Dr. Drew Talks Addiction Intervention

Dr. Drew Pinsky, M.D. is more widely known as simply “Dr. Drew” and has been a famous medical advisor in popular culture for decades, having pioneered the radio show “Love Line” in the 1990s, a show that answers sex questions from callers of all ages and is still running today. More recently he has been involved in treating celebrity drug addiction and can be seen on the popular television show “Celebrity Rehab.”

In this video he discusses the controversial subject of forced interventions for highly addicted substance abusers. Most notably the interview asks the question, Is it right to force someone into rehab against their will? Dr. Drew makes the point that when an addict is that heavily embedded in his/her addiction, they have already lost their true sense of free will and therefore it becomes necessary for those closest to the addict to get them into treatment to save their life before it’s too late.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdK_LQHObXk

Dr. Drew makes some very rational points about the nature of addiction as well as our cultural fascination with celebrity addiction in particular. While it may not be prudent for a physician or government to mandate a forced drug rehabilitation intervention, the doctor notes that if it’s your own friend or family member, it falls to you to make the call and the right choice for getting the patient proper help and care. 

What do you think?

Would you support mandated drug rehabilitation?