Rehabilitation Instead of Incarceration

Harsher sentences for non-violent drug offenders aren't a deterrent

rehabilitation instead of incarceration(*This was originally a letter to the editor written by the Director of the Drug-Free Alliance and printed in The Daily Item in Pennsylvania regarding a specific sentencing case, but has been republished and distributed here as a valid argument for current drug laws)

There are some missing elements in the discussion regarding the delivery of drug charges and penalties associated with drug overdose deaths.

As much as I empathize with families who have lost loved ones to drug addiction and agree that people must be held accountable, addicts are the ones seeking drugs and are not victims of malicious intent. A person selling methadone or Oxycontin to a user or a doctor refilling a prescription for one of those to someone who is hooked on the pills can actually fall in the same category at times. Are doctors and pharmacies accountable for the overdose deaths of those on prescription drugs? In several states, more people die from prescription drug overdoses than from street drugs.

Many drug dealers are also addicts themselves, meaning they will do whatever is necessary in their minds to be able to have access to drugs, including selling them. Harsher sentences wouldn't be a deterrent to them, as reality and consequences are not part of the mind of an addict. If the defendants had not been the ones selling the drugs to the victims, then it would have been someone else.

The real target for correction here is to treat the way society views drugs in general and how acceptable drugs are in this country. You can't watch television or read a magazine without seeing an ad for this pill or that, or you can't send your kid to school anymore without the threat that someone wants to medicate them if they act up at all. Sincere prevention and education is required, as current systems are clearly inadequate.

Then, if someone does become addicted, our resources are much better spent on effective rehabilitation and treatment programs than on legal proceedings and incarceration. Solving the problem of addiction before overdose and death becomes a reality, or before someone turns to selling drugs to support their habit, is a vital step in the solution.

In short, attack the demand for the drugs, and the supply will automatically diminish, but increasing punishment and lengthening sentences will never stop the supply from coming.

I encourage anyone out there with a family member struggling with addiction to seek workable solutions to overcoming it so that future situations like this can be averted. I encourage lawmakers to support programs that work, and I encourage families to have compassion for one another and increase communication about such tragedies with the purpose of prevention and overall well-being.


© 2009 Drug-Free Alliance