society rather than keeping addicts on drugs and giving them a government check to feed their addiction and joblessness. If they want help, get off drugs. Period.