If You Have A Disease Should You Go To Jail Or A Center For Help?
People are being sent to jail or prison for having a disease, instead of re-hab
Do you think this law should be changed?
OR
Yes this is about going to a drug re-hab. People that have the disease of addiction are being sent to jail/prison. They don’t learn anything there about living drug-free. They can get drugs in prison. In re-hab they go to meetings and counseling and learn how to live sober.
Drugs literally change how the brain works, just like diabetes changes the way the pancreas works. They change areas that are critical for judgement, decision-making, learning, memory and behavior control. Specifically, the dopamine system is altered so that only the substance of choice is capable of triggering dopamine release to the nucleus accumbens (NAc). You can read all about the Nucleus Accumbens here. Therefore, this is the only way they can feel good.
A lot of people start out by taking prescription painkillers. Doctors want to help their patients feel better, so they prescribe Vicodin, OxyContin, or Percocet for moderate to severe pain. Then when the doctor says it’s been long enough, they stop giving it to them. Then that person realizes they’re addicted to it. Or they just keep it in the cupboard and someone else finds it and starts taking it.
After that, they end up getting heroin from the street. It’s cheaper than prescriptions. At first they probably get the powder form and inhale it. After a while, they build up a tolerance, so they go to shooting up. They lose lots of weight, usually steal money to buy their drugs and things just go down hill.
Previous research showed that from 2009 to 2012, there was a 74% increase in the number of people aged 12 and older, using. Deaths from heroin overdoses doubled from 2010 to 2012, U.S. federal health officials reported. This big increase in heroin-related deaths is directly tied to the epidemic of narcotic painkiller abuse, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
They end up getting in trouble with the law for possession or trafficking. Because they sell the drugs, so they have money to buy it for themselves. They go in front of the judge and get sentenced. Instead of sending the addict to a re-hab where they could really get help in changing their lives, he sends them to jail/prison. While in jail or prison, they get more drugs from guards and inmates. Or they go though withdrawal and have to live without it.
When they get out, they go right back to buying heroin on the street. Now is the problem of over-dosing and dying. If they have been off heroin for a few months or longer, their body isn’t able to handle the dose they take. And that’s when they over-dose and die.
In the U.S. the experts say that overall, 100 people over-dose every day! People go back to taking the same amount they were taking before they were sent to jail, they don’t realize that will kill them. In 2012, 33,175 (79.9%) of the 41,502 drug overdose deaths in the United States were unintentional, 5,465 (13.2%) were of suicidal intent, 80 (0.2%) were homicides, and 2,782 (6.7%) were of undetermined intent. (Info from the CDC website)
If you agree and think the addicts should be sent to get actual help, you can sign a petition now for a law to go into effect, The Jennifer Act, written by Sharon Blair. It was designed as a way for drug and alcohol abusers to receive involuntary treatment. The bill is named after her daughter, Jennifer Reynolds, who tragically died at the age of 29 after fighting drug addiction for 13 years.
Go HERE to read more, Or just sign the petition on the right side of my blog. Thank you!!!!!
So what do you think? Which place should drug addicts be sent? I’d really like to hear your opinions.
momndaughters
Owner at Mom 'N Daughter Savings
I am a SAHM.My youngest is 16 now.I have 5 kids in all.We've lived in Georgia now for almost four years.We moved here from Ohio for my husband's job.I love blogging and writing about my passions.I do reviews and giveaways and I try to get homeless animals new homes.
My story is also here about loving addicts, recipes, and crafts.
My story is also here about loving addicts, recipes, and crafts.
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In Portugal they legalized all drugs, and taxed and regulated them. They treated addiction as a public health problem and with the money generated from the drug taxes they built first class state of the art drug treatment centers. Colorado has collected 41 million in tax revenues in just 5 months!
Phyllis,
Wow! That sounds good for Portugal. And Colorado has made a lot of tax money! I had no idea. Thank you!
Jody
I so agree with the above comments.I do think that too often for addiction, pain, and all kinds of diseases or disabilities doctors are far too quick to prescribe pills or surgery rather then lifestyle changes -addressing the signs and symptoms rather then finding out what is causing the imbalance in the body. The root cause. I do think that that the majority of people in jail have chemical imbalances. Neurological or mental health professionals and officials would call them diseases. So yes I do agree everyone in jail should be provided help – because the punishment is for the signs and symptoms of whatever the root cause is.
That said, there are alot of people who are suffering from the same mental issues, the same circumstances – even the same exact addictions who manage to not break the law. In fact, statistics show that the number of those with mental illness in jail have quadrupled. And prisons can often make many disorders even worse. And even to go through detox on their own or seek help. I do feel alot of compassion for anyone with addictions – i am a lifelong teetolar – meaning someone who chooses not to drink or drug…but my parents were addicts, i had an ex who was – but lets face it…this title is very misleading and inflammatory…they are not there due to a disease but for committing a crime. I do admit that we need better healthcare and better access to healthcare. But individuals need to make that choice for themselves. To seek help. Involuntary treatment will not help most people. If its not a true choice it won’t stick. They might go through the motions but will go back to the same exact behaviours. I do admit its better then jail where rape and abuse can give them even more reason to go back to drugs.
i edited and some is out of order – i do agree that drug addicts need help but they need to get i t on their own forced help won’t help.
Amy,
I think most addicts are self-medicating, so they have something wrong. It’s usually mental, or emotional pain. I just think when they get busted with drugs, they should have to go to a re-hab instead of jail. Sorry to hear about your childhood and ex. I hope you’re in a good place right now, it sounds like you are. And yes they get clean in jail and then things happen, so they just relapse when they get out. And so many die from relapse because their body can’t handle it anymore. Thanks for your comment.
Jody
I agree with both of these comments.
They should go for help – but not only because they are arrested for breaking the law and facing jail. Because, let’s face it, the reason they are being sent to jail is because they broke the law, not because of a disease.
It’s all so very sad. I do not understand why they do not take care of them and treat them while they are in jail. Wouldn’t that make the most sense?
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Drug Addicts should be sent to Re-hab to help them get off drugs and work with them longer than a month. A month is not long enough to kick the habit of depending on drugs. There has to be a complete change of life, the drug addict has to stay away from the old stomping grounds the friends that they hung around or they will go right back to drugs. It is so terrible, buy so many young people are dying each day in America from overdosing! This is a tradgedy. Long term rehab needs to be done-even in prison. But the states think it is cheaper to just throw a drug addict in prison and leave them their!