Centers that offer services to people experiencing addiction could face more regulation in Georgia, as lawmakers investigate how they operate and whether they are effective enough.
Senate Study Committee on Recovery Residences held its first meeting Monday at the state capitol. Among those speaking, Dr. James Craig, a medical doctor and addiction specialist, told senators that society treats addiction like an ethical or moral failing, yet it is a medical condition, marked by physical changes in the brain that stem from exposure to the stress hormone cortisol and other causes beyond a person’s control. Adding treatment facilities too often returns patients to their communities well before they have control over their addiction, whether to alcohol, a drug or something else.
It can take a year or more to return the brain’s chemistry to a normal baseline, yet these programs typically last a month. Operators of the facilities, insurance industry representatives and affected families are expected to be invited to future hearings.
