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Essay On Return To Drug Use And Overdose After Release From Prison

1561 Words7 Pages

Addison Hicks
Ms. Duke
CA III/W3
27 February 2023
American Punishment: Rehabilitation Substitutes Incarceration
A person whose life falls victim to the ongoing problem of substance abuse dwindles down into the hands of the state, thus deciding an individual’s punishment. Each year, more than 20 million people suffer from the use of drugs. Whether these be cocaine, heroin, LSD, marijuana, methamphetamine, or nicotine. The majority of these offenders end up in places such as prisons, leading to the issue of overcrowding. As overpopulation in prisons grew, society needed a better alternative. Thus, the legal practice of rehabilitation came to be. In the 1800s, rehab was being practiced and tested on several perpetrators. The method was even once …show more content…

In the article “Return to Drug Use and Overdose After Release from Prison: a Qualitative Study of Risk and Protective Factors,” the following themes are discussed, “1.) relapse to drugs and alcohol, 2.) former inmates experience drugs in living environments, 3.) intentional overdose.” No matter the time an inhabitant of the prison system serves, the same outcome occurs. This offers the idea of no change resulting from the time spent; no counseling or communication about a crime takes place. According to Donald Harline, “95% of incarcerated addicts use drugs again after they're released, and 60 to 80% will commit a new crime.” 60 to 80% is the majority, with this amount of people committing new crimes once released and relapsing on those same drugs, no change has been made. The cycle is never-ending. Prison is not the correct method of betterment for a drug abuser, daily counseling and communication are key factors in the pathway to a life …show more content…

“Rehab vs. Jail Time: How Drug Rehab Provides a Path to Recovery.” Peace Valley Recovery, 9 December 2021, https://www.peacevalleyrecovery.com/blog/rehab-vs-jail-time/. Accessed 25 January 2023.
"Rehabilitate or Punish?" Https://www.apa.org, www.apa.org/monitor/julaug03/rehab.
"Return to Drug Use and Overdose After Release from Prison: a Qualitative Study of Risk and Protective Factors." PubMed Central (PMC), www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3414824/.
Sawyer, Wendy, and Peter Wagner. “Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2022.” Prison Policy Initiative, 14 March 2022, https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2022.html. Accessed 25 January 2023.
“Should Incarceration Be Substituted with Treatment for Drug Offenders? | ACLU | ProCon.org.” ACLU, https://aclu.procon.org/questions/should-incarceration-be-substituted-with-treatment-for-drug-offenders/. Accessed 25 January 2023.
Yang, Mei, et al. "From Abstinence to Relapse: A Preliminary Qualitative Study of Drug Users in a Compulsory Drug Rehabilitation Center in Changsha, China." PLoS ONE, vol. 10, no. 6, 24 June 2015. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A419239517/OVIC?u=webbchs&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=51c1f66c. Accessed 25 Jan.

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