Alcohol And Drug Treatment

Did you know that 70 percent of those incarcerated in state prisons and local jails have abused drugs regularly, compared with 9 percent of the general population? Would you like a workable, alternative to paying an arm and a leg to incarcerate them?

Here are some facts: Drug abuse is involved in more than half of all violent crimes and 70 percent of child abuse and neglect cases.

As an addictions therapist, I see what really works. I saw what didn't work for years, as a counselor working in our penal system. Sorry folks, but the “lock them up and throw away the key” approach may feel good to say, but it doesn't work, and it's expensive as hell. The estimated cost to society in 2002 was more than $180 billion and more than $105 billion was associated with drug-related crime.

Substance abuse treatment really does work. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reports that substance abuse treatment cuts drug use in half and criminal activity by as much as 80 percent. Now this might not mean much if drug or alcohol abuse has never touched your life or the life of a family member, but then again, you might have to be from another planet for this to be true. Down here, drug and alcohol abuse ruins lives by fragmenting our most basic unit of society, the family. It causes physical, emotional and sexual trauma on a daily basis. This is documented repeatedly by the assessment process.

So, if treatment is so successful, why have so many communities resisted offering comprehensive treatment programs? Well, for one, addiction is still seen by many as a behavioral defect that requires the individual to take personal responsibility.

Incarcerating an emotionally dysfunctional person isn't going to cure their emotional dysfunction. Treatment addresses these issues and the inappropriate coping skill of drug and alcohol use. Yes, drug and alcohol abuse is a coping skill for those lacking the tools to cope appropriately. Those who have felt the pain of physical, emotional and sexual abuse can identify with these words.

Why are our judicial and legislative personnel so addicted to incarceration? The only thing that appears to make sense is their desire to be re-elected, and the lock-them-up message is easy to communicate, playing on emotions, not logic.

Data shows it's less expensive to provide comprehensive treatment than to let individuals sit in our prisons and jails. Every dollar invested in treatment yields a return of $4 to $7 in reduced drug-related crimes.

A disease is a disease. Imagine telling the diabetic that he is responsible for curing his own disease, without the help of a professional. I've yet to see an addict who wanted to be addicted. I've yet to see one who expected compulsive or criminal behavior would ensue once they started to use.

I ask you to please call or write your senators and congressmen. Tell them in no uncertain terms how you feel about treatment over incarceration. For more information, please contact the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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D.J. Diebold, CAC, LISAC