PROFIT AND MMT

An article in the Chicago Tribune (August 16, 2009) quoted a Drug Enforcement Administration official expressing concern "... when the motive for treatment is profit," with no evidence to suggest any difference in quality of care. And this at a time when many Americans are expressing their fear and fury over proposals to include a government option for health insurance, to be available alongside those offered by a host of (extremely profitable!) insurance companies!

When it comes to treatment of addiction private facilities are helping to fill the unconscionable void resulting from woefully inadequate services of the Government and voluntary sectors. Their role in lessening demand for illicit drugs is an indispensable component of the nation's efforts to address the problem of drugs in America. No one should know this better than law enforcement officials.