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Too many people do not realize what a colossal problem drug abuse is in the United States today. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy concluded that Americans spent at least 57.3 billion dollars on illicit drugs between 1988 and 1995, money that could have been used to support the economy. Addiction is a severe, recurring heath problem for men, women, teenagers, and even adolescents of all races and backgrounds. However, thanks to today’s equipment and medicine, patients can conquer their dependence and live ordinary, productive lives. The fundamental goal of all treatment programs is to enable the patient to permanently abstain from substance abuse; short-term goals are to minimize the medical and social consequences of drug use, and help recovering addicts function normally in a clean society. Over the past few decades, studies conducted by the National Institute of Drug Abuse show that t