Jaiden Sosa

Prof. Shana Creaney

ENGL 110

Sept. 27th, 2019

Rehabilitation for Drug Users

Drug addiction is a relapsing and chronic disease that is portrayed as uncontrollable, while it also alters the way the brain normally functions. Although a person may be trying a drug for the first time, taking drugs may become compulsive since a person’s ability to refuse a drug becomes compromised. Drug abuse has been an issue that has plagued this country for many decades and had often been the central point in politics and of discussion in the country. While it is widely known that it is a major issue, and while many politicians and organizations have prompted many beneficial programs that may help those in need of support, it is often seen that those that are in prison and are suffering from drug abuse are often forgotten about or neglected.

To decrease drug abuse and the distribution of drugs, in 1971 President Richard Nixon declared War on Drugs. War on drugs was a government-led initiative to stop illegal drug use in the United States. Drug abusers and drug dealers became prime targets of the operation and would face penalties if caught with any illegal substances. As a result, there was a drastic increase in prison populations. Although this operation was not effective, the United States has shown that there is indeed a drug problem happening in this country. A plan was put into effect to combat the war on drugs but unfortunately was unsuccessful.

While the purpose of the war on drugs was to correct any issues that were mostly related to drug addiction in this country, people were thrown into prison as punishment instead. In an article by the magazine The Huffington Post, “Just How Much the War on Drugs Impacts Our Overcrowded Prisons, In One Chart” by Kathleen Miles, shows how individuals are being convicted for drug use and as a result are overcrowding prisons. This is an opinion-based article where Miles purposefully includes a chart in the article called “U.S Prison Population” which shows how 98,554 number of inmates were convicted of drug offenses. Miles does this because she is trying to reach out to the government and persuade them into rethinking sentencing people to jail for drug-related crimes.

While most drugs are forbidden in jails, that doesn’t mean that prisoners refrain from finding a way to smuggle drugs into prison. Prisoners are building elaborate systems in and outside of jail to create and obtain their own drugs to have while incarcerated. In an article on the website “Prisoners and Addiction” on Drugrehab.com by Matt Gonzales says, the appropriate treatment that prisoners need to cope with their addictions is not being served to them while in prison (Gonzlez, 1). His purpose is to discuss the importance of how the effectiveness of treatment depends on the relationship between the therapist and the patient. His tone is concerning whether the type of services that are provided in prisons satisfies each individuals needs. In order to heal drug abuse behaviors, both the therapist and the patient must be willing to endure a therapeutic change process. In fact, research from the National Center on Addiction has shown that there are many benefits to prisoners who receive treatment in jail. “Those who receive treatment in prison are more likely to continue rehabilitation after having been released” (Gonzales, 2). The audience of this website are people who are looking to put themselves through rehabilitation, or anyone who is looking to help someone in need of rehabilitation. This is a dead giveaway because the name of the website is Drugrehab.com.

We tend to feed into the stereotype that those who are put in prison got themselves into that predicament and should be treated as such. One of the best ways to try and fight for treatment in prisons are through platforms that address rehabilitation. Although, this article is about prisoners and addiction, this article helps to reach out to an audience that has been through what prisoners go through dealing with drug abuse, but worse! The article helps to show these types of people how uncommon treatment is in prisons using a more empathetic approach to persuade its audience.“Recovering from addiction can be difficult. Upon their release, prisoners with substance abuse issues often return to environments that trigger drug cravings. This can lead to continued drug use and overdose” (Gonzalez 3). In hopes of using a more empathetic tone, he can influence his audience into speaking out against the unfair treatment and lack of resources that are not accessible to prisoners. Better strategies of special programs must be implemented where ex-abusers that were in the same situation as a current abuser, are able to support these people in becoming fully sober through the proper they need and deserve. By using the pathos approach, the author can easily shift the masses into pushing towards what he is trying to express.

In a scholarly journal titled, “Exploring prison drug use in the context of prison-based drug rehabilitation” by Kristian Mjåland, is a research-based essay that goes into detail about the data collected from exploring the different perspectives of drugs in prison by inmates and prison staff. According to his findings, while it said that rehabilitation is available to prisoners, they don’t take advantage of their options. Why would inmates get themselves clean when getting their fix of drugs is just as accessible. There isn’t much that correctional staff can do because they themselves believe that this is something that happens in prison. In an interview between drug counselor Hildge from Kollen prison and Mjåland Hildge says, “You’ve got 60–70%, 80% perhaps, who are substance abusers. And of course, they don’t quit just like that … .when they come in here. That’s just how it is” (1). This is when the question of what is the point of having rehabilitation in jail arises when prisoners themselves don’t care about getting sober. If prisoners do not care, then neither will the staff. His tone urges for rehabilitation and its necessity, but it’s never going to work without a reform of the prison system. Being that his audience is clearly prison staff, Mjåland is trying to persuade them into caring about the well-being of an inmate. They can not continue to let prisoners kill themselves and not have the staff care about it. It is simply unethical.

In an article on the newspaper website The Guardian, titled, “Out of control’: prison watchdog warns of synthetic drug crisis” discusses the chaos that the drug epidemic has been causing in prison. More prisoners are dying every other day because of the constant drug use in prison, and it seems that the staff doesn’t have a solution to this problem. The report says that it is fair that the staff wouldn’t have a solution to this kind of problem because most of the time officers themselves are unaware that prisoners are using “illicit drugs” until it’s too late (1). The general tone of the article is the tone of disappointment because overdosing on drugs in prison has become the new normal. This article serves to show how most of the deaths that are happening in prisons can be avoided but are happening due to a lack of treatment and care.

The answer to all of these issues that are plaguing prisons and those with addictions in prisons is to simply reform the prison system in the country. If it is not obvious enough, the intended audience of this article is the government. Most of these problems are due to the corruption in the prison system in which the federal government is running. For those who ultimately oversee the entire prison system in this country, death is meaningless because to them it’s just another number. Officers themselves are smuggling drugs into prisons for their own benefit. They’re bringing drugs into the jails and charging inmates a higher fee than what a person would pay if they were not incarcerated. Desperate, inmates will buy these drugs to satisfy their withdrawals. With this, officers will see no need to emphasize the reform of the prison system because the current system is working in their favor. As long as these people are in charge, no inmate will ever receive the proper assistance they need because reform will never come.

Prisoners are becoming more desperate and feeding into the correctional officers who are luring them into buying drugs. They’re not actually there to help inmates but rather they’re there to look good in the government’s eyes. Prisoners are becoming sick and are dying. Once an inmate dies then that’s less money that the government has to pay for one inmate. The war on drugs became more of a way for the government to take advantage of people and make a profit off of them. In an article “Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations – A Research-Based Guide” on Drugabuse.org says, the price for rehabilitating someone costs about $14.6 billion a year, compared to the price of the government supporting the cost of incarceration is $113 billion a year (1). Although there is money being spent on trying to support the two, rather than throw someone in prison to “learn their lesson” regarding a drug offense, send those individuals to receive the help they need. It is said that if the proper treatment and care are given to drug abusers then the cost of incarceration and the cost of rehabilitation will balance themselves out. Prison will not allow for inmates to become sober if the environment that they’re in is just as toxic to do so. It has also shown that “treatment also consistently has shown costs associated with lost productivity, crime, and incarceration across various settings and populations” (2). Treatment has shown to be cost-effective because its benefits outweigh the expense of providing someone their required treatment. This can potentially also puts the government at an advantage in focusing on funding for better prison treatment and care reform. This article does a good job of creating a balance that shows us how prisoners can become more proactive in their lives. Prisons will become less crowded, and as a result prisoners serve less time in prison because the government is getting involved in the prison system in a more proactive way. With overall awareness in better care and treatment for drug addicts in prison, they’ll receive the help they need to prove themselves to be better people.

War on drugs is one of those things where not all that glitters is gold. Once you peel off what’s on the outside you see what’s actually on the inside. I’ve concluded that the war on drugs has become more beneficial to the government rather than the prisoners themselves. Rehabilitation is provided in jails for prisoners, but are not utilized appropriately due to an unjust criminal system. For this reason, inmates are receiving little care and treatment regarding their drug habits.

 

Works Cited

Gonzales, Matt. “Prisoners and Addiction.” Drug Rehab, 17 May 2018, www.drugrehab.com/addiction/prisoners/,

Grierson, Jamie. “’Out of Control’: Prison Watchdog Warns of Synthetic Drug Crisis.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 Oct. 2018, www.theguardian.com/society/2018/oct/11/out-of-control-prison-watchdog-warns-of-synthetic-drug-crisis.

Miles, Kathleen. “Just How Much The War On Drugs Impacts Our Overcrowded Prisons, In One Chart.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 7 Dec. 2017, www.huffpost.com/entry/war-on-drugs-prisons-infographic_n_4914884.

Mjaland, Kristen. “Exploring Prison Drug Use in the Context of Prison-Based Drug Rehabilitation.” Taylor & Francis, 12 Feb. 2016, www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/ 10.3109/09687637.2015.1136265.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Is Providing Drug Abuse Treatment to Offenders Worth the Financial Investment?” NIDA, Apr. 2014, www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-abuse-treatment-criminal-justice-populations/providing-drug-abuse-treatment-to-offenders-worth-f.