Is 30-day rehab enough? Why this dad of addicts says no (Opinion)

Chances are either someone in your family or someone you know is dealing with opioid addiction. New Jersey is on its way to creating a law that would make it possible for spouses, partners, relatives, friends, and guardians to petition the court to have someone forced into treatment if they resist. Personally, I don't think you can force anyone to do anything and I think it's only going to work if the addict truly wants to be there.

Jimmy Graham, one of the comedians who will be performing at the "City Of Angels" fundraiser that we're doing on June 2, thinks differently. Jimmy has had to deal with both of his sons getting hooked after being prescribed pain killers. "This is what everybody in recovery has been trying to do for years, trying to institute something where the parents who supports and who usually pay for the rehab and usually go into debt trying to save their children, can now have control and make someone that is dependent on a substance actually go into rehab."

Graham says it should be more than 30 days.

"I know the 30-day rehab doesn't help anyone," he said. "It needs to be a minimum of 90 days because after 30 days you're just coming out of where you're actually detoxed at that point, you're finally working on a playing field of mental stability, then they're sent right back into what got them there in the first place."

Graham, now a certified recovery coach, took on the dealers and actually got 13 of the 28 he went after into rehab. "We have narcan now that can recover these kids but in the same breath we have EMS workers and police that are narcan-ing kids at 7:00 coming back to the same child at 11:00, at that point you are no longer responsible for your actions."

Later, Joe called from Cinnaminson. He's been in rehab twice. As far as he's concerned, "You have to hit bottom.

"Once you hit bottom, you don't need anybody to tell you that you need to do this to live." He also spoke about Vivitrol, a once-monthly injection to help end opioid dependence.

To bring home the pain of addiction, we had an emotional conversation with Paul, who broke down talking about his dealing with addiction and what it's done to his family. Hear his story in the video above.

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