CAADAC Press Release: The War on Addiction: Untrained, Unskilled and Unethical Counselors Jeopardize Lives, Health and Recovery

The California Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, CAADAC, has reviewed, The War on Addiction: Untrained, Unskilled and Unethical Counselors Jeopardize Lives, Health and Recovery, which was released today by the Justin Foundation. CAADAC President Bob Tyler considers the report to be an alarming reminder of California’s failure to adequately protect addicts seeking addiction treatment in the state and urgently requests that state law makers and regulators respond with reforms that will address the problems brought out by the report. 

“The atrocities in this report are further evidence of the lack of adequate safeguards in state law and regulations governing this critical profession.” said Tyler. “The legislature must step in to ensure that all those suffering from the life-threatening diseases of alcohol and drug addiction receive treatment from counselors who have adequate training and experience. We need to act now so such tragedies can be minimized. It is unfortunate that current regulation allows someone with no education or training to hang out a shingle and treat this disease behind closed doors in a private practice setting.”