Army Substance Abuse Program

The Army Substance Abuse Program is an anti-substance abuse program in the United States Army, operated by the Army Center for Substance Abuse Programs.

The program is governed by AR 600-85, MEDCOM Reg 40-51, ALARACT 062/2011, DA Pam 600-85, and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Army policy states that the program is to be supported by a soldier's entire chain of command, including the commander.

Mission and objectives

The mission of the Army Center for Substance Abuse Programs (ACSAP) is to strengthen the overall fitness and effectiveness of the Army’s workforce, to conserve manpower, and to enhance the combat readiness of soldiers. The following are the objectives of the ACSAP:

Drug rehabilitation

Drug rehabilitation (often drug rehab or just rehab) is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent is to enable the patient to cease substance abuse, in order to avoid the psychological, legal, financial, social, and physical consequences that can be caused, especially by extreme abuse. Treatment includes medication for depression or other disorders, counseling by experts and sharing of experience with other addicts. Some rehab centers include meditation and spiritual wisdom in the treatment process. A few centers also treat gambling with the same techniques as are used in drug rehabilitation.

Psychological dependency

Psychological dependency is addressed in many drug rehabilitation programs by attempting to teach the patient new methods of interacting in a drug-free environment. In particular, patients are generally encouraged, or possibly even required, to not associate with friends who still use the addictive substance. Twelve-step programs encourage addicts not only to stop using alcohol or other drugs, but to examine and change habits related to their addictions. Many programs emphasize that recovery is a permanent process without culmination. For legal drugs such as alcohol, complete abstention—rather than attempts at moderation, which may lead to relapse—is also emphasized ("One is too many, and a thousand is never enough.") Whether moderation is achievable by those with a history of abuse remains a controversial point, but is generally considered unsustainable.