Addiction In Prison

Addiction is a chronic brain disease that often results in some sort of relapse. Addiction is characterized by inability to control drug use which results in problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships. This disease causes compulsive behaviors such as the need to use drugs despite the many harmful consequences that affect the addicted individual and those around him or her. Although for most people, the initial decision to use drugs is a one time lapse in judgement, the brain is easily affected by these drugs if the person decides to use these drugs multiple times. The changes that occur to the brain over time will cause the addicted person’s ability to resist the intense impulses of drugs to be altered causing the addict to often give into the temptation of these drugs. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death. Drug addiction is an issue that many people deal with whether they are the addict or the addict is their loved one; but with a good source of support anyone can over come the challenges and consequences of addiction.

A common assumption that is made is that people who are addicted to drugs are suffering from a lack of willpower or moral fibre. People assume that these people could stop using if they simply tried a little harder. Unfortunately for those who are addicted, it is not that simple. When someone takes a drug regularly, heroin, for example, their brain chemistry becomes altered. The body produces less natural dopamine and begins to require more and more of the drug to feel its effects. Eventually, the body will begin to crave the drug, and going without it will lead to nasty withdrawal symptoms, including vomiting, increased heart rate, and

Since the tough-on-crime era began in the 1980s, the California prison system and parolee population have grown tenfold. This is in great part due to the three strikes law that passed in 1994. This law made it a requirement for any offender convicted of a felony with two previous felonies to go to prison for a minimum of twenty five years. This law sent many people to prison for longer sentences due to non-violent drug offenses, when in actuality they should have been sentenced to rehab. Prison overcrowding is an important topic that all Americans should care about, since according to The Bureau of Justice Statistics, over ninety-five percent of all prison inmates will be released at some point, with over eighty-five percent of them being placed under parolee supervision. Of this population, sixty-five percent suffer from substance abuse issues and meet the need for treatment for their addiction. Drug and alcohol abuse, specifically drug abuse, and crime are inextricably related. Unfortunately, the majority of those released from prison who suffer from addiction issues are not treated while incarcerated, and as a result end up back in prison.

The recovery program is comprised of four phases. The first phase of the program referred to as SOS or “Safe off the Street” offers an environment for the client to become drug and alcohol free, commit to a plan of recovery and determine whether or not he wants to change. Clients move from the SOS phase into the Motivational Tracks where they focus on the first two steps of the twelve step program. During this phase clients are required to walk to classes that are held at off campus locations. This is referred to as “trudging” which shows their commitment to recovery mimicking the same commitment they had for their addiction. During this phase clients

In a fight to reduce overcrowding, improve public health and public safety, and reduce the costs of criminal justice and corrections, federal, state and local leaders are constantly looking for alternatives to incarceration. A number of strategies have been put in place to save public funds and improve public health by keeping low-risk, non-violent, possibly drug-involved offenders out of prison or jail while still holding them accountable and securing the safety of our comminutes. These programs have been put in place to help those who don’t necessarily need to be in jail, get their priorities straight while also holding them accountable for their actions. They have been put in place to help reduce incarceration rates, but also help those who may have mental health issues or substance abuse issues that have caused them to make bad decisions (Treatment Court Divisions).

New Horizons Community Mental Health Center offers is outpatient substance abuse intervention. The Substance Abuse Program (SAP) attempts to assist clients with an insight of what has lead to their addiction as well as skills to remain sober (New Horizons Community Mental Health Center, 2014).

The definition provided above is accessible and easy to understand; however, it initiates false beliefs among individuals because it fails to acknowledge that drug addiction is a mental health problem. Moreover, when words such as, “dependence”, “control” and “craving” are used to define drug addiction, it leaves an impression to the reader that addicts are indeed “people who cannot control their impulses.” Consequently, when we fail to recognize that drug addiction is a mental health problem, our focus is diverted towards the physical aspect of drug addiction. This could cause the belief among individuals that drugs alone cause the addiction. It is essential to acknowledge that there are chemical hooks in drugs; however, individuals need to understand that drugs alone do not cause the addiction. We need to identify and distinguish the “root cause” of addiction and ask ourselves: what caused the individual to take the drug in the first place?

In “The Army Disease: Drug Addiction and the Civil War” written by Johnathan Lewy, he has concluded that the Civil War and the use of hypodermic syringes were the foundation of what led to the events of 21st century drug addiction, as well as one of the first events for the current mass drug addiction in America.

Grella, Hser, Teruya and Evans (2005) also noted a growing consensus among healthcare providers in recent years regarding the need to improve the quality and provide for better accountability by using evidence-based treatment interventions for substance abuse problems. Conversely, Gondles emphasized that the criminal justice system has “a responsibility to society and to offenders to continue developing and evaluating efficient, effective, and cost-conscience methods of delivering valid, evidence-based treatment and programs” (2010, p. 6). Additionally, Gondles suggested that, “We also have a legal, ethical, and moral obligation to return offenders to the community in a reasonable state of health to facilitate their successful reentry” (2010, p. 6).

In this document Treatment Improvement Protocols (TIPS) is a developed program by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment also known as CSAT. This program plan is the treatment of substance use disorders based on the specific needs of women. I was not aware of this program so I had learned quite a few from this document. TIPS main mission is to build resilience and supporting recovery for people that are risk of having mental or substance use disorders. They give out information and guidance for women. TIPS focus on clinical practices and researches that are concentrated on substance abuse treatment for women. I learned that there are differences between treating men and women. That you have to do treatment based on women’s needs and lifestyles.

An excessive amount of money is being spent on facilities that do not rehabilitate prisoners. Because prisoners are continuously returning to prison, many prisons become overcrowded which makes it even more difficult to rehabilitate the prisoners within them. If more money is channeled into rehabilitating these prisoners society will ultimately profit by reducing the prison population and increasing the amount of functioning members in society. Fortunately, there are a multitude of programs, such as DTAP, that prisons can model after. Such programs focus on rehabilitating prisoners rather than punishing them. There are other measures that can be taken in order to rehabilitate prisoners, such as preventing drugs from being smuggled into prison and creating a zero-tolerance policy for drugs in prison. Rehabilitation programs within United States prisons are lacking an ineffective ultimately due to poor distribution of money and prison

Though the treatments for drug addiction is complicated one, it is curable. The treatment is complicated because the addiction has it’s long term effects on the brain and behavior of the person. But if the person has strong determination, consistent on treatment then it make easy to quit the addiction.

Drug addiction is a complex problem in society today. Addiction is a condition that extremely affects the person’s mind and body. Addiction also has wide sweeping effects on that person’s social connection and functioning. Unfortunately, many addicts don’t realize the social influence of their addiction until much of their functioning has greatly deteriorated.

Drug and alcohol addiction is a very serious and widespread problem in America, and across the globe. Drug addiction is a constant craving, seeking, and using of a substance, despite the negative consequences it may have on the addict or those around them. When drug use becomes more frequent, it is considered drug abuse. Once an individual’s drug abuse is can no longer be controlled, and they are using the drug to get through everyday life, it beomes an addiction. A person on drugs has an altered way of thinking, behaving, and perceiving. There are treatment facilities all over the world dedicated to help those suffering with drug addictions. All

A person’s body, in almost every aspect of its being, is addicted when one is a mild to chronic user and abuser. The nervous system, brain, and muscle tissue are all living in anticipation of the next high. So, for the addict, it is crucial that the cycle of behavior, is broken. The addict needs to pull up the anchor that keeps them from moving forward. This means changing environments, patterns and even sometimes friends and social associates.