I've never understood why people would pick up the meth habit in the first place. The only thing I've ever tried was pot a couple of times so maybe I'm sheltered and naive. But, what is it about meth that makes people want to try it? It's not like it's got this cool "cocaine/Miami Vice" reputation. I've never seen it in reality or in a portrayal in a positive light. Why?
it's a very cheap drug with an extremely potent high. you get that superman feeling and from what i hear it's incredible. you remember those people who say. man, i'll try anything once. those are the faces of meth
No need for moral panic, but meth is very bad stuff. I'm in the 50+ age group and had many friends use it during the 70's and 80's. The ones that used it more than occasionally definitely suffered from it. The ones that used it a lot frequently suffered extremely bad health or mental problems (such as what appeared to be brain damage). Personalities changed, lifestyles changed and all were in a negative direction. It's like playing with a pissed off rattlesnake: exciting perhaps, but many get bit and some die.
Hey, I've got a novel idea, instead of sending meth heads to prison where they become hardened criminals, why don't we help them break a potentially tragic habit? I'll bet it costs less.
yes b/c social workers are here to save the world. seriously, i agree with you about methheads and prison, but lets not go overboard thinking they're just a talk away from quiting either.
didn't sound like he was claiming social workers will save the world he was shedding light on the fact that most people in prison are there for drug offenses and it costs more to incarcerate someone than to attempt rehabilitation many states spend more on prisons than education, and that's very sad
I'm always on the side that while I understand that addiction is a disease, I can't find myself able to give the same sympathy as I would as someone who ends up with a cancer that wasn't because of any action on their part (i.e. smoking.) But just sending an addict away to prison isn't going to accomplish much except put their crimes on hold for a few years. There has to be some way that we can help them break their addiction and make them productive people again. I don't think many of them actually like their life of addiction.
How much cheaper do you think curing an addiction would be? Do you think that the sucess rate of curing the addiction is very high? Addiction to these drugs is a tricky thing. I had an experience of trying to help a good friend on heroin. I found out how difficult rehab really is. Once the addiction takes a hold it is never really cured. I worked very hard with my friend's family to help him. It cost a lot of money on legal fees and fines to keep him out of jail, and even more money on 4 different rehab centers. It also required constant attention and support from family and friends. In the end he looked like he turned the corner, sober for over a year, and he took off and we couldn't track him down. I moved away, but last I heard they had found him and the rehab cycle was begining again. It breaks my heart to see his parents have to go through this, his dad had to delay his retirement and his mom had to start working so they could afford all treatments to help their son. They should be enjoying their retirement instead they are fighting to keep their son from killing himself with drugs. I agree that jail is not the best thing to help an addict, but helping an addict is not an inexpensive thing to do.
I never understood all the people who say rehab them. Who said they WANT to quit. The best cure for a drug is to keep it away from them. Prison doesn't keep out 100% of the drugs, but it's a lot harder to get than out on the streets.
Yeah. Maybe 12 times my whole life. And, half of that was a stupid attempt to cure the really bad insomnia that I have. It actually worked but then I had a hard time visualizing myself smoking a joint every night before bed. I do understand the viewpoint of those that advocate rehab and a repeal of any type of govt. action against drugs; however, as a father, I really don't give a **** about the incarceration v. rehab debate. I don't want anyone that is high on some sort of hard drug to adversely affect my child - whether by DWI, DUI, stealing to get a fix, etc... Call me a hardass, I just don't have any sympathy for an adult that makes the decision to try a drug that ruins their life or the lives of those that know or do not know them. Here in East TN, meth is a huge problem. And, it seems as if every time a meth lab is broken up, there are children involved. I feel so bad for the children involved. And, yes, I do realize that throwing them into a social services situation is really not the greatest thing to have happen either. The pictures in the OP only serve to reinforce my beliefs. I know this sounds callous and I'm sure I'll get some negative feedback.
I agree with Knoxville 100% Yes, I feel sorry for meth-heads, or any true addict, but that does not translate to a lienient mindset for me. If you are a grown adult and ******* around with meth, you have no more chances in my book. There is no such thing as a responsible meth-head who wouldn't get behind the wheel because they fear hurting other people.
um, ok, any cost differences between drug incarcerations and any involuntary gvt rehab programs?? guess i'll do my own research. wait, no i won't. i just like to loosely throw out wish-lists as fact.
Just interjecting this for philosophical discussion. You could certainly try translating the cost in this way: Generally, most drug-related incarcerated are what we would consider "non-violent" offenders. Yet we imprison them, anyway. In order to imprison someone, we must have bed space. In order to have bed space, we create programs such as "good-time," so that those already incarcerated can gain early release in order to create the bed space necessary for the incoming. By incarcerating non-violent offenders, we create a system that necessarily results in the release of "violent" offenders, solely due to the need to create available bed space. You can argue for the building of more prisons, bed space, etc. But at some point, reality has to set in. There is only so much taxpayers can or will spend on the prison system. So one might measure the cost of incarceration vs. rehabilitation programs by the social costs that result from releasing violent offenders for no other reason than to create available space for what are generally non-violent offenders.
You claim that crystal meth users are non violent criminals. I am not sure that you can claim that. I don't have any numbers but my impression is that a high % of violent crimes are committed by drug users and one of the most common drugs used by violent criminals is meth. Before I get ripped, I admit that my claim is not based on hard research it is just from what I have read in the news.
As far as the rehab angle goes, doesn't one have to want to rehab for it to actually work? I'm sure most drug addicts would pick rehab over prison; however, aren't they just picking the lesser of two evils. Just because one were to pick rehab over prison would not, IMO, translate into a successful result. Heck, look at all the people that WANT to go to rehab and how many of them relapse. I'm not saying throw the potheads in jail. What I am saying is that I don't trust the rehab angle for the majority of hard drug addicts. I'd just as soon have them off the streets.
Why is it the state's job to tell meth heads, or any other kind of junkie, that they can't mess up their own lives in that way? Prison should be no option, provide free/cheap rehab if you like. But the laws should mostly be tailored to make sure those around them (mostly if they have children) are protected. Legalize it, regulate it, tax it. Get the state out of the business of saving grown-ups from themselves. We only make all the problems attendant to drug use and trade worse. See facilitation of organized and gang crime, flooded criminal justice system, exorbitant drug investigation budgets, laws pushing the envelope of constitutionality just to locate an 8-ball or a dime bag, imprisonment of an insanely high percentage of our populace, not to mention the exacerbation of the race problems this country has. This is by far the stupidest "war" we have ever started, and it's time to end it.
