NIDA Notes

Abstinent Patients Continue to Show Benefits of Treatment

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bar graph showing reduction in unemployment, disabilities, arrests, incarcerations, smoking, drinking, and marijuana use by those in recovery versus those continuing cocaine use Twelve years after cocaine addiction treatment, men who attained stable recovery - that is, were continuously abstinent for at least 5 years - reported less past-year criminal involvement, unemployment, and abuse of other substances than those who continued to abuse the drug. Among the 266 male veterans interviewed at the follow-up, more than half (51.9%) reported sustained abstinence for at least 5 years (11.2 years, on average).

Source

Hser, Y.I. et al. A 12-year follow-up of a treated cocaine-dependent sample. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 30(3):219-226, 2006