THE ADDICTED ELDERLY -- A GROWING CONCERN

This column springs from my discussions with a 58-year-old subject
who began using alcohol and cocaine in a nightclub in Minneapolis.
The subject used these chemicals for years, keeping the use a secret
from his family members.

In talking with my subject, I learned that his secret of chemical use
was made known to his family when he was jailed for possession of
cocaine and an open bottle after a traffic violation minor in nature.
The subject is now in treatment and confesses that it took him years
to admit that he has a problem with chemicals.

While my study regarding Rule 25 is focused on my subject, it is with
intent that I shift to a perspective of the larger population of
Black elderly people. My subject is but one of a growing group of
elderly people who abuse drugs such as alcohol, cocaine, marijuana,
and, perhaps to the reader's surprise, heroin. As elderly people live
longer, become more isolated, internalize oppression, fears,
financial problems and depression, the number of elderly addicts will
continue to grow.

My subject has a Master's Degree and is very articulate and extremely
intelligent despite his troubles with chemicals. He and other
middle-class elderly feel as though the system does not recognize
their problems. The Rule 25 is developed with little thought given to
Black elderly people.

The police and courts will often let an elderly person go when in
possession of illegal drugs. Conversely, if a young person is
arrested, he/she is allowed to proceed through the system. The young
offender is brought before a chemical assessor, evaluated, and
offered help. Elderly people often will not get help unless they are
made to do so.

Any good assessor, trained to work with seniors, could get that
senior appropriate help. This presents the issue for seniors who are
released from the jurisdiction of the courts and not mandated to have
the Rule 25 assessment. At issue is whether an elderly person should
be considered a specific class with special treatment when arrested
and/or tagged for drug use or possession.

My prognosis using education, street smarts, and experience in
talking with my elderly subject and young people is that the road to
illegal chemical and/or legal chemical use among the elderly is
varied. The combination of street drugs and prescription drugs may
all be ways of coping with feelings of uselessness, isolation,
medical problems, and fear of being victims of crime. It's the
mixture of these drugs that is such a danger to our seniors. Young
users of yesterday become elderly users of today. The people who used
drugs in the '50s and '60s are adding to the growing number of the
addicted elderly. Imagine the strains associated with hypertension,
lupus, diabetes and other medical concerns unique to the elderly.
Chemicals and drugs add to the risk of heart attacks and add pressure
on the brain that our elderly cannot handle. The elderly are made up
of different races, ages, sexes and economic status. Perhaps the
common factors are that they are seniors by age group and that most
have or will soon develop medical concerns during continuous use of chemicals.

In terms of standards of chemical use applied in a Rule 25
assessment, they may not focus on the needs of the elderly in that
their reasons for using may not be the same as the reasons at an
earlier age. Therefore, issues that may have been of assistance to an
assessor in the past may not be in the present.

For example, if a senior is isolated he/she will not spend time with
friends who will glamorize the use of chemicals. The elderly may not
suffer financially due to chemical use as he/she did at a younger
age. Thus, in a Rule 25 assessment with respect to Black elderly,
assumptions are made and realistic episodic factors such as seasonal
depressions associated with chemical use maybe overlooked. The impact
of chemical use in the elderly population is no doubt a lot higher
than we might expect. As it relates to African Americans and other
elders of color, the impact is greater as they are often denied
access to services, thereby creating more anxiety and a need for
relief with chemicals.

Types of chemical dependency services needed are AA groups focusing
on elders of color. Perhaps multi-cultural groups would be
acceptable, but only if a racial balance has been created. I hope
these observations may provide those working with the elderly an
added perspective, or help to raise new issues relevant to the
elderly and chemical use. If as an assessor you are able to more
closely examine your use of the Rule 25 in relations to the elderly
of color, or if the courts would look at elderly abusers as seriously
as they do the young abuser, we can begin a new process of
identifying and finding solutions to the often unknown or hidden
problem of the elderly and the growth in their chemical use.