Why can't all addicts be treated like Navy pilots?

Addicts are people with broken brains. That's the latest from experts on neuroscience and addiction studies at the University of Utah School on Alcoholism and Other Drug Dependencies this week. They're saying that genetics and early trauma can result in vulnerability to addiction.
But people with broken brains can get better. I'm hearing a lot of hope on that front. Kevin McCauley, the school's keynote speaker, was a Navy flight surgeon who helped administer the very successful "Keep 'em Flying!" approach for Navy pilots. McCauley says this approach resulted in a 95 to 97 percent rate of return to flying status for pilots suffering from alcoholism.
This high success rate occurs because of a comprehensive approach to treatment. Pilots are told that if they develop an alcohol problem, they can come to their superiors for the best available inpatient treatment; they will be returned to flying status as soon as possible; and they will receive long-term peer support. The pilots are treated like needed, valued members of the Navy community. Of course, they will also be tested regularly for drug use of any kind.

McCauley is convinced we could see an equally high recovery rate for other alcoholics and addicts if we offered them the same treatment. Today, only a handful of privileged addicts enjoy access to excellent inpatient treatment, a promise of return to high-status employment, and the mix of support and accountability provided to the Navy pilots.
Why don't we offer all addicted people this same winning combination?
For one thing, as a society, we're stuck on the idea that addiction is a moral failing and not a disease. The experts at the School on Alcoholism refute this convincingly. Defects in the midbrain - the part of the brain that regulates survival functions such as eating and self-defense - lead to an overpowering demand for a substance that will make the person feel better. Getting enough of the drug equates with the drive for survival in the addicted brain.

While the addicted person is busy getting and using drugs to placate the demanding midbrain, the person's prefrontal cortex - that part of the brain that deals with morality, spirituality, and other higher concerns - is shut down. No wonder addicts are known for immoral acts. Their instinctive brain is screaming for more drugs at any cost while their moral brain is on hold!
Listening to the experts this week, I'm reminded of something I read in a book called Terry by Sen. George McGovern. Terry was the senator's daughter. She was an alcoholic who froze to death in a snowbank while drunk. McGovern tells the story of asking a sober Terry what the urge to drink felt like to her.
She told her father to imagine the most powerful sexual urge he had ever experienced, then to multiply that times 100, then to imagine living the rest of your life knowing you could never, ever satisfy it.

That gave me new appreciation for what addicts go through. Would I be able to say "no" to such a powerful urge, day after day, year after year? The answer for most addicts, as it would surely be for me, is that sobriety is a gift from a higher power, given when the addict is willing to do his or her part to get well.
Society must do its part, too, and we're not doing it now. When every addicted person, regardless of insurance coverage or financial status, can receive the same quality treatment we provide for Navy pilots, we'll save a lot of lives and prevent untold human misery. The question is: What are we waiting for?

source: Connie Clark, an Episcopal priest and chaplain in Evanston, Wyo., welcomes comments at chaplconnie@yahoo.com. You may also comment by e-mailing religioneditor@sltrib.com.