Drug rehab or jail, which is the better use of taxes?

I live in a beautiful part of Britain but like everywhere we have our own problems with drugs.
Some days there have been all our available ambulances treating people in a catatonic state under the influence of synthetic drugs (which were recently criminalised).
Because of the stress to our paramedic service the informal advice now is that if the person is not in immediate danger, and you feel safe to do so, please wait with them for the reasonably short period it takes for the effects to wear off, and/or put them in the recovery position if they are laying on their back for example. I've done this a few times and after 20 minutes or so when they can talk again, keep them safe until they are able to look after themselves again.

Today, walking home from shopping, I saw a girl slouched on the floor off her head on something. I made contact, she could just about make eye contact and nod to my questions so I sat with her to make sure she was safe. Once she came around I gave her water from my shopping plus a cake for the energy boost, then helped her to the nearby homeless refuge.
I swear, she broke my heart, no older than 18 and vulnerable in such a mess.

Anyway it got me thinking and basic residential drug/alcohol detox rehab in my area averages around £1000 per week with typical stays being up to 3 months depending on condition. There are next to zero bed spaces available on the NHS though, so the average addict is unlikely to be able to fund it privately. This causes a circle effect of crime, imprisonment, released to homelessness, then back to the drugs and crime.

I then looked at the average costs of keeping a prisoner in the UK. It costs an initial average of £65,000 to imprison a person in this country once police, court costs and all the other steps are taken into account. After that it costs a further £40,000 for each year they spend incarcerated.
It's dead money. What a crappy business model, keep them off the streets in prisons with easy access to drugs, release them then rinse and repeat because their lives are still a mess.

I can only speak for myself but I would prefer my taxes being spent treating these people with a view to them becoming contributing members of society again. Heck, that initial 65 grand imprisoning someone would easily pay for 3 months residential rehab, aftercare support, and set up in a nice room in a shared house to try rebuild their lives...and with decent change left over.

If prison offered proper detox and rehab that would even be a start, but I think treatment which is cheaper than punishment is the obvious no brainer to solve these tragic societal issues.

All thoughts welcome, even if you think I'm a liberal do-gooder who knows nothing, it's always interesting to hear opposing views.

I've always seen it as is it better to spend your tax money on someone who doesnt want help and is probably only going through it to stay out of jail or spend the tax money keeping them in jail so that they don't commit any more drug related crime in the community for the length of their sentence.

Welp

1. addiction is a disease, since when is proper treatment for a disease incarceration?

2. governments can't keep drugs out of prisons, even federal or max security. So that's not going to work as far as rehabilitation/detox.


and down to the reason its like that:
the prison may charge the government (taxpayer) 65k pre inmate per year, but it actually costs around 30k a year...they pocket the rest...welcome to the for profit prison system. they use that money to keep the status quo the way it is...its easy to keep prisons full of non-violent drug users.

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

Hmmmm.... Let's see.

1. Lock drug users in jail, where it's easier to get drugs than on the street and is basically criminal college. To the tune of almost $100,000 of taxpayer money a year..

2. Or, look at it as a medical problem instead of a criminal one and actually help the person get off of drugs or on to a maintenance program..

If I was oblivious to the criminal justice system and how things actually are in this world of ours, I'd probably pick number one. As things stand right now, I wholeheartedly agree with option 2.

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

Why not both?

Mandatory rehab while you server your sentence. In Jail. For breaking the law.

a reply to: chickenbroncitis

Every addict I've ever spoken to wants help and secure rehab to beat their addictions though, every single one.
It is impossible to detox on the streets with no medical care or support, so for that reason I support my taxes going on treatment which works, not prison which truly doesn't work. Sadly it's as easy to get drugs in most prisons as it is on the streets now.

a reply to: smkymcnugget420

Clinical rehab secure units are free from illegal drugs, our prisons are not unfortunately.

a reply to: underwerks

Totally agree

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

For me te prison option is for when people dont want help or so much of a walking crime wave that they need kept away from the community.

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

If a person makes the deliberate, conscious decision to use drugs that have ill effects or addictive qualities then they should be responsible for themselves.


It should not be the responsibility of the government to nanny adults.

originally posted by: jjkenobi
a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

Why not both?

Mandatory rehab while you server your sentence. In Jail. For breaking the law.

I'd be happy with that as well, but right now our prisons are a mess with any drug you can buy, even mobile phones smuggled in. Under resourced prisons struggle to keep order let alone keep contraband out.
Either way treatment is the answer to the core problem, the current status quo is a failure.

originally posted by: chickenbroncitis
a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

For me te prison option is for when people dont want help or so much of a walking crime wave that they need kept away from the community.

Again, agreed, some will always be lost causes and frankly need locking up for the safety of society.

originally posted by: CornishCeltGuy
a reply to: smkymcnugget420

Clinical rehab secure units are free from illegal drugs...

I seriously doubt that. Bribes can get you what you want.

As to this premise if you're looking at the money alone, it's a toss up. You're still paying to house people. You might get some that get something from rehab. Does that offset the cost? There's only so many beds. They'll always be full.

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

If a person makes the deliberate, conscious decision to use drugs that have ill effects or addictive qualities then they should be responsible for themselves.


It should not be the responsibility of the government to nanny adults.

I'm happy for my taxes to protect me and my children through treatment where appropriate or incarceration.
Treatment is better in my opinion though because there's more of a chance the person will start paying taxes themselves again.

originally posted by: intrepid

originally posted by: CornishCeltGuy
a reply to: smkymcnugget420

Clinical rehab secure units are free from illegal drugs...

I seriously doubt that. Bribes can get you what you want.

As to this premise if you're looking at the money alone, it's a toss up. You're still paying to house people. You might get some that get something from rehab. Does that offset the cost? There's only so many beds. They'll always be full.

I can only speak anecdotally but my sister is a nurse in a secure rehab unit and the patients are tested daily to avoid that problem.
As for number of beds, well it really is just divert the money which would have been spent on the prison budget, definitely something which could be done.

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

Jailing anyone for simply using drugs is a foolish and idiotic move brought about by any and all governments.


If we can't even self-determine what we can put into our own bodies or do to our own bodies, then how free is any society?


If euthanasia/assisted suicide is legal, then why aren't drugs legal?

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

As an outspoken critic of the failed war on drugs and a staunch advocate of cannabis law reform, I fully agree.

It's not simply that the current system isn't working anymore; it's never worked.

Alcohol prohibition anyone?

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

You're 100% correct in my opinion. Treatment and rehabilitation is the smartest and incarceration just amplifies the problem. It's just plain old fashioned stupid to think locking people up will do a damn thing about the real issues.

Now the traffickers is another thing altogether. I'm not talking about the person who sells some to people they know to support their own habit, I'm talking about those smuggling and manufacturing destructive hard core drugs and the drug gangs behind them. Those people lock them up and throw the key away. I suspect most of them don't even use their drugs themselves, because they know better. They don't care who or how many they hurt or kill and society should not give a damn about them.

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

Jailing anyone for simply using drugs is a foolish and idiotic move brought about by any and all governments.


If we can't even self-determine what we can put into our own bodies or do to our own bodies, then how free is any society?

Absolutely agreed

If euthanasia/assisted suicide is legal, then why aren't drugs legal?

Not in the UK, the only thing allowed is to assist a dying person to get to Switzerland with no fear of prosecution when they come back dead. My son already knows if I'm in that position I just need a decent amount of heroin scored for me while I'm still able to inject myself.

a reply to: CornishCeltGuy

Chaos is good for buisness ? and a good way to make money very quickly , it is the government flooding the streets with all the crap that is keeping all the police, lawyers ,social workers & judges in work .

Lets just say i have glimpsed behind the scenes enough to know this , if you are not in the right GANG you will be busted pretty quick but the same actors get away with dealing for years and are never touched .

Mad funkies should be running the country as they can find a way round anything if it involved a bag of kit shoot the bxxxxxxxs is my answer £ 1 and the problem is solved