Drug use and Drug Addiction in Prisons-Possible Remedies

Drug use and addiction in prisons is a threat to the well being of the society. Efforts must be done to ensure drugs are not smuggled in prison.

Is it true that the correctional facilities world over is saturated with individuals convicted of drug related crimes? And are the authorities doing enough to ensure that those serving their terms come out completely changed and reformed citizens when their term is over? I have been wondering what life is like in the prison especially in relation to drug use and drug addiction. I believe you are also having the same feelings. Since we are sharing this common feeling I want to request you to stay on this site for a while and keep reading so that together we can unlock the truth about this. It is important to note that the problem of drug use is not affecting those convicts and their families only it is a problem for all of us irrespective of your position in the society. Have you ever thought of how you could be affected? If you haven’t then this article will be an eye opener for you as we continue in the discussion of the problem at hand.

Drug use and Drug Addiction in Prisons-We are all Victims of Drug Related Crime

Even though you may not be the person using alcohol or drugs, or violating the law and for sure you are not, you are surrounded by law breakers and drug abusers increasing your risks of being a victim of an alcohol or drug-related crime.  As a matter of fact millions of people each year are victims of alcohol or drug related crime, including millions of young people. To illustrate this candidly it will be important that we have a look at some of the available statistics from the past studies done which include the following:

• Each year, more than 600,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.
• 95% of all violent crime on college campuses involves the use of alcohol by the assailant, victim or both.
• 90% of acquaintance rape and sexual assault on college campuses involves the use of alcohol by the assailant, victim or both.
• Every day, 36 people die, and approximately 700 are injured, in motor vehicle crashes that involve in an alcohol-impaired driver. Drinking and drugged driving is the number one cause of death, injury and disability of young people under the age of 21.

Scrutinizing the connection between alcohol, drugs and crime is very clear and, so is the connection between alcohol and drug addiction and crime.  We will therefore need to break the chain that links drug addiction and crime in our society by all means. Like-minded people must work closely with the authorities to ensure that drug addiction does not cause us this enormous pain. We must stand out and do something to impact positively on our children because having them locked up in prison is not rely the solution. The experience we have is that jail alone has had little effect on reduction of drug addiction or in promoting recovery.  Holding someone in jail, without access to alcohol and drug addiction treatment, with no specific plans for treatment and recovery support upon release, is not only expensive but it is also very ineffective. The ineffectiveness of our recreational facilities has only succeeded in faulting the criminal justice system.

Drug use and Drug Addiction in Prisons-Drug supply in the prisons

Much as law breakers needs to be put behind bars there has been rising concern about the smuggling of drugs to inmates. This may not be to all the inmates but it doesn’t matter the number small or big the bottom line is that unwanted substances find their way in the prison. Bringing the question how and why? The authority must investigate and weed out the corrupt officers from the system to contain smuggling of illicit substances into the prisons. You can imagine an inmate in the correctional facility abusing drug. This inmate will soon complete his or her term and be welcomed back to the society who may want to believe that the time spent in the prison has been of help to him/her only to realize that the individual is worse than before. This is not only painful to the society which is expected to welcome former convicts back but also to the authorities and by extension to the tax pay who ultimately foot all the bills of keeping the wrong doers in the prisons.

Back to the supply of drugs in prison, apart from the corrupt officers colluding with the inmates to smuggle drugs in jails, it also believed that inmates have their criminal colleagues in the society who pay them visits during the official visiting hours in the prisons and smuggle drugs to their friends. It is because of these challenges that the prison authorities are seeking for the law to be amended to give them more powers to strip the inmate where necessary when making periodic impromptu search within their jurisdiction.

Drug use and Drug Addiction in Prisons-Solutions for drug use and drug addiction

Nonetheless having known that we are all victims of drug use and addiction it is very important that we focus on the solution oriented mechanism because for many in the criminal justice system, preventing future crime and re-arresting former convicts after release is impossible without treatment for and recovery from addiction to alcohol and drugs. Balancing accountability, treatment and recovery, emphasis should be made to the authorities and especial our judicial system to form special drug court programs across the country and states. These Drug Courts are judicially-supervised court dockets mandated to evaluate and strike the proper balance between the need to protect community safety and the need to improve public health and well-being; between the need for treatment and the need to hold people accountable for their actions between hope and redemption on the one hand and good citizenship on the other. Striking this balance will ensure only deserving cases end up in prisons while the bigger population are handled locally and immediate treatment is administered to them and when they are fully recovered they can be ushered back to the society.

Drug use and Drug Addiction in Prisons-Long Term Recovery

While appreciating the serious impact of alcohol and drug use on crime across the nation it is also important to note that many people who have been in the criminals justice system have broken the chain through long term recovery from alcohol and drug addiction which is why we must incorporate professionals with vast experience in handling matters of drug addiction. Dr. Dalal Akoury who is also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center will be an ideal candidate for this challenge. With over two decades of experience she is offering her exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to physicians and health care professionals through training, clinical apprenticeships, webinars and seminars globally, her services will come in handy for the long awaited break through id this set up.

Drug use and Drug Addiction in Prisons-Possible Remedies