I'm against locking addicts up in jail, sometimes it does more harm than good (what good does it do????)
What always fails to make sense to me is that the American Medical Association declared addiction to be a disease in 1956 - yet we are treating it as a crime.
The criteria for addiction as a disease:
Primary: The illness exists in and of itself. (But may manifest in addition to other illnesses.)
Chronic: Does not go away, heal spontaneously or remit.
Progressive: Over time it gets worse.
Symptomatic: Can be diagnosed by the way it manifests in a person’s physiology, behavior and lifestyle.
Fatal: If left untreated will result in death.But we keep stuffing our jails and prisons with more and more drug addicts. Sure, the commit crimes related to drug use (mostly theft to get money for their drugs) but what if we treated them instead of locking them up again and again. Instead of all the money taxpayers spend on housing, feeding and guarding over these prisoners - how about it we spend it on some TREATMENT OF THE DISEASE instead? Only the very wealthy (or the very willing to go deep into debt) can afford the outrageous cost of in-patient drug treatment (and that's with insurance). Its not right.
Treatable: Proven medication, therapies, and lifestyle changes do result in the ability to live without the abused substance
Wow. This was going to be a simple post about missing Keven, but it kind of got me going on one of my many pet peeves...
Peace, Hope and Love, Barbara
13 comments:
Barbara,
I know where you are coming from, but treating the disease does not work if the addict does not want treatment. If you have broken the law then you have to pay for it somehow. If we did not punish people who brake the law, then we would be a lawless society. When my daughter stole in order to buy drugs, the "drug" part was not even figured into her punishment and of course she would not tell anyone that she was a drug addict even though everyone knew. Her crime was not "drug" related in the eyes of the law. She did not possess an illegal substance, even though she stole to get drugs. I know this sounds very confusing, but she was never drug tested once the whole time she was on probation. She was not convicted of a "drug" offense. She was in jail, she is a drug addict, but she would have never been given the option of treatment, because she was convicted of larceny, not of possession, etc. I hope I am making sense.
You may already know this, but it was fascinating to me to learn recently in my sociology class that countries such as the Netherlands treat drugs and addictions much differently than we do. They are treated as a social problem rather than a crime. They still have varying degrees of legality, but they prefer to minimize the risks of harm, rather than to perpetually imprison offenders. They focus more on treatment than incarceration. Yes, you can still go to prison for heroin use, but the approach is very different.
I know this doesn't help you, but I wanted to say I agree with you, and the fact that some countries treat addictions differently gives me hope that policies will change here one day.
Helga, yes I get what you are saying, I think you say several things in your comment. 1) that if you break the lay you need to pay the price. 2) I have always believed this too, but am starting to wonder if someone has to want it, or maybe if someone is pushed into it they will want it once they are there? 3) If changes were ever made to laws that would be the trickiest part - it would be easy to identify the addicts by drug charges, but in some cases, like your daughters it would have to be researched to figure out. I doubt it will ever happen anyhow.
Erin,
European countries are so very different than ours. For one thing, they have socialized medicine so if you're sick or injured, you don't have to worry about affording treatment. I am going to be interested to see how things turn out over in the Netherlands. They have a huge heroin problem over there.
I do believe, as I've seen it happen, that someone can be "pushed/coerced" into rehab. and then while there, change their feelings into wanting recovery. Even though he went into this last rehab. due to feeling he'd be in jail otherwise...and saw no other way out, our son became motivated to work on and continue his recovery due to being there. Even though, I just learned, during his first few days there, he attempted to try to get cocaine from where he was in rehab.. Now, just yesterday, he said,"I'm just so happy to be clean, so happy." Thank God.
Barbara, I could not agree with you more. I am reading a great book so far about addiction as a DISEASE and how our system simply doesn't work. I speak with a lot of addicts, go to open meetings because I have become obsessed with how the addict mind works.
While it is true that some people will never recover the same can be said about Cancer. I know many people who are cancer-free and yet my Sister died from Breast Cancer at 34.
How is jail helping that? If a diabetic stole to be able to buy insuling would you put them in jail without allowing them care for their Disease.
I have NEVER believed this was a Disease until about 2 years ago and even then I wasn't so sure. It is complicated and hard to understand and seriously I spend hours doing research and my humble opinion is that it is a disease and putting them in jail does nothing and forcing them in to rehab is not a bad thing.
Even with my sons forced rehab he learned things and he is still trying (not doing it though) but it is a battle for him to use far more than ever. Maybe if he would have been in there longer it would have helped more who knows but I hope he continues to go to forced rehab until he gets it.
Sorry to post so long - we need to meet and vent about this! We can come up with a plan and start something.
Lori, I'm so glad D is doing so well. Each day he's happy to be clean is a good day. I think everyone is different and some people will choose to get clean when faced with some really unpleasant alternatives...and some won't.
Tori, you can leave as many and as long of comments as you ever want! Which book are you reading? I didn't want to believe it either. I thought it was a "BS" theory meant to let addicts off the hook (funny though - I believed alcoholism was a disease without a problem). Anyhow, another sad thing about it is that no one will look at our children, or us, with empathy because of their disease as they look upon someone with cancer. I think its changing for the better but I've overheard plenty to know that to my face they may "understand" but inside they are blaming Keven, me or both of us for his addiction. I wish it were that simple - black and white - no mystery. But its not, its a heartwrenching, life altering, horrible issue. Right now I'm living in fear of him coming home and possibly using again. I don't want that...I don't want him to die!!!! Every time they use they are risking death. Sorry I shouldn't be saying all this, but I'm upset tonight. :(
I have often wrote about how I feel when we are not dealt with the same compassion. It pisses me off but I don't care so much anymore. I talk about it all the time. And yea I know that "look" you get and then their head is spinning about how messed up we must be to have raised a "monster".
The book I am reading is Healing the addicted brain by Harold C. Urshcel. So far I am fascinated but I barely started it. A previous therapist of B's was talking about healing the brain and the frontal lobe and how instead of "talk therapy" he wanted to do neuro feedback. It was about $20.00 more a session so I decided to do it. At the time B was 100% sober from everything. He wasn't doing H then though. He did it for 4 weeks and slept better, his moods were way better and HE told me how much better he felt. It was just before he turned 18 and of course his birthday meant party and that was that. He actually loved going. It was 2-3 sets of treatments that were I think 20 at a time. They use it for depression, among other things.
When he started using again, the Therapist refused further treatment and refunded my money for the unused portion. He told me as long as he was even smoking pot it simply would not work and he instead asked B to go back to talk therapy until he was reading to stop popping pills and smoking weed. B refused but this guy also told me that talk therapy is a very small part of the healing. He was a very forward Doctor and was the first one to ever tell me it was a disease and show my pictures, etc.
I mentioned I read everything I can. I like to read different view points but ultimately I come to my own conclusion. It is my mission to know as much as I can about this disease just as I would if he had Cancer or another life threatening illness.
My goal is to have as much together as possible so when he does want help I am armed and ready with the treatments that I feel will really help. And I have faith he will be ready one day.
The more people that continue to fight the closer we get to getting our children the right treatment. If not our children maybe our grandchildren. No matter what I will not give up on him and I am in a really good place now being able to separate my love for him and anger towards the addiction. I have listened to have everyone handles their own situation but all of our children are different and we have to do what we think is best.
Here is something from the book, "You wouldn't put your face to the belly of a diabetic and shout, "Hey, you kidneys in there! Quit slacking off and start processing the urine properly!" Kidneys are not capable of hearing or responding to you command. Neither is the damaged brain of an addict.
He gets in to graphics of the brain of a normal person and then and damaged from addiction. I can't wait to keep reading, I am only on page 20!
Here I go....I am going to stop.
I really should check my spelling - it was he was showing ME pictures not my pictures. I hate typo's.
amen. AMEN! AAMMEENNNN!!!! So frustrating! But, thankfully in Nebraska (around Omaha) there is drug court. And anyone who commits a crime and is an addict or was hgih while they did it has an opportunity for drug court. With drug court they're allowed to forgo their crime/punishment by being in a affordable halfway house and treatment program. They're drug tested randomly and become good friends with their Judge. My older son is in it now and doing well. He's becoming brainwashed towards the sober world and AA! http://www.archhalfwayhouse.org/
I am with you on this Barbara. The US should begin by decriminalizing the possession of marijuana.
I agree with you Barbara about the disease model. I have study this a great deal.
There is no clear answer as many states rave about drug court success and then a new study comes out that they are not as good as they think etc. Hwever, I am always in favor of a recovery program vs jail/prison if the indivdual is not violent. Just my personal opinion on how I feel at the moment.
Continued prayers for all of us.
Why couldn't we have some sort of working farm for them?. They have to stay for 6 months. the research says that the brain is functioning much better after 6 months of abstinence. Let them retrain, rehabilitate and contribute in some way to society while they are there.This would be a sanctuary as opposed to punishment.
AMEN. Anna's comment reminded me of that place in Italy. The name escapes me at the moment, but it is free, it is a huge recovery community and it lasts several years. it has a huge success rate. I wish, wish, wish we had that here.
http://www.sanpatrignano.org/?q=en
From their site:
San Patrignano welcomes all young men and women who have serious drug abuse problems, regardless of ideology, social background, or religion, and completely free of charge, accepting no payment or funding from their families or the government.
Since 1978, San Patrignano has taken in over 18,000 people, offering them a home, healthcare, legal assistance, and the opportunity to study, learn a job, change their lives, and regain their status as full members of society.
Wow.
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