Drug Penalty’s causeing a bigger drug problem?

reply to post by Logarock


If you have been to a rehab clinic 9 out of 10 f those that go out looking for fun are really doing it mask something.

It could be something obvious like past child abuse ot it could just be depression they have deep down within themselfs. Even a simple thing as overstress can set on a downward spiral.

Fact is in most people addiction can be sorted with a little help.

Originally posted by Tranceopticalinclined
reply to post by crazyewok

 

The problem isn't that arresting people addicted or in a rough spot trying to ignore or get away for a bit, it's that the prison system is more a industrial complex being turned mega-conglomerate, it's simply big business to jail people now.

The Prison population:

Works for under minimum wage
Cannot really show up late, or not at all for work
Will not do anything but work, and leave after done
Is vast and ever increasing
is a stock variable now

When this happens, humanity has lost, and many times will take acts of nature to change.

Yea it all looks like the other side of the profitability coin. Big money on both sides of the coin. From manufacture, to war on, to rehab.

And one must consider, with the proliferation of substances, its abundance, there is no way this is all coming in under the dash board of cars. No, it would have to be coming in by the truck load.

reply to post by crazyewok


Most I know that did rehab fall back in with it. Not criticizing you for your compassion and hope for people.

My neighbor just got back from rehab lets see how she does.

Watch the documentary "How to make money selling drugs".
The title is a bit misleading but don't let that fool you. It's one of the best documentaries I have seen in a while and certainly one of the best when it comes to the war on drugs.

And the point of the movie is similar to the OP's. You won't regret it.

Originally posted by Logarock
reply to post by crazyewok

 

Most I know that did rehab fall back in with it. Not criticizing you for your compassion and hope for people.

My neighbor just got back from rehab lets see how she does.

Depends on the rehad program as some are rather crap.

The most effective dont just deal with the addiction but try to get to thr root of its cause and treat that. Plus sometimes it may take a couple of attempts.

While drugs are illegal the profits of moving them to the users is very high - and while thats the case a network of people making that money will go to any and all lengths to make each "batch" go that much further and make much more money.

The penalties of being caught with some drugs arnt the problem is the networks of dealers and general crime gangs in prisons picking up the "newbies" and pushing them towards harder more expensive substances.

If the gangs were not there and the guards were not so easily bribed (we are talking fancy CCTV guards, just men, not policemen remember) the problem will only get worse as more of the real bad guys get richer.

Its not the penalty's fault, but perhaps more creative alternatives should be issued to avoid sending "suggestible" candidates to the lions den to get ripped to pieces.

Originally posted by Tranceopticalinclined
reply to post by crazyewok

 

The problem isn't that arresting people addicted or in a rough spot trying to ignore or get away for a bit, it's that the prison system is more a industrial complex being turned mega-conglomerate, it's simply big business to jail people now.

The Prison population:

Works for under minimum wage
Cannot really show up late, or not at all for work
Will not do anything but work, and leave after done
Is vast and ever increasing
is a stock variable now

When this happens, humanity has lost, and many times will take acts of nature to change.

With a little ingenuity, they could make re-hab centers the same way. They won't do that because, and it's pretty obvious, the people determining such things want control as much as they want money.

With the part of your post that sums up what a prison population does for other people, replace one word:

The Prison (Re-Hab) population:
Works for under minimum wage
Cannot really show up late, or not at all for work
Will not do anything but work, and leave after done
Is vast and ever increasing
is a stock variable now

So why don't TPTB shift their focus? Because with re-rehabilitation comes the good chance that people won't come back and future generations won't get caught in the prison cycle. The population as a whole will be better off, but the people who own the prisons will not be.

While their lack of empathy is sickening and self-evident, so is their lack of business savvy. At the core of it all, what is a prison building and the land it sits on? Real estate. What can you do with real estate? Your imagination is all that limits you when you have deep enough pockets to influence cities to re-zone and re-code the land and buildings you own so you can still make money and generate tax revenue for the city in question.

It's obvious, to me at least, that the people who own these prisons don't have the ingenuity it takes to not only make these prisons into rehabilitation focused centers, but they don't know how they could keep generating revenue after people are rehabilitated and never come back. Without getting too Freudian on people, they look at their intellectual shortcomings and, instead of working to improve in that area, they turn into pricks who just want to make a quick buck at the expense of logic, common sense, and peoples' freedom.

I challenge anyone to prove me wrong.

many years ago a good friend of mine got involved in hard drugs and he told me that to give everyone it free would only cost £ 5 million [ 1997 figures ] but it was costing nearly a billion in pounds in total with shoplifting etc .

it is all about keeping the people in work police /courts / social workers etc a night in the police cells is about £400 a van to the court £600 a week in jail £700+ .

every druggie costs about £600 a week in methadone if they get it daily why should my taxes pay for somebody that made themselves sick nobody forced them .

i am shocked this thread did not get the dreaded 404

Originally posted by crazyewok
Ok living in Chatham in UK I live in an area hit with the drug problem. I have seen people in the community some even family fail down this hole.

To the question is should we be locking addicts away like scum? Or sending them to rehab centres were they can get help?

Cheers,
Chatham is my hometown and birthplace, it's a while since I lived there though. Your last paragraph says it all, rehab should be the first choice of action. There are certain caveats, those that do get gaol are of no interest to the police and, and if you know the area, you will know that there are the druggies/dealers that the police use for intelligence.
Of course if you have plenty of shinola, that makes a difference too, there's nobody from HSBC bank in the pokey, they just paid the fine, and smiled at the nice judge. Wonderful, isn't it?

reply to post by crazyewok


I do love it when I get insulted as if:

Per 100,000 doesn't mean squat.

TOTAL US POPULATION of this country 330 to 350 MILLION PEOPLE
TOTAL IN PRISON for VARIOUS OFFENSES : 1.5 MILLION.

The number of inmates in state and federal prisons decreased by 1.7 percent, to an estimated 1,571,013 in 2012 from 1,598,783 in 2011,

www.nytimes.com...

Oh and the only person who can help an ADDICT is THE ADDICT themselves.

NOONE ELSE.

Feel free to have a pity party for them.

Know quite a bit actually, but who cares right?

Back to that false narrative.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
Here's a timely example in the news...

The Heartbreaking Story Of A Harmless Deadhead Sentenced To Die In Prison

Tyler, for his part, had a history of psychosis and bipolar disorder. He did break the law, though. He sold acid to friends for less than dollar a hit at Grateful Dead concerts, where he also sold fried dough, and he was arrested twice for drug offenses. Then he got arrested a third time after selling larger quantities of the drug to a friend who turned out to be an informant.

He pleaded guilty, making the government's job easier, and netted less than $3,000 from his paper-route styled method of drug dealing and was clearly non-violent. The result, life in prison.

So what you are saying is that this guy had two chances to learn his lesson and didn't but some how this is a sad and tragic story ?

www.washingtonpost.com... 43850c2-012c-11e3-96a8-d3b921c0924a_story.html?wpinl_headlines

Thank GOD! I pray this goes through. Locking someone up for buying small amounts for personal use, like for medicinal purposes, is crazy.

reply to post by crazyewok


One of the biggest problems is that addicts are being sentenced to prison for their crimes, however, because of laws, courts have little ability to sentence anyone to rehab. I have seen it Many times.

"Rehab" is really a voluntary commitment. Which is like saying that we need to keep the fox guarding the hen house.

One particular instance I know of is a kid who is a heroine addict, everyone has tried to help him, and he has even lost his brother to a heroine overdoes, yet, he continues along a dark path.

The court system has said that they will not require him to go to rehab, however unfortunate, Intervention DOES NOT WORK. It is pretty tough to watch as someone destroys themselves continuing down a dark path.

Sometimes I think that tough love would dictate that those destined for death should be dealt a weapon with a singular round. That way the pain and suffering they are inflicting on everyone can be ended.

As far as minimums and maximums go, .. I don't think that is as big a problem as the "3 Strikes" laws that are having people imprisoned for life over things like stealing a stick of gum, or even being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

reply to post by wrkn4livn


Your link is HOSED.

You may want to FIX that,