What is the proper use of drug and alcohol testing in a residential recovery program?
• Not the only means of maintaining a drug free program – While it is of utmost importance that a recovery program be kept “drug free,” it is especially cruel to use drug testing as a means of enforcing abstinence if there are no other active programs to support people in pursuit of a life of sobriety. Doing this is truly setting addicts up to fail. Testing can be most useful when there is an on-going program of recovery-oriented activities in place. Even then, drug testing should be a rare practice for the recovery program. • Generally, it is best conducted when there is a good reason to suspect that use of drugs or alcohol has occurred – There may be some situations where routine drug testing of every program resident should be conducted. One instance might be when a client returns from a weekend or longer period away from the program. However, over-testing can actually work against developing an atmosphere of trust among the staff and clients. If we are operating a program where the
