:angry: Ok my man is a first time drug offender and he has been sentenced to 32 months in California state prison. If there are any people out there that feel as though the system is not working right for the drug offenders. Please hear me out on this one. I have e-mailed our governor about a solution for drug offenders. I feel as though a prison sentence is to extreme for drug offenders. They will put our love ones in with violent criminals which in turn will then turn them that way because they are doing nothing to help these guys or girls to get over their addicitions or as some people say their disease. These people need counseling not an incarceration sentence. If you feel like me let me know.

Hey I know what you mean and I agree with you.My husband is a first time drug offender.They sentenced him to 15 yrs. that is never gonna work. God is gonna open those doors and bring him home.there is long storry behind all this and i can't go into it.He was caught up in political game because it is election year.I believe with all my heart that they are going to get him out this year....He was already rehabilitated before they sentenced him.They do need to change drug laws!!!!!!

I hear you mine is in for a first time non violent drug offense,sentenced to 3 years,he has been down for 11 months so far.i miss him so much and i think this system is so unjust and corrupt,i live in florida and the govenors daughter got caught falsifing{spelling???}and writing her own prescritions and she did not go to prison for that...so unfair

my friend got busted also first time and he got 14 years on conspirasy charges with no evidence. and is doing federal time. I feel alot of these laws should be changed. rapist get less time. if you rob a bank you get less time our system doesnt make any sense. then again either does our government.:mad: take care I hope everything works out for you, mine has 9 more to go

Donna

I would prefer to see a treatment program that REALLY works instead of sending people to prison for drug offenses. I know that some people will say that it works only if you want it to and let it. I agree.
BUT~~~
I saw something on tv about a year (or 2) ago where people can go to a hospital, be sedated (sleeping) while they go through withdrawals (which can last a while) and the success rate is VERY high. It's almost like they take the addiction right out of you somehow and most of the patients didn't even have the cravings anymore. At the end of the show, they did a follow up and most of the people were still clean.
I guess it costs lots of $$ to do the procedure, but I think if there could be some kind of Government funding, prisons wouldn't be so overcrowded and the state(s) could save a lot more money for their budgets.

I would prefer to see a treatment program that REALLY works instead of sending people to prison for drug offenses. I know that some people will say that it works only if you want it to and let it. I agree.
BUT~~~
I saw something on tv about a year (or 2) ago where people can go to a hospital, be sedated (sleeping) while they go through withdrawals (which can last a while) and the success rate is VERY high. It's almost like they take the addiction right out of you somehow and most of the patients didn't even have the cravings anymore. At the end of the show, they did a follow up and most of the people were still clean.
I guess it costs lots of $$ to do the procedure, but I think if there could be some kind of Government funding, prisons wouldn't be so overcrowded and the state(s) could save a lot more money for their budgets.
I agree... Drug Treatment programs really do work. Over here in the U.K. they have been drug offenders to them rather than to prison. The reoffence rate has lessened. Maybe the U.S. should follow suit! But sayin that, the Prison System is a Multi billion $ business over there, so they wanna keep making money by locking up people unnecessarily! :mad:

:p It is good to see that alot of people agree with me. I have thought about a program that everyone can use. People that don't have love ones in our same situation don't understand and don't agree with my plan but this would work if everyone would do it. Ok I will try to make it simple:
1st time offenders: rehab for the next year
2nd time offenders: rehab for a year plus your prior sentence
3rd time offenders: rehab for even longer
your last and final time: rehab center for life

but this is what should happen while you are there: you go through intense counceling for the first 3 months, then you are evaluated, if it is good you go to work program, then you are re-evaluted again and put into society if everything is good for you. Your visitation would be just the same as prison due to the fact that you are trying to fix your life and being away from people and learning how much you have hurt them and yourseld might help too. So instead of more prison facilities they should take a few of them and make them rehab centers. Take the violent crime criminals and put them all together and the drug offenders put them all together. No regards to their prior convictions due to the fact most of them have rehabilitated themselves from their priors. There are alot of other things that will go with this too, but I can't go into it it will take to long.

Thanks for the support:thumbsup:

The states say they want to help but in the end it is all about money. They would rather send someone to prison so they can get their annual money instead of sending someone to a rehab where they would half to dish out the money. Here in Ohio they get over $40,000 a year for an inmate. Even if the state gives someone a year and they are in for 4 months they still get that whole years worth in money that goes to the prison. Maybe some day the laws will change and I hope they do but it all becomes a politcal game in the end.

My fiance is a first time, nonviolent drug offender and he got 60 years. This is soooo unfair!!!! He has been in almost 7 years so far (7 yrs clean yippie). I'm trying everything possible to get him out sooner.

If anyone comes up with a good solution on how to try and change the system, sign me up for that bandwagon.

All I can say is in prison they can get drugs...So how can this help someone ? It can't, plus look who they are in with...But the state gets money and do the courts really care? No..or they would put them in a half way house or a hospital..But there is no money for the state that way..He really got alot of time for drugs...I'll keep you and yours in my prayers...minnie:cool:

:angry: They will put our love ones in with violent criminals which in turn will then turn them that way because they are doing nothing to help these guys or girls to get over their addicitions or as some people say their disease. These people need counseling not an incarceration sentence. If you feel like me let me know.

I understand what each of you are saying, my husband is also in as a drug-offender and although I do feel rehab would have been more suitable, this was definitely a loud wake-up call for all of us that it has effected. Please keep in mind though, PTO is an open community and has various forums for each and every member to relate to (i.e. Sex Offenders, Violent Crimes, Drug Offenders) and no one has the right to judge what others have done. We are here for support, so please remember that when you are speaking about other people's crimes. Everyone makes their own decisions, no one puts a gun to their heads to do it, so if one chooses to do more "violent" crimes compared to their "drug" crimes then that is the choice that they made. I have heard wonderful stories about how men and woman have changed for the best and ignored what was going on inside the prisons around them. I have also heard stories of just the opposite. Again, it is a decision that one chooses to make once they are in there.

• PTO Community Purpose:
The purpose of the Prison Talk Online community is Prisoner & Family Support, Information and Assistance. While we welcome people with other view points seeking to learn more, anything beyond friendly questions will NOT be tolerated. PTO is not a forum open to debating whether or not anyone should be in prison, should prisoners and their families have rights, etc. Anyone who is hostile to our purpose will be immediately blocked from the community and all of their posts will be deleted. This will be the ONLY WARNING and no notice will be given.

I am moving this thread to the Drug War forum, please continue your discussion on only the issue of being a drug offender and not how it compares or how other offenders will effect a drug offender. Thank you.

Sweetea
Forum Leader

i dont think it matter what type of offender they are put with, the point is they are all offenders and wind up in there.

Thank you for understanding the underlying line here Johnnys Angel....lets keep it on topic though...which was:

"If there are any people out there that feel as though the system is not working right for the drug offenders."

My son is also a first time drug offender. He was sentenced to 15 years and has been gone 16 months. he will serve 5 years of that 15. so we are looking at 08/28/2007 before he comes home. i think that they could have sent him to rehab or maybe even a boot camp(if virginia had such a thing). He wasnt addicted to the drugs but to the dealing. He loved the high he got from dealing. He said it was such a high to transport drugs and wonder if he would make it to the customer before getting caught. well he didnt and now he is paying for what he did. Is it fair? i would have to say NO.But the law is not going to change, so we have to accept what has happened. As someone has already stated it is a money industry.

oops sorry sweapea!!! What i was trying to say was that some people just do drugs, tehy should be rehabilitated, those that so drugs and commit crimes should get time and get rehabilitated while in there. I agree taht if someone is caught with a small posession (and wasnt intent to distr.) they deserve otehr treatment as well as otehrs that are caught under the influence, but once a cirme is commited such as robbery burglary assault and other such things where it involves other people or other peoples property then i think otherwise

:angry: Ok my man is a first time drug offender and he has been sentenced to 32 months in California state prison. If there are any people out there that feel as though the system is not working right for the drug offenders. Please hear me out on this one. I have e-mailed our governor about a solution for drug offenders. I feel as though a prison sentence is to extreme for drug offenders. They will put our love ones in with violent criminals which in turn will then turn them that way because they are doing nothing to help these guys or girls to get over their addicitions or as some people say their disease. These people need counseling not an incarceration sentence. If you feel like me let me know.
May I ask? Who will be paying for all of these rehab stints???Doing or selling drugs is a CHOICE that people make... I truly believe that most of our men ( mine as well) are in prison for making piss poor choices and being basically selfish and not thinking about the children and spouses, girlfriends, parents that they leave outside to deal with all of this!! An inmate seldom does time alone.. WE are all doing it with them...

I have 3 different ex friends that went through rehab and guess what? id didnt do a damn thing for any of them!! they were right back at it the minute they got out. My tax dollars paid for that little holiday they took...well not just mine lol i'm not in that high a tax bracket! I honest to God believe that if you make the decisions to clean your act up and mean it from your heart, then you can do it and there wont be a second offense or third, etc...
I am not pleased the father of my child is in prison! BUT, it has brought him a certain kind of religion he sadly needed!! A hell of a wake up call...I will stand by him and help see him through this, but should he do it again , I would not put my family through it again.. anyone can make a mistake, but to do it again is stupidity if you ask me...
Thank you for listening...

PSMITH- no one is going to hate you for your opinions! Everyone has a right to their own, and in my opinion your post makes alot of sense.
I don't always agree with sending non violent drug offenders to prison, but I dont believe that rehab is going to work if they don't want to be clean.
My boyfriend did time for a violent offense (car jacking ultimately because of drugs- doesn't excuse what he did) and then he went back a couple years later on a parole violation because he couldn't get off heroin.
I was mad as hell at him for going back, at the system for taking him back, and at me for allowing it all to happen! (or sticking around while it did)
I don't know if prison helped him or not- he is home and he is clean right now and that is because he chooses to be.
He got clean while in prison, and he stayed clean- which we all know there are definitely drugs in prison.
So, did going back to prison do anything for him? Well, it kept him alive when i know that if he had stayed on the path he was on- he would be dead.
It's such a complicated issue, and I do not know the answers. I know that before my boyfriend went back to prison, he was trying to quit using. He got on a methadone treatment, and that was what ultimately sent him back to prison-(being forced off it by his parole officer) He was ready to quit, but couldnt' on his own. Would rehab of helped? Definitely- however if you can't afford it, or insurance doesn't cover it- it's tough. If he had not been ready to quit, nothing- not prison, not rehab- nothing would have helped him.
I understand the anger at having your loved one locked up because of drugs cuz I was that angry too.
However, I think I was ultimately angry at him for choosing to do what he did.
I dunno- It's a hard road to travel, and I definetly agree that drug offenders tend to get more time then I personally think they should. (but who am I? LOL)
I wish there was a solution to this- is there? Yea, don't use. However, it's not that simple.
There are so many levels of drug use, there's the addicts, the dealers, those who deal just a little bit, those who buy just a little bit, it's insane. Who deserves to go to prison and who deserves rehab?
Wow- I have typed a whole lot here, and I am not sure what I have even said! lol
I guess what I am trying to say is that loving an addict can be quite difficult, especially if they are locked up, and especially if they are not locked up but still in active use.
I feel for everyone who is in this situation cuz I was in it, (and am very aware that I will always be a few steps from it) and I know how much it hurts.

My husband always said that what he was doing was wrong.He never denied that.The fact that the judicial system doesn't work the same way for everyone is the problem.I believe that first time drug offender's should at least get a chance at probation and drug treatment.My husband was not offered either one.It was either plead guilty or your wife goes to prison.He had just picked me up from work when they stopped him for having no tag on the rear of his Semi truck.Law officer's should know that the tag goes on the front bumper of a big truck,and that should have stopped the whole thing,but it didn't!! The arresting officer told the DA that I had nothing to do with it.He didn't care,he wanted a conviction.By throwing me in the middle of it ,they got my husband to plead guilty.He asked them to file for probation since it was his first offense.The DA didn't want that, he wanted jail time.These type of drug charges and the way the court system handles them is the reason the system is so overcrowded.If they would only give them a second chance to prove themselves, I believe being arrested the first time would be enough for some of these guy's.If they didn't learn from that experience,then give them some time to serve.I also believe that no matter who you are and how much money you have or who you know shouldn't be a factor in how you were sentenced.But it happen's all the time no matter where you live!!!There are sveral cases in this county that people got special priveledge because of who there parents were.THAT IS WRONG!!!!!!!!

Just to add a little to what I said earlier.My husband had been clean almost 3 yr's before they had indicted him.He had even accepted Jesus Christ as his lord and savior,working with the youth in our church and he also started a food bank in our community. Does this sound like the type of person who needed to be sentenced to 15 yr's.He just graduated SAP class Yesterday.I posted this somewhere else, but I will do it here to.He was voted for these things by his class mates and his counselor's agreed.
1)most dedicated to his recovery
2)most likely to never come back
3)the one they want as there role model
4) the one they wanted to speak for there class
I am not just saying good thing's because he is my husband and I love him.These are thing's other's have said about him.The DA said he knew he had changed his life, but he didn't care.That is what makes you very angry with the system!!

I live in Ohio, and it's something how many years they give people on a non violent drug case.....especially if it's their first offense of any kind. I do NOT have any prior criminal record what-so-ever, and I'm waiting on the grand jury to decide if they're going to indict and charge me on conveyance (of illegal drugs) and I could face up to 5 yrs. in prison with a $10,000 fine.

My man was addicted to drugs also. Because of the drugs, he committed a few crimes so he would have money or whatever to get more of the drugs. He needed help but couldn't get off of them. I beleive that they should try to rehabilitate the inmates before sending them to prison. If they continue to do crime and make the "choice" to use again, then send them to prison to give them a wake up call! Our system does need to change a bit and give drug users a better chance for being crime free in the future *hence, rehibilitate & help them get over their urges for the drugs so they "will" be crime free* But also our loved ones will need us to help walk them through it, showing our support, even holding their hand and going to meetings with them so they will be drug free. If they know they are not alone during this hard time, then guess what, most likely they will continue to be clean because they don't have to do it alone and know we love them & they won't "use" to use as an excape. I hope I didn't get off topic but I hope you all feel me LOL.

The first thing we all agree on is that unless a person wants to quit and stay clean, it is not going to happen. My husband is a meth user and he got busted in March. We are just now headed to dockett. He has told his lawyer that he wants to pead guilty t his charge and take whatever comes his way. He is cleanand has been since the bust. Someone said it earlier, that first time scared him clean! He said it only took one time looking down the barrel of that gun and realizing that cop could have pulled the trigger and said it was an accident or that my husband tried to run or whatever. He has never been in trouble before, but prison is a real possibility for us as this is the "Great state of Texas" Pray for us y'all and I will keep you posted! Good Luck to everyone here and Here's hoping that you are reunited with your loved ones very soon!

Amen to all of you!! my boyfriend was a first time drug offender and he has just been sent to a federal prison for 40 months with no opportunity for parole, then he has to spent 6 months in a halfway house. he had gun charges but they eventually were dropped. now he's trying to get into that drug class that knocks of 18 months of the sentence. does anyone know about that? what is the government thinking. these are non-violent people that have never been in trouble before that they are locking up. i saw on the news the other day that a man sexually molested his 2 step daughters, one of whom was handicaped, for 7 years and all he got was 6 months in jail. what is wrong with this picture? i know they want to fight the war on drugs, but why take up jail space with non violent drug offenders. they can still get access to the drugs in prison!! what they need is good extensive drug treatment and rehabilitation to help them with there addiction so they can move on and still have a happy healthy successful life

I miss my baby ... we'd barely gotten started with what could've been a beautiful life 2gether .... he was in the wrong place at the wrong time ... not his lab, not his house ... he didn't even know it was there ... until it exploded .... The man responsible named names of his clients and what-not and today he walks free while my baby serves 6 more years...

A female friend of mine is in for meth. She was released but busted probation and is now back in.

With that said, I agree with the earlier post asking where all the rehab money will come from. When "the government" pays, well, that me, and you, and everyone else, and to be quite honest, we're paying all we can afford to. At least I am. Anyone not paying all they can are welcome to throw their extra money in and make a rehab center, but I'm taxed to the gills as it is.

Please remember, I say this with a friend in jail, but the bottom line is that she has to want to quit before any rehab will work. And wanting to quit and being with family will be her best rehab. It's up to her, in the end, to rehabilitate. Not the system, or society, or the gov't, or anyone else. And she has the same chance to walk away from the stuff as I do.

I guess what I'm saying is that maybe it's not the system that failed the person. At least first. And it seems to be a little on the "hopeful" side to hope or expect the "system" to have more respect for the person than the person has for themself.

As for the people who were scared straight, that's wonderful, and I hope they maintain it. But people go to jail for crimes they committed (with all due respect to those wrongfully jailed). Not for being a "bad person" at the time of the trial.

I hope this hasn't offended anyone. I've just found that adopting the most realistic and responsiblity-oriented philosophy helps me the most.

I would like to voice my opinion, I do agree that if any person commits a crime they should be punished. True. But to what extend. A first time offender with a non-violent criminal charge, in my opinion should be given the opportunity to be rehabilitated. Now we not only have first time drug offenders in prison caught because they had a habbit of drugs, we have first time drug offenders that never took drugs in there life. What does a drug rehab do for these offenders, nothing because they did not wind up in prison for being addicts, but in prison for living in the fast lane. Why, because alot of these criminals grow up in a home with no fathers (because there fathers are either dead, in prison, or dead beat dads) , while the mother is out there trying to make a living, these offenders are out there taking the streets as there parents. And of course what is in the streets, Crime. Especially in urban cities. The government has cut so many after school programs that it is hurting our children, thats why so many of these kids take to gangs and crime, now if some of these offenders come out of jail and try to make a better life for them selves by returning to school, the government doesn't help either........any person with an offence is not able to get financial help.......I know they have a time limit on how long an offender has to wait, but why? If a person is trying to better them selves why do they have to wait. because there is no money to help.......on top of that they can't even find them selves a decent job because not to many companies hire people with crimes. The government is to busy spending money building prisons and paying to lock up our children......they don't seem to help us out where the problem truly begins. IN OUR CITIES - Cutting school programs, the arts, low paying jobs, REHABILITATION , it cost more to house an inmate....than some people who make minimum wage. Its a vicious circle......and its only getting worst. I don't believe they should call prisons Department of Corrections, they should call it Department of PUNISHMENT. No matter what the case, or what type of offence a person commits, I believe in Rehabilitation. And for these drug users, I am not a user, but I do know it is a disease, and some might need help longer than others, thats why these programs should be life long for users. An addict will always be an addict even if they are not using. No person is the same, we all think different, but we should all be able to agree in one thing. THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT SPENDING MONEY WHERE THEY SHOULD, in our communities, jobs, health cost, and education, REHABILITATION insteady they take our tax dollars and spend it the way they want, and that is the truth.

God bless PTO

I don't want to sound harsh....although I do agree that drug offenders should be afforded the opportunity to be rehabilitated, they still committed a crime and should face some sort of punishment. Drugs are not something that is forced on someone it is a choice, in the beginning stages. The addiction does take over but the person did make the decision to use the drugs in the first place knowing full well that possession of that drug was a crime. I do think that the sentencing is too harsh. I'm not speaking from the outside looking in. My husband is facing federal time for possession and this is not his first offense. Do I think he would have made better decisions had he went thru drug rehab the first time instead of priso?. I can't answer that. I can say that he knew what he was doing was wrong and punishable by law then and now and has the face the consequences of his decisions. I just hope it's not too much time:)

Prison is for punishment, not rehab.

And, I don't believe taxpayers should foot the bill for rehab. If you choose to use drugs, you need to be responsible for that choice. Many addicts will do anything to get money to buy more drugs. Yet, they don't seem very interested in footing the bill for their own rehabilitation. Yes, rehab is expensive. But, add up the monetary cost of one addicts drugs and I'm quite sure the amount of a stint in rehab is less costly.


"THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT SPENDING MONEY WHERE THEY SHOULD, in our communities, jobs, health cost, and education, REHABILITATION insteady they take our tax dollars and spend it the way they want, and that is the truth."

While it is true, and always has been so, that the government misspends taxpayers' money, I cannot for the life of me see how it the responsibility of the government to attempt to rehabilitate ANYONE, whether that be alcoholics/drug addicts, sex offenders, shopaholics, etc. These are active choices one makes and that absolutely is the responsibility of the offender and no one else. It's so easy to blame the government and expect them to fix the lives of offenders, but that is just another lie that addicts tell themselves to avoid the reality of the choices they've made.

Please tell me you are kidding. Do you not know how most "Addicts" get money. They LIE, CHEAT & STEAL. You tell me what part of that has to do with getting money for rehab. Your right on one thing.. Your obviously NOT understanding about rehab. I myself am a recovering alcoholic and "meth head". And let me tell you that REHAB saved my life. Government houses prisoners and we pay for that. Well if they were rehabilitated don't you think they would have a better chance of NOT re-offending?? I think you have NO CLUE what your talking about, and you really shouldn't touch these subjects unless you are well informed..GOD BLESS you i'll be praying for you!

Unfortunately, many in prison are unwilling/unable to really open up about their addictions and feelings, both being considered somewhat of a weakness while on lock. To me it is so frustrating, many are in prison because of addiction/supporting a habit. It cost's at least 3 times as much to house a prisoner for a year than it does to send them to inpatient rehab for a year. Prison does almost nothing to address the issues of addiction, decision making skills, life skills, job skills, parenting skills, etc. So, many times there really is no growth, no movement forward. They just get warehoused for whatever length of time they are serving and return to the same situations they left. Except they now carry the stigma of having a felony/prison record, which makes it even harder to find employment. Which once again begins the cycle of feeling like a failure, self-medicating, turning to crime to support themselves/their families, being picked up on new charges or violating the terms of their parole/probation. And so on, and so on. The system is broken, and until more resources are available to help treat addiction, the cycle will continue to repeat itself for many.

Please tell me you are kidding. Do you not know how most "Addicts" get money. They LIE, CHEAT & STEAL. You tell me what part of that has to do with getting money for rehab. Your right on one thing.. Your obviously NOT understanding about rehab. I myself am a recovering alcoholic and "meth head". And let me tell you that REHAB saved my life. Government houses prisoners and we pay for that. Well if they were rehabilitated don't you think they would have a better chance of NOT re-offending?? I think you have NO CLUE what your talking about, and you really shouldn't touch these subjects unless you are well informed..GOD BLESS you i'll be praying for you!

I absolutely know what I'm talking about. I'm a recovering addict myself and I paid for my own rehab. Because I don't agree with you does not make me clueless. Clueless is the one who assumes to know anything about another based on a post that dissents from popular opinion - at least around here. Further, I will touch whatever subject I choose.

Addicts make excuses all the way around. It's their addiction that made them do it. They wouldn't be criminals if they weren't addicts first. It makes me sick that people refuse to take responsibility for themselves and expect the government to take care of everything for them.

Have a good day.

My two (okay, maybe three or four) cents:

Rehab is a wiser financial choice for taxpayers because it carries the potential of reducing recidivism. Prison costs the nation a fortune.

Rehab doesn't work much of the time. Neither does chemotherapy for certain cancers. That doesn't mean we stop searching for ways to improve the effectiveness of treatment for these diseases. If we are able to continually develop more effective modes of rehabilitation, we will realize a truly impressive return on the investment in terms of savings on drug war costs, and we'll be able to take pride in the honor and compassion of our country.

Rehab does work sometimes. I am a recovering addict through AA and NA, and I know a lot of folks who got the help they needed in rehab. It's always worth trying.

At the very least, there should be rehab given to first time offenders who committed addiction-driven crimes, like selling or making drugs. I think we all know that most people in the drug business are addicts with serious habits. Before we break up an addict's family and saddle him or her with a criminal record that will hold all but the most heroic at the bottom of the economic ladder for life, we should at least offer one chance. It's only human, and we could save a mint on future incarcerations if it works.

Choice, for addicts, isn't often possible. What many people don't understand is that addiction is a mental illness that actually erodes a person's ability to choose. Most users start as youths, when a person's decision-making skills are notoriously poor. I believe I was an addict/alcoholic before I ever used or drank, and exposure to those things merely activated the disease from latent to full-blown. That we incarcerate people for having this illness is shameful, I believe.

Prison does stop some people. It stopped my ex-husband, to an extent. But perhaps rehab would have as well. I'll never know.

If we truly want rehabilitation, we need to restore inmate's access to education. And we need to work to decrease resistance to hiring those with felony records.

When I studied sociology in college, I learned that seperating inmates by type of crime reduces recidivism. It's not clear why, but that's what studies have shown.

There are places in which trafficking in drugs is a capital crime. They still have drugs. Drugs can kill you, and people still do them. If a person is in the grip of a sufficiently powerful addiction, no matter what penalty you impose, you will be unable to deter that addict. The penalty is not the ultimate answer, although it may be the most convenient for now because it all we know how to do. WE NEED TO LOOK FOR A CURE.

my thing here is, is rehab more cost effective than the conservative estimate of say 22 to 27 thousand dollars, per year- to house an inmate? then why not expect the government to help offset the cost? the money is already drawn in the budgets for goodness sake.

secondly I think of addictions as a symtom of something deeper- depression bi polar, you name it. if you don't uncover the force that drives the person to do what they do, you're not really treating addiction. it's a major lifestyle change and with it, you have to change the way you think after your body is done with any possible withdrawls, and gets back to a normal balance. you can't send someone who likes to smoke crack thru his old streets that he used to haunt, to pick up a pack of smokes.. more often than not- they will justify (just five minutes to say hi) and then it'a two days later.

thirdly I would like to point out here, that I read in an article the other day, almost 6 out of every ten prisoners in the US are there stemming from drug charges. the prison business is bigger than porn and baseball!they want to kepe locking them up!

This is correct which leaves 4 out of 10. Out of that 4 out of 10 a large proportion of them are still there as a result of drugs, its just that they got caught doing a crime to get drug money and didnt get caught with drugs.

[QUOTE=thirdly I would like to point out here, that I read in an article the other day, almost 6 out of every ten prisoners in the US are there stemming from drug charges. the prison business is bigger than porn and baseball!they want to kepe locking them up![/QUOTE]