Nearly all narcotic addicts believe that they can stop using drugs any time they choose. As Zeina, a twenty-one-year old heroin addict asserts, "Rehabs r useless. . . . I don't need a rehab i know I can do it myself."However, very few can break free from their addiction without help. Most long-term narcotic use causes changes in the brain that stay even after drug use has ended. These changes affect behavior, often compelling the addicts to use drugs even in the face of harmful consequences. Therefore, the addicts who are most successful at dropping their drug habits are those who enroll in a supervised treatment or rehabilitation program.

The First Step Is Detox

Regardless of which treatment program an addict uses, detoxification is the first step. Detoxification is the elimination of the drug from the addict's body, a move that in...