Alternatives to Imprisonment for Drug Abuse

Drug abuse is an issue that can affect not only the person's physical well-being but surrounding circumstances as well. The control that drug abuse has over a user cannot be overstated, as it often causes behavior a person never would normally exhibit.

Drug abuse creates a vicious circle in which the craving for more drugs drives a user to commit crimes to get money to procure the drugs. These crimes often lead to incarceration, where, in some cases, no effective rehabilitation is offered. This lack of treatment leads to the individual's being released with the same abuse potential he had upon entering, thus making repeat offenses more likely. Consequently, there is a need for alternatives to imprisonment that offer some form of treatment or drug education.

Statistics of Incarcerated Drug Abusers

• Prisons are inundated with drug offenders. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 50 percent of all inmates were under the influence of drugs or alcohol when arrested. Clearly, drugs and alcohol play a large role in criminal activity in this country. As most prisons offer little if any drug treatment, abusers will remain incarcerated for the duration of their sentence having done absolutely nothing to work on their abuse issues.

Drug-Abuse Treatment in U.S. Prisons

• As prisons became inundated with repeat drug offenders, many prison officials saw the need for more effective drug treatments for inmates. According to the fact sheet "Drug Treatment in the Criminal Justice System," more and more prisoners are being offered cognitive therapy, 12-step programs, drug education, detox medications, group therapy and stress-coping classes. These treatment modalities, however, come at a high cost to taxpayers and are limited to nonviolent drug offenders.

Drug Courts

• As the high cost of treatment stalled the implementation of drug treatment in all facilities, the need for yet another alternative became apparent. Ultimately, prison officials developed and implemented a controversial solution: drug courts. In the article "Rethinking Drug Courts," these courts were designed to give the nonviolent drug offender a chance to go before a court specifically designed to hear and ultimately rule on her specific case. These courts remain controversial; many oppose their very existence, objecting to the fact that offenders can evade prison time by being court-ordered to a live-in rehabilitation center. Many people feel strongly that if "you do the crime, you do the time."

  Drug courts are now in place in every state. Most commonly, the offender is sentenced to a court-appointed rehab, but it is not unusual for the court to mandate completion of an outpatient 12-step program and therapy.

Court-Appointed Rehabs

• More and more drug offenders are being court-ordered to live-in rehabs as opposed to jail or prison. The facilities offer residents a "lock down" program in that the resident may not leave at any given time. He must also follow a structure that is implemented to allow him to "work" toward earning different rights based upon his individualized progress. These programs can be quite effective. However, opponents contend that a drug abuser who is not ready to quit may not benefit from them at all and will only attend as a more pleasant experience than incarceration.

Mandatory Outpatient Treatment

• In cases where the drug court feels that the individual has little potential of committing additional drug-related crimes, it will often sentence an offender to an array of outpatient treatment modalities. This option is only offered to nonviolent drug offenders with no history of repeat offenses. Most commonly, such offenders are sentenced to weekly cognitive therapy with a counselor as well as the successful completion of a 12-step program. This can be quite effective if the individual is truly ready to stop using drugs; for others, it may simply provide them the chance to evade serving time in a facility.

Conclusion

• Ideally, alternatives to incarceration for drug abuse would offer competent, effective treatments that would help minimize the potential for further crimes. The controversy surrounding these alternatives will continue, with many believing that the sentences offered are not severe enough and that drug charges should be treated as any other--with incarceration. The cost efficiency and success stories, however, will allow more and more alternatives to incarceration to see the light of day.