In 2018, more than 67,300 people died as a result of a drug overdose. Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com
The last time I had the chance to talk to my step-dad was when I was about 14 years old, he was in rehab and had reached out to my siblings and I, but I refused to talk. Merely a few weeks later, he overdosed. I remember being so angry, mostly at myself, for wasting the last opportunity I would ever have to talk to him. Regret became my best friend and the anger never truly faded. Then, in January of 2020, my biological father overdosed, and I felt myself thrown back into the cycle of anger, guilt and regret. But this time, the anger wasn’t directed at myself, or even him. I was angry at the world, I didn’t understand how I was back in this torturous situation again. Addiction continued to destroy so much around me, and I know I’m not the only one. In 2018, more than 67,300 Americans died from drug-involved overdose. Those numbers are terrifying, and yet it doesn’t seem to be treated the same way as other illnesses or epidemics. Drug addiction or substance abuse disorder is recognized within the psychiatric community as a mental illness, however unlike most other mental illnesses, those who suffer from substance abuse disorder often find themselves behind bars, unable to receive the help they need. According to the National Institute for Mental Health, substance abuse disorder, “changes normal behaviors and interferes with the ability to work, go to school, and to have good relationships with friends and family.” Addiction can even change the chemistry of the brain, as regular drug use causes the brain to produce, absorb and transmit less dopamine causing a chemical imbalance. This leads to withdrawal symptoms which creates drug dependence, according to Americanaddictioncenter.org Addiction is a serious problem, one that cuts sharply, and impacts not only addicts but everyone around them. When addicts get incarcerated, they are not often getting the help they need to adequately address the root of the problem, instead it acts as a temporary solution If the United States wants to move in the right direction and decrease the amount of people impacted by drug addiction, we can’t just keep locking people up. The United States justice system must move away from incarceration for drug related crimes and instead focus on rehabilitation.
Photo courtesy of unsplash.com
Some people may argue that decriminalizing drugs sets a dangerous precedent. It may allow more people who might have a biological predisposition to addiction to experiment with drugs, if they don’t fear legal action, according to Foundationrecoverynetwork.com. However, decriminalization is not the same as legalization, and it allows for more accessible treatment, and has been shown to save lives.
In 2001, after years of a war on drugs, Portugal decriminalized nearly all drugs. Since then, drug use has declined overall among the 15- to 24-year-old population, declined in the percentage of the population who frequently use drugs and drug-related deaths have decreased significantly, according to a mic.com article.
Rehabilitation doesn’t always work, but it does have significantly more success than jail-time for drug related crimes. According to a study conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, drug offenders are the second most likely group to reoffend. The study found that in 2005, 76.9 percent of drug offenders were rearrested within five years and almost half of those were rearrested in the first year of release. With this data, it appears that jail or prison time for drug use doesn’t do much to adequately address the problem and create real change. Incarceration doesn’t help drug addicts, it doesn’t decrease drug use, it does as much as placing a band-aid over a deep wound.
It won’t be enough to just increase the amount of rehabs available. Instead, we need to increase funding, increase mental health screenings and more. We need a comprehensive system that addresses drug addiction instead of giving up on people who need help, and the funds are there. Within the last 30 years, prison and jail spending has increased at triple the rate of spending on Pre‐K‐12 public education in the US. Additionally, in 2017 Almost half of federal prisoners were serving time for drug trafficking, and as of 2020, Drug offenses account for the incarceration of almost half a million people. If drug offenders were given treatment instead of being locked up, we could allocate the money saved on jail spending, public attorney's, and trial fees on better treatment--we could save lives.
My own father was in jail for a drug related offense, not long before he overdosed, and I don’t know if rehab would have saved him, but I do know it can save others, and if one more child doesn’t have to lose their father, or a parent doesn’t have to lose their child, isn’t it worth it to try?