British Columbia Stops Requiring the 12 Step Recovery Program


The notion that religion solves everything, or even anything, cannot come to soon. This is especially the case in health care. When an illness threatens peoples' lives and religion does not help it is time to drop the religion garbage.

For several generations, judges have sentenced those with various dependencies to attend Alcoholic Anonymous and similar drug dependency groups. These are called "12 step" programs and all claim the only route to breaking from dependency was submitting ones self to a "higher power."

What was meant by the term "higher power" was never defined. The founder of AA was a devout Christian so one would assume he meant the Christian God. I've heard that many groups refer specifically to God and scold those who doubt this meaning.

The "higher power" approach never had statistics for evidence that it worked. Many believe it was no better than the cure rate for those who never attended any AA meetings. In recent years a more science based method for evaluating recovery has been used and the higher power does not score well. I may well be helpful to people who need new friends to help them through recovery but not to those who already have a support circle. A prevailing conclusion is that the circle of support in AA meetings provided whatever success occurred but the "higher power" could have been left out with no consequences.

The news from British Columbia is that judges will no longer require the 12 step program to those whose dependency got them in trouble with the law. This new development is moving across Canada and the U.S.

Young people today are increasingly not interested in "higher powers." When they receive a sentence for driving while intoxicated that includes invisible forces they are left confused. "Why not just treat my problem with forces I can see?"

New programs include regular support groups where people with such problems encourage each other. Left out are mythical beings who waste everyone's time and effort.

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