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It is well known that the United States puts more people in prison every year than any other country. Sadly, the majority of those locked up have been deemed drug offenders; drugs are illegal, having them is against the law, so then it stands to reason that those caught with drugs would go to jail. The problem with putting millions of people in jail for drug offenses has to do with the fact that drug offenders are generally sick. They suffer from a disease that transcends the boundaries of right and wrong, in many cases free will has been thrown out the window. Drug addicts who are sent to prison time and time again are not criminals and addicts do not deserve to be treated like criminals. Science has taught us a lot about the disease of addiction, giving us a better understanding of what is operating inside the addict's mind. Addicts are not morally corrupt and certainly are not short on willpower.
Lawmakers in Colorado are working hard to pass a bill that was presented at the Capitol Tuesday, in an attempt to keep drug offenders out of jail and into treatment. Both Republicans and Democrats are supporting the bill, even the district attorneys are on board. This bill is a wonderful prospect for the citizens of Colorado who are afflicted with addiction, nearly a quarter of 22,600 people in prison in Colorado are doing time for drug offenses. Those inmates who were charged with possession should be released to the custody of certified drug treatment facilities; prisoners sentenced for drug distribution would not be allowed to escape their sentence by going to rehab. Drug addicts and drug dealers need to be separated inside the minds of society, they are a completely different and do not deserve the same punishment.
When addicts are imprisoned it hardens the common misconception that an addict is a criminal, adding to the long lists of stigmas that already accompany an addict. States drain their coffers every year keeping addicts imprisoned; every inmate costs the tax payers $30,000 a year. That money could be channeled to education programs to help people better understand the disease of addiction, especially teenagers and young adults. Pete Hautzinger, the Mesa County District Attorney said, "Treatment can work and it's a far more just and effective use of resources. I have no interest in locking up someone who is an addict. I would much rather get them un-addicted and make them a productive member of society again".
The more states that realize prison is not effective rehabilitation, the better...
When being sentenced in court most people are trying to get less time. Nobody ever wants to serve longer than they have to, why would they? A man from Utah who was charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute is doing just that. Damon Conrow was sentenced Tuesday on a charge of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance after asking to "plead up" to a first-degree felony. The charge had been a second-degree felony, but Conrow wanted a longer sentence. Conrow believes that the more time he spends off the street, the better his chance at recovery is. The 25-year-old pleaded guilty in December to the charges, but, on Tuesday, 2nd District Judge Pamela Heffernan made a last ditch effort to allow Conrow one last chance to change his mind and withdrawing his plea - Conrow declined.
Conrow said to the AP that, "he'll soon be happier than he is now because he'll get off heroin. He said within about eight weeks of going to jail, he expects withdrawal symptoms to ease so he can start having normal sleeping patterns". Who knows maybe Conrow's decision will save his life, allowing him an opportunity to focus on recovery. The gift of twelve-step programs is that they can be found even behind iron bars and prison guards. The best place for Conrow is in a safe environment where he can focus on himself. Hopefully, Conrow will be able to find what so many other addicts and alcoholics find - peace of mind.
Conrow believes he needs more time in jail in order to lower the chance of relapse, why would the Judge stop him? However, it is a little surprising that the Judge didn't sentence him to a drug treatment facility? Treatment is the wiser choice for someone in the grips of their addiction. It will be interesting to see if Conrow's plan is a success.
Shocking news at NASA's hangers in Cape Canaveral, Florida at the Kennedy Space Center! If you can imagine just about anything, you can probably guess that it has been thought of before at NASA. Millions of instruments, thousands of people, and billions of ideas all floating around one place. One thing you may not think could be found at NASA would be illegal drugs; unfortunately, drugs were recently found in the hanger that houses the Space Shuttle Discovery. With a mission planned for March of this year, you have to wonder what is going on around NASA. Is it possible that there are people high on Cocaine working on the space shuttles?
The cocaine was found by a worker in a secure part of the hangar that is accessible by about 200 NASA employees and contractors, said NASA spokesman Allard Beutel. The bag contained a tiny amount of the illegal substance cocaine. “We do not tolerate the use of illegal substances for people who work on the orbiter,” said Robert Cabana, director of the Kennedy Space Center. That is comforting, but, you still have to wonder how cocaine could find its way into probably one of the most secure facilities in the world. NASA has and is drug testing and interviewing workers, as well as using drug-sniffing dogs to make sure that there are no other drugs that were "misplaced" by an employee. "Mr. Beutel said there was no problem with any of the Discovery’s hardware, nor was there any indication that any employees were under the influence while working in the facility", reported the Telegraph.
It is a fact of life that illegal drugs end up traveling with addicts to many jobs around the planet. Unfortunately, work is no deterrent when you are in the grips of your addiction; addicts have to get high on the job if they're going to make it through the work day without getting sick. When NASA identifies the source of the cocaine, I am confident that they NASA will suggest that the person(s) seek help and enter into treatment.
The world is beginning to look at drugs in a new way; we rest at the precipice of a revolution in drug legislation. More countries than ever are in agreement that the war on drugs has been a total failure creating an unstoppable monster. There is no question as to whether or not drugs play a huge role in the destruction of lives; the way in which drug offenders are policed and treated like second class citizens plays an even more devastating part. The best defense against drug addiction is education and the best defense against traffickers is less demand. Heavy fines and imprisonment only throw fuel on an already out of control fire. The argument that drugs are bad for you and that punishment is the only solution is not holding as much water as it once did. Countries around the world are focusing less on policing drug use; more emphasis is being placed on regulation and education.
Basically, it works like this: the illegal nature of drugs has caused the price of drugs to increase to the point where an addict needs to be rich to afford their addiction, addicts are forced to commit criminal acts like robbery and prostitution in order to compensate for their lack of inheritance, addicts break the law while getting high and they break the law while acquiring the money to afford the high. It's a vicious circle that usually ends tragically; the war on drugs has created a vacuum that traps addicts into a life where the only option is death or jail. I read an interesting article by Chris Middendorp who writes for the Sydney Morning Herald. Dealing with the subject, he made a good point: this is not about morals or laws, but, the overall welfare of human beings that should be the focus. "In several Latin American countries and in mainland Europe, legislators have already brought about significant reforms in drug policy in recent times. This has not involved an open-slather legalisation of drugs, but the decriminalisation of personal possession and use. Most famously, in 2001 Portugal decriminalised all drugs - from heroin to cocaine - and, to many people's surprise, overall drug use actually fell. In Switzerland, giving addicts free heroin in supervised clinics has been deemed a success, with begging, prostitution, homelessness and burglary all dropping dramatically. A national referendum in 2008 voted overwhelmingly to retain the program, which began as a trial in 1994".
America is on the verge of joining the mindset that the drugs are not the problem - we are. If money that was spent on policing drugs was diverted towards regulation and education it would be a big step forward. Not to mention that that is the only way we will ever deal a severe blow upon the drug cartels. Obama realizes that the war on drugs has been a failure and that we need to handle this differently; this could change everything, for years the USA has set many trends worldwide as far as a zero tolerance on drugs goes. If the United States takes a different route than many other countries would follow.
Parents in New York City and in other areas around the country have begun to drug test their kids. Home drug tests can be found at any pharmacy in the United States for a reasonable price. Discovering that there is a drug problem early can make a huge difference regarding how severe a drug problem gets. The quicker the problem is recognized the sooner it can be addressed; many drug addicts go undetected, by the time a problem is realized the addiction has gone completely out of control. It is for this reason that there are many adolescent drug treatment facilities available for parents to consider sending their children to for treatment.
Teenage years are the most critical years, the more drugs that are consumed in those years means the more developmental damage done. Parents suspecting their children of using drugs should test their kids; it could be that test that saves their life. In some places you can even get home drug tests for free from the police. ABC News reports, "Heroin is an epidemic here in Suffolk County [Long Island]," Sheriff Vincent DeMarco said. "I see the pain in parents' eyes. They're looking for something to combat their children's drug use". On Nov. 19, Suffolk County announced that it had purchased 16,000 drug testing kits, available for free for parents who want to test their children. The kits use litmus paper to test urine for six different drugs including methamphetamine, marijuana, heroin, Vicodin and Xanax. Since the program started parents have picked up nearly 450 of them".
It's never too early to intervene, but, sometimes it's too late. Your kids may think you're over parenting, that's simply not true; you are protecting your child's life. I encourage you to watch the Dr. Nancy Video dealing with this subject:
"Dec. 1: As drug testing for children gains in popularity nationwide, some parents in New York City are getting free at-home kits from the police. Are the testing kits really the best way to prevent drug use in kids?"
What if your secrets had the power to take the lives of innocent people? Every day millions of people struggle with the disease of addiction under the radar of their friends and family. The stigmas that accompany alcoholism drive many high functioning alcoholics into the closet. The thought of being branded an alcoholic by one's peers is too much for a mother or father that suffers from the disease to handle. High functioning addicts work overtime to cover up their problem, with the hope that they can go just one more day undetected.
Unfortunately, those same high functioning alcoholics are the people, the Diane Schuler's, we have seen in the news lately. Addiction can be invisible and go unchecked by friends and family for many years, then, tragically one day an accident takes place that strips innocent people of their lives. Oprah recently did a special covering the topic of mothers who have managed to hide their addiction from everyone and then were in horrific accidents. She talked with the family members of the people who died in the Schuler accident, as well toxicology experts who were involved with case. What is clearly evident is that many people, even after the accident, are in denial about the severity of Diane Schuler's problem; Schuler's husband even hired a private investigator to prove that the toxicology reports were false and that there is no way she was an alcoholic or was even drinking that day - let alone high on marijuana. Only three months after the accident, Oprah's special on Diane Schuler's accident points out and makes even more clear that it is very difficult to argue with science; there is no sense trying to prove that Schuler was not an alcoholic, what matters is spreading the message that we need to confront our loved ones if we suspect there is a problem.
Denial is a major component to addiction thriving inside people unchecked. Diane Schuler's family's protestations that there was no problem is very hard to believe given the evidence. Even after the tragedy, a tragedy that took seven innocent people's lives, Schuler's husband will not face the facts. This story has brought a surge of women who are stepping up and declaring that they have a problem which they have managed to hide; before anything tragic happens in their lives it is time to start speaking out to raise awareness. There is no reason children's lives should be placed in jeopardy, if you recognize that there is a problem with a friend or family member the responsible thing to do is speak out about it. You never know how many lives could be saved by a single act of concern; there are many support networks that can be tapped in order to save someone from the disease of addiction.
New studies into treating heroin have been taking place in Europe, especially in England where addiction specialists are realizing that it may be more beneficial for hard-to-treat addicts to be treated with the drug they are addicted to. Controversial to say the least, the study's findings have been quite shocking; it is a real possibility that heroin clinics will be set up throughout England to manage heroin addicts? Treating drug addicts with heroin, the addict's drug of choice, without a doubt should be a last resort choice. It seems relevant to point out that the study being performed in England benefits society much more than it benefits the addicts. The addicts who are being injected by government clinicians are still caught in the grips of addiction and it seems unlikely that they will become contributing members of society.
The study found that the use of street heroin was cut by three quarters and the crimes committed to get drugs were slashed by two-thirds. Great Britain decided that the cost of $22,000 per patient per year to provide, addicts who had failed at other forms of treatment, heroin was a wiser alternative to having addicts running the streets committing crimes to get their fix. The cost to imprison heroin addicts is almost 3 times more a year than supplying heroin in government run clinics. The streets are safer and the drug is administered in a more sanitary environment which cuts down on disease. John Strang, led the research team involved in this study at Britain's National Addiction Centre, associated with King's College in London. "Strang said the stubborn nature of heroin addiction is proof that getting addicts into treatment is really a shallow achievement, because many will eventually turn to drugs again. He believes this promising approach could change the way hard-to-treat addicts are treated and convince the government that the initial high cost offers good value", reported CNN.
This experiment is by no means the best way to help addicts become productive members of society. Providing heroin to addicts may cut down on crime and the amount spent annually to imprison such addicts; however, the likelihood that addicts high on heroin will be able to manage their lives while high is very small. Sure, the streets are safer but people are still shackled by their addiction and will never be relieved of the bondage if the government agrees to get people high year-round for free. Many of the most hardened drug addicts have managed to find sobriety and continue to maintain it without drug maintenance programs like methadone or Suboxone. Those individuals that are unwilling to surrender and ask for guidance will never find freedom form the disease of addiction.
10,000 people walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to raise awareness about drug and alcohol recovery on Saturday. The idea was to send the message that that there is help if you want it and that the disease of addiction is treatable. Only ten percent of the 22 million people suffering from the disease ever get the treatment they need despite there being several options available. New York State has repealed the harsh Rockefeller drug laws and is trying to replace incarceration with treatment; Governor Paterson was at 'The A & E Recovery Project ' to show his support for such a wonderful cause. "We are giving individual judges the opportunity to choose what will be a treatment protocol for defendants when they are sentenced," said Paterson. "We are giving people a second chance."
Smokey Robinson performed at the free concert for all the recovering addicts because he himself is one. According to WPIX TV, "My message to them is to get help immediately," said Robinson. "I don't care what source you use or where you go. Get help immediately."
Remember, September is National Recovery Month. And this September is the 20th Anniversary of the National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. Recovery events like this are happening across the United States. We invite you to watch this video from WPIX and celebrate your or your loved one's recovery.
The Emmy nominated Intervention has been changing peoples' lives, chronicling individuals in the grips of addiction. Every episode ends with the friends and family of the suffering addict taking part in an intervention to help convince them that they need treatment. The intervention part of recovery is perhaps the most important aspect, one that can be delicate and should be done a certain way with a professional mediator - the interventionist.
Intervention lets people know what options they have regarding treatment when they feel like they have nowhere to turn. Not only has this A & E program helped the people seen on the show but also the viewers who may be less informed about the recovery process. Success with recovery is never guaranteed; however, once the seed of recovery has been planted then the addict's chances exponentially increase. The friends and families of addicts are given tools necessary to confront the suffering individual and help them walk through the doors of treatment.
I encourage everyone to watch Intervention Monday evening, July 13 to see Bret's story. “Now 43, Bret once had a promising career in real estate. But the stress to make more money to provide for his family took its toll, and Bret became an alcoholic. Two years ago, Bret's family held an intervention and sent him to rehab programs, but he relapsed. His wife finally divorced him, he lost his job, and he continues to be totally focused on drinking. Having already tried an intervention, Bret's family must understand what they did wrong the last time in order to save his life this time around.”
If you are struggling with addiction, I hope that you will be able to watch this show with the expectation that you might take something from it that may guide you towards recovery. Recovery starts with the individual, but if success is to be achieved, both friends and family need to work and be a part of the recovery process, whether it is in the intervention itself or the family program at a drug treatment facility. To assist our patients and their families, Hope by the Sea has a family group program every Saturday from 9:30am to 11:30am and can also schedule for an individual session with our clinical director.
I will look forward to watching this episode. Let me know if you will be tuning in.
