Preview

Addiction Treatment In Prison Essay

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2897 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Addiction Treatment In Prison Essay
Prison Addiction Treatment and
The Reasons Treatment Is Needed

Abstract In recent times there has been expressed concern about prison addiction treatment. People do agree that this is a major concern. Of course, not everyone agrees on treatment while in prison and there is a need for a solid response to this issue. This is important as we do not want to have people when they are released from prison to have the same problems or addictions as before they went to prison. Many times the reason they are in prison is illegal drugs. (Muzinic, Penic, Vukota & Palijan, 2011) Of course, there are different treatment methods to be discussed. The paper discusses prison addiction treatment methods, how treatment effects society and other items that are relevant to the topic of Prison Addiction Treatment. The research suggests that people treated while in prison have a lesser chance of ending back in prison. This shall be discussed.

Introduction There are serious issues to be dealt with as far as prison addiction treatment and the criminal justice system. The fact is that there needs to be a plan that outlines how to effectively help people, who have drug and alcohol problems, who involved themselves in crime. Substance abuse is an extremely difficult
…show more content…
Since they are in the unique situation of not having the ability to do anything they choose, there is the ability to offer them a way to true freedom. No longer being addicted to a drug or substance is an immense freedom. More important than decreasing drug use, there will be the likelihood that if they remain drug-free they will remain crime-free. (Carmichael, 2010) This as a whole is much more productive for our

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Sheriff John Tharp (Lucas County) has taken a distinct avenue when it comes to the heroin epidemic in Lucas County jail system. Tharp’s view is to treat the addicted inmate as opposed to punishing them. Effectively reentry is the goal. This program is one of the first treatment units for heroin addiction inside the jail system in Ohio. Heroin addicts find it problematic to seek out treatment willingly, do to adjusting to life on life’s term; do to a feeling of worthlessness. “Prolonged addiction increases the likelihood addicts will face a variety of emotional, physiological and social problems” (Marion Boss. Marc O’Neill) when an addict is more highly addicted to heroin the ambition to ignoring the drug making the addict briefly feel better…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Most recently, President Obama signed into law the federal Fair Sentencing Act that significantly reduced the amount of times served for some drug offenses. Today, many jurisdictions have mandatory minimum and three strikes sentencing models (Schmalleger & Smykla, n.d.). With all these different types of sentencing models, our prisons across the country remain overcrowded and the recidivism rates are far too high. Something will have to change, but until there is a political will to make those changes, our employees at correctional facilities and the inmates will suffer the…

    • 374 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are over two thousand drug courts in America, each one specializing in its own level of drug abuse. A drug court’s primary role is to handle cases with offenders of substance abuse. They offer offenders an opportunity to enter a rehabilitation program in lieu of sentenced jail time. The road to recovery is of course challenging and difficult, making the drug courts so strict and costly. Drug courts were generally created for non-violent drug abusers. Although these offenders are given the chance to avoid jail time they are extremely supervised by the court officials. Drug tests, substance abuse treatment, must make regular appearances in court and constant checkups are required to continue in the program. These offenders’ cases are usually dismissed due to their involvement in the program or their sentence is only shortened. Participation in these programs are completely voluntary and if qualified to enter, the offender must agree to complete all the tasks given and report to every summoning from the court. If an offender doesn’t complete the program, they can be prosecuted or their sentence will be revised and will be placed in jail. Drug courts are considered one f the most effective ways to eliminate drug abusers and avoiding incarceration. While in the program offenders are monitored and results of every drug court case is very astonishing, but the long term effect of these cases are beyond the rulings of the court. It is not known if those who participated in the programs continued their lives drug free. These courts have been examined and tested to see if the results justify the cost of the program. The operations evaluated such as the number of participants, referrals issued, and drug court graduates. The cost savings of processing the offenders through the program instead of straight jail time, and results compared with those who have been completed their sentenced jail time as opposed to those in the programs. The therapeutic jurisprudence theory…

    • 346 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The inadequacy of incarceration by itself in addressing drug abuse or addiction is evident in the statistics. One third of individuals released according to him returned to prison within couple of years for technical violations that included, among other things, testing positive for cocaine use and other drug related cases which are used in jails and prisons despite their highly structured, controlled environments. This has a huge impact on the public safety most especially which can hinder the lives of the school students and other institutions…

    • 87 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The United States’ court system, jails, and prisons contain a significant number of offenders that have been convicted with drug related offenses, many of which are suffering from drug addictions. Drug abuse is becoming more prevalent, as drugs are becoming more and more readily accessible. Drug courts are a form of intervention used to treat drug-addicted offenders. Drug courts use the power and authority of a judge to keep a drug offender in treatment, providing rewards for successes and sanctions for failures. This form of intervention is used in order to reduce drug use, reduce crime, save money and restore lives.…

    • 101 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Our country is already spending around 80 billion dollars per year on prisoners and yet, somehow, failing to supply a good education program and rehabilitation system. Our prison system is so fixated on punishing inmates that it fails to apply methods that can help lower the crime rate. Rehabilitation techniques differ according to the nature of the criminal and the type of crime committed. However, if applied, both education programs and rehab techniques have a positive effect on prisoners instead of punishment. Some deserve a second chance, and with education, it can be achieved. If the purpose of prison is punishment alone, prisoners are going to build up so much anger and negativity that they will become only more dangerous to our society when they are…

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By placing drug offenders in a treatment program, prisons would see some relief from overcrowding. As a result of the war on drugs, arrests for drug-related offenses account for the single largest category of police…

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Inmates being released from prison are vulnerable to serious relapse by the effects of drugs and alcohol. Even if we try to help them to the best of our ability then they need to depend on themselves to make sure they don’t fall again. Depending on the person they will learn from their experience in prison or just fall into a cycle so it happens over and over again. This paper has given insight and knowledge about incarcerations around our nation and how we handle inmates by either drugs or holding them within solitary…

    • 1455 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    With recidivism rates soaring, the establishment of prison GED programs should be a standard way to rehabilitate prisoners who’d otherwise have no future outside of bars. An example of a character from the book who would benefit from the GED program would be Crazy Eyes, a hard timer from the FCI, who’d graduated up the hill. Outside of Danbury, Crazy Eyes was a high profile drug dealer and a career criminal experienced with the nuances of prison. If she had the access and willingness to complete the GED program, Crazy Eyes could use the qualification as a step toward reintegrating properly with the outside world. Therefore, by offering GED programs in prison, inmates like Crazy Eyes can be slowly rehabilitated toward permanent freedom while…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    More than half of prisoners are currently serving time for non-violent drug related offenses, as the popularity for “war on drugs” has increased over the last decade. The majority of inmates are harshly sentenced, including doubling of imprisonment time for repeat offenders. For example, the federal law issues that selling 28 grams of crack cocaine requires a sentence of at least five years. Because even more convicts are being sent to prison, overcrowding has forced institutions to release prisoners early to meet budget requriements. Most of these inmates become homeless and are diagnosed with many medical problems, often getting little to no help. Being that this subject is an issue currently in society, I also had to cope with consequences…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prisons are slowly but surely becoming America’s new Asylums. An estimated 450 million people nationwide suffer from mental or behavioral disorders. These disorders are pretty common within prison populations. This extremely high rate of mental disorders in prison is closely related to several factors: the misconception that all people with mental disorders are a danger to the public, the failure to promote treatment, care, and rehabilitation, and the lack of access to mental health services. Many of these disorders are present before prison however, mental health disorders can also be developed during imprisonment due to human rights violations.…

    • 857 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Drug Abuse In Prisons

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages

    It is said that due to the War on Drugs prisons are rapidly overcrowding causing a chain of effects of not only drug use, smuggling and manufacturing, but also of violence and riots. It seems to be a vicious cycle.” (Samuels para.7) Things that cause should be the main thing to focus on right now so they can stop the drugs in prison. Treatment programs are essential in prisons to help inmates get better. For the treatment to work the prisons need to be cooperative wanting to better themselves , and is it hard for them because of the prison vibes and violent behavior. In the end if it doesn’t work it will be hard to find a solution at this…

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Addiction In Prisons

    • 145 Words
    • 1 Page

    More than one third of prison inmates suffer with some form of mental illness and more than half will, also, have a history of drug addiction. More often, inmates that are coping with both a mental illness, as well as, an addiction disorder, generally will have more problems as they begin to reenter society. It has been said that, 37 percent of inmates who are released from a state prison are re-institutionalized within the first three years of their release; this is compared it the 30 percent, who do not suffer a mental illness. According to the Department of Correction analysis of 2012, states that, inmates that are battling addiction are fare worst. When looking at the inmate population with an dual diagnosis, around one half have been…

    • 145 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Drug Courts

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Instead of placing individuals who abuse drugs in the prison systems, drug treatment courts offer supervised rehabilitation for individuals suffering from drug abuse through the court system (What Are Drug Courts,…

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Drugs and Crime

    • 4068 Words
    • 17 Pages

    The role of the prison can be described in various ways. Nevertheless, in a broader sense, prisons are meant to perform the varied objectives of punishment which include deterrence, retribution and rehabilitation. The generalized understanding of the function of the prison is however, at the least, to keep troublesome individuals away from the society. In this regard, the prison facility has traditionally been used in keeping away individuals who are regarded as being socially unfit given that they have been used in incarcerating those who either deserved punishment or perceived to be dangerous to the public. The statements regarding the prison goals reveal the combination of seemingly incompatible aims. Prisons are said to be aiming at containing prisoners and supervising offenders in a humane and cost effective way which meets the expectations of the society in regard to safety, compensation, and the encouragement of the offenders to adopt a law abiding lifestyle. The concept of humane and cost effective inevitably creates tensions. In real sense, the rehabilitative function of the prisons requires that there be significant resources for programs and education and this does not comfortably rhyme with the concept of cost effectiveness as well as punitive measure which is one of the core functions of the prison system. In relation to the drug abuse issue, the prison system has to strike a balance between acting as a disciplinary strategy and also as a therapeutic strategy for the drug offenders (Irwin & Austin, 1994).…

    • 4068 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays