Detoxification is usually the initial step in getting off drugs. It allows a person to be in a supervised setting while they go through withdrawal symptoms for drugs and/or alcohol. There are different types of detoxification. Theyrange from drug-free to medically supervised. A prevalent mistake that many addicts make is to think that detox is sufficient to kick their habit. This is almost never the case. All detox does is get an individual through the withdrawal when they stop using. It is usually recommended that detox be followed up with some type of treatment plan to discover the root of why someone was using drugs in the first place.