Amy Winehouse's dad: Money wasted on rehab

The Associated Press, Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 4:21am (PDT)

LONDON (AP) -- Amy Winehouse's father says Britain is wasting money on drug addicts who are too quick to say "yes, yes, yes" to rehab.

Mitch Winehouse told lawmakers on Parliament's Home Affairs Select Committee Tuesday that many addicts who take up treatment as an alternative to a prison sentence have no intention of trying to quit drugs.

He said authorities are too ready to offer rehab to convicted criminals while non-offending addicts have to wait months for treatment.

Winehouse's daughter is best known for her song "Rehab," about a woman refusing treatment for addiction.

Her career has been dogged by drug use, run-ins with the law and a turbulent marriage. She was fined in Norway for illegal marijuana possession in 2007.

Lawmakers are holding an inquiry into cocaine abuse in Britain.