America’s Drug Policy Sucks!!?
Question by bamafleck: America’s drug policy sucks!!?
Why are people being locked up for non-violent drug crimes. These people have a disease and the only hope for them is treatment. The annual cost for an inmate to stay in prison is about $ 25,000. The cost of an inpatient drug treatment center is $ 9,000. Yet only 40% of our prisons have drug treament programs, when 80% of inmates have a substance abuse problem!!
So who beliefs this too?
Sorry “believes”
So you’d rather have your tax dollars annually contribute to somebody in jail who will probably be back for the same offense unless treated? Give me a break. You probably never made a mistake huh? The problem with their mistake is it changed their brain functions!!
Hey martinam…do some research on addiction…And in violent crimes, punishment must come because there was an actual victim involved
Best answer:
Answer by A.C.Girl
What’s your question?
OK, well I think that luckily many communities are taking it upon themselves tohelp solve the problem. For instance, our local court has introduced several alternatives to jail time, including inpatient and outpatient drug treatment programs. These changes have been made in the recent legislative session. Perhaphs you should write to your local politicians and encourage moving towards the same direction in your community.
What do you think? Answer below!
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From Twitter:
Regardless of whether #Drug Treatment is received in “prison” or in a “spa” the treatment #programs are similarly Structured. #gethelp – by RoadToRehab (Road To Rehab)
A disease of their own making. IMHO, druggies and AIDs and a few others shold be rounded up and put to sleep. Why should my tax dollars pay for some sleaze bag that decided to inject or snort that stuff.
I question your statistics. It costs a lot more than $ 25,000 a year per inmate. But I totally agree with your point of view. Right wingers refuse to even consider that drug addiction and alcoholism are diseases. They’d rather punish people and rule over them. It is totally unreasonable.
Of course you are right! Look at Canada. They have a very successful drug treatment for non-violent drug addicts and they avoid the cost and ineffectiveness of our system.
The thing that bugs me the most about this country (aside from Bush and his cronies) is the fact when we have proof something else works we don’t try it. Our whole system is shot and needs a complete work over.
I am glad someone else can see this!
Are you guys awake? Seriously? Do you know how light the courts take it on drug offenses anymore? Spending a few days in jail for selling weed is a light sentence. I really question whether or not you are paying any attention to the sentences drug dealers get as of the last few years. Wake up, read a little info, find out before you ask a question about something because drug crimes get less and less crime everyday.
Our entire drug policy, and for that matter many others as well are poorly thought out, often, as in “The War On Drugs”, not only unwinnable, but the largest cause of all the crime associated with those drugs. Our laws also create a large body of criminals who really were mostly guilty of bad judgement, or having weak self control.
What is truly absurd about most of the drug laws, is the dishonest way in which they are presented, and that the absolutely false assumption are made on why their were passed in the first place. Almost every single drug law in this country was originally passed as a way of separating a specific group or race, or as a tool to effectively stigmatize them. The few hat weren’t passed for those reasons, were done for strictly economic ones, where a small elite group benefitted greatly by them. The rest are merely rote additions to existing laws to account for drugs not known back when the original laws were passed.
In many cases the laws are not even consistent, or valid in defining a drug. For instance, many are considered by law to be a narcotic, which by definaition can only consist of opiates, and their lab created analogs. Therefore a drug like cocaine can not by definition be a narcotic. The greatest hypocracy of all where drug laws are concerned, is that the most destructive, and dangerous one is legal, or at least legal for adults, despite years of evidence proving it’s damage to society as a whole. The reason for that, simply being that Prohibition was a failure, as it proved impossible to stop people from drinking, and all prohibition caused was creating crime, and making criminals rich supplying alcohol. it also made criminals out of otherwise good citizens. Despite the obvious fact that this is also true for all other drugs, no one, or few people seem willing to accept this truth.
For some reason society often is reactive rather than proactive.
So who pays the $ 9000 for the inpatient drug treatment? I know my employers benefits include drug treatment programs but a large number of people don’t have coverage or plans that include treatment for this. I also find that figure to be exceptionally low so I’m guessing you really mean outpatient.
Should non-violent drug crimes lead to a lockup? Maybe not for the first offense or two. Should a person convicted be required to complete a session at a drug treatment center? I’m going to say yes to that but I’d require that they pay for it out of their own pocket or be forced into a government run facility.
I’m actually guessing that most first time drug convicts aren’t going to jail initially so the ones in jail are likely repeat offenders who don’t want to be treated or don’t have the support system (family/friends) to help them through it. You can only try to help a person so much before you give up on them as a hopeless cause.
I think the answer to your question is quite simple. Don’t do drugs if it is against the law. WHY should it be against the law ONLY if the crime is violent?
WHY should the tax payer have to foot the bill for a criminal’s drug problem? If they sit in jail long enough they will be off drugs cold turkey. Keep them in longer to be sure and then MAYBE they won’t go back to drugs when they are released. That way no one is stuck with their rehab bill and eventually all the drug dealers will be put out of business.
There you go, problem solved. Say thank you.
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