Methamphetamine addicts find it difficult to stay free from the drug in the long term, but those who go through rehab stay clean longer than those who don’t. Australian researchers compared meth users who underwent rehab treatment, those who only received detox, and those who received no treatment at all. After three months, meth users who underwent detox were just as likely to use the drug as those who received no treatment at all. In the short term, rehab was substantially more effective—48 percent of people who had gone through rehab were still drug-free after three months—but many found it difficult to stay clean. After one year, 80 percent of those treated in rehab had relapsed into drug use, and 88 percent began using again by three years.  Richard Rawson, professor at the University of California, told Reuters that drug addiction requires long-term care even after rehab ends: “Some people really have trouble grasping the fact that they need help for a longer period of time.”

Source: Reuters – Detox, Rehab Keep Few Users Clean Long Term