Detoxification at home has always been a concern for patients and their families, and many patients look forward to an effective method of detoxifying themselves without the hassle and fear of inpatient treatment. On the one hand, many patients have stable and decent jobs and face the risk of losing their jobs and source of income once they undergo 1-2 months of inpatient treatment; on the other hand, many patients are concerned that inpatient treatment may be known to the outside world and that it may cause unnecessary distress to their lives and work once it is known to their acquaintances; finally, the cost of detoxification treatment is indeed much lower than inpatient treatment. Finally, the cost of self-medication is indeed much lower than that of inpatient treatment, which is a suitable option for families who are not financially well-off. The benefits of home detoxification are obvious, but in practice it is not as easy as it should be, and most patients are not suitable for this mode of treatment. I will discuss a few of the necessary requirements for at-home treatment: 1. The level of addiction The level of addiction is a key factor in determining whether or not inpatient treatment is appropriate. Both patients and family members tend to underestimate the dangers of drugs, especially patients, even those who smoke every day will not think that they are not addicted and can stop anytime they want, without realizing or avoiding the fact that they cannot get rid of drugs. Patients with mild addiction have less withdrawal symptoms after they stop using drugs, their craving for drugs is small, and the pain can be tolerated, so giving certain doses of antagonistic drugs can reduce the symptoms to a very low level so that patients can go through the withdrawal period with less pain, and the success rate of detoxification is greatly improved. For patients with moderate to severe withdrawal reactions, even with the use of oral medication it is still difficult to tolerate, showing extreme anxiety and irritability, general discomfort, and then drug-seeking behavior leading to drug withdrawal failure. If forced restraint is used, these patients may have violent conflicts with their families and cause accidents. These patients can be treated in the hospital with intravenous and combined medication, which reduces their reaction and leads to a smooth transition to withdrawal. 2. Supervision Many patients’ families think that patients lack perseverance, which leads to failure in drug treatment, but they do not know that drugs damage the nerve cells of the patient’s brain, and once addicted, getting rid of the control of drugs can never be done simply by perseverance. During the withdrawal period, patients will experience a variety of discomforts that will drive them to seek drugs, which is medically called “drug-seeking behavior”. At this point, relying on drugs can alleviate this discomfort to some extent, but some supervision is necessary. Supervision means that the patient’s family has one or more people who have a deterrent effect, and the patient is willing to follow his supervision and discipline. For example, to be able to undergo regular urine tests, to be able to go home at the appointed time, to be able to take the medication on time, to be able to follow up with the hospital regularly, etc. In reality, a drug addict is often the breadwinner of the family, the main source of income, and the dominant and decision maker within the family, which determines that he is also a patient who lacks supervision, and the likelihood of successful drug rehabilitation is naturally low. 3. Self-knowledge Self-knowledge is the patient’s ability to correctly understand his or her own condition. Patients do not believe that drugs have caused physical and psychological damage to them, do not believe that changes in their current job and extremely family situation are drug related, and are unwilling to accept any drug treatment or even just advice. Obviously, since the patient has no self-knowledge and therefore no subjective will to treat, any treatment is imposed on him, so treatment at home, even if effective, is hardly sustainable. In contrast, treatment in the hospital is not only medication, but also cognitive therapy and peer therapy, which are the most effective weapons to help patients regain their self-knowledge and make them see themselves through others, far more effective than the bitter words of family members a thousand times. 4. Psychiatric symptoms Because of the special psychiatric effects of amphetamine-type drugs (marijuana, methamphetamine), more than 20% of abusers will sooner or later develop obvious psychiatric symptoms, while a significant number of abusers develop obvious psychological problems character changes. (For more information on psychiatric symptoms, see my article: “Psychotic Symptoms Due to Methamphetamine”) Once psychiatric symptoms are detected, especially hallucinations and delusions, which are serious positive symptoms, they cannot be controlled by the family at home. Hallucinations and delusions can lead to impulsive self-injury and other harmful behaviors, and there are often reports in the media of such patients injuring others (even family members) with knives, dangerous driving, and self-inflicted injuries. These behaviors are sudden and unpredictable, and the consequences can be very dangerous, and due to the lack of professional medication and equipment, family members are unable to cope with the patient at home. Many families mistakenly believe that if they stop using drugs, these symptoms will naturally disappear, but in reality, they will only diminish and not disappear completely. Symptoms such as delusions, for example, are firmly believed by the patient and require medication supplemented by cognitive psychotherapy to achieve complete treatment in order to eradicate them. 5. Drug therapy Accelerates the metabolism of drugs in the body (in common parlance, detoxification) and is used in the initial stages of treatment, requiring intravenous administration. To combat drug-induced withdrawal symptoms, oral medications are mainly used in the early and middle stages of treatment. For the treatment of drug-induced psychiatric symptoms, oral medications are used primarily, depending on the patient’s actual condition. For the treatment of somatic diseases, oral medication is the mainstay. It can be seen that only the first point of treatment at home is difficult to achieve because of the use of intravenous drug administration, while the last three points can be carried out completely at home because oral drugs are the mainstay. However, it is worth noting that the clinical use of drugs is not static, but needs to be adjusted gradually with the changes in the patient’s condition, which requires patients to visit the hospital outpatient clinic on a regular basis, preferably with a regular doctor, so as to have a comprehensive dynamic understanding of the patient’s condition and help to adjust the drugs more carefully. In general, the following conditions should be met if the patient is to be treated at home: (1) The patient’s degree of addiction is mild. (2) The patient’s family has the ability to supervise the patient and the patient submits to supervision. (3) The patient is self-aware of his or her condition and has a desire for treatment. (4) The patient has no obvious psychotic symptoms. (5) The patient is able to go to the hospital outpatient clinic regularly for examination and treatment. (1) Isolation from all unhealthy contact with the outside world during the treatment period. (2) No going out at night and regular work and rest time. (3) Visit the clinic once a week at the beginning of the treatment period, once every two weeks at the middle of the treatment period, and once every 1-2 months at the end of the treatment period. (4) Take medication in a standardized manner, strictly take medication time and dose, do not increase or decrease the dose without authorization. (5) Prohibit the consumption of alcohol, coffee, tea and other stimulant beverages, and weight loss drugs. (6) Receive a urine test every 3-4 days. (7) If you find that you have relapsed into drug use in the middle of treatment, you should inform the doctor and arrange for medical treatment.