Should Drug Offenders get HARD TIME

[ButterflyKaos]

I think that addiction is a illness and that they need treatment not to be locked up with hard core criminals...

[Whaatevverr]

They need rehab!!!!
There is so much more going on inside for these addicts than the outside. It's sickening.

The drug programs inside are all a joke. They are not ran the way they should be and don't do anything for these guys. In my town the inmates who are in the drug program at the prison here are housed with inmates not in the program who don't care if they want to stay clean or not. There is no accountability and no structured program but NA and AA. These guys need to be put in a program like Amity outside prison not inside prison.

[afirsttimer]

I feel they should do the time if they committed a crime to support their drug habit. period. Now if they are arrested for having drugs on them then there should be the option to rehab. Basically if they are committing crimes to support their habit then they should be held to the same accountablity as a person committing those same crimes to put food on their families table.

[afirsttimer]

BTW, I didn't vote because there was no choice for my statement.

[RG's girl]

Unfortunately, many don't realize that the "tough on crime" hasn't really deterred crime. In theory it sounds good, but it is suggesting a simple solution to a complex problem-which reasonably doesn't work. Any solution has to take the multiple factors that contribute to addiction into account. I do believe there should be consequences for actions. However, I am also thankful that I am loved by a God who believes in second chances and then some. Many have responded emphasizing individual circumstances (I agree). However, our laws are black and white and don't account for the often gray areas of life. I think there is a huge imbalance between "the war on drugs" and other crimes. For example, I have a family member who recieved twenty years for drugs and five for raping a minor. I think this illustrates the imbalance better than any other argument I could make.

[lillyj707]

My guy is/was a drug addict. Family issues, personal choices, tons of pain that no one else could ever understand, along with several mental issues. Drugs/alcohol were his only way to feel normal. Psych meds don't work as well as the drugs did. He hurt no one while doing them except maybe himself. I am not a drug addict or user, however, I understand his pain.

Locking folks up for using drugs...well, he went in and had over 15 people in his dorm that had been meth cooks. Two that were acid makers and a few that cooked crack. Force him to be around these guys for 3 years...what do you think someone's going to hear about the whole time they're locked up? And they now have an institutionalized mind in order to survive.

I certainly don't think jail is the answer because they come out either more f***ed up mentally or they've learned a new trade. My guy came out more f****ed up mentally. Rehab doesn't work unless they are ready. What about other options? Others hurt themselves with alcohol and it's not illegal. IDK the answer here but everything we have in place DOES NOT WORK. His "sharp" class, which is forced upon everyone in the county that has drug charges or maybe they had a ticket they couldn't pay so they had to have probation in order to pay the ticket off. They tested positive for marijuana or any other drug and they are thrown in "sharp." Sharp is a drug/alcohol county mandated course for anyone with any kind of drug issue. Your occassional MJ smoker is thrown in a group of folks, some with meth or crack or heroine problems and counted the same "kind" of person. What is sharp? They sit for 2 nights a week and watch Intervention and get random drug tested. That's all it is and that's how our county PAYS for drug court. This class treats your marijuana user the same as a heroin addict. This is crazy!

We need some new options here. What are they? IDK, but most drug addicts have mental/emotional issues that are untreated or undiagnosed and that's why they self-medicate. No one really n truly looks at the heart of the situation...just the symptoms. Drugs here truly are not the problem.

[mg113]

My son has been incarcerated 3 times for theft to support his drug habit, the longest he ever stayed in has been 30 days.. of course while he was in he wanted REHAB NOT JAIL well they let him out to complete a rehab program and guess what HE RAN OFF AND USED AGAIN, NEVER FINISHED THE CLASSES AND A YEAR AND TWO WARRANTS LATER he is back in jail crying that he wants rehab AGAIN..; ummm this kid has been offered many different rehabs since he was 16 ( he is 23 now) but he never completed one because HE WAS NOT READY TO BE CLEAN.. so now he has to do the time.... and I feel he deserves it.. he had many tools offered to him to stay clean and he chose dope every time so now he will sit in jail I am sure it will be for more then a month this time.

Do I think he needs rehab instead of jail in theory I do but rehab does no one any good if the person does not want to be clean ( like my son) I thank god he is in jail now .... he would have died on the streets living the way he was living hopefully he can reflect on his choices now

[vanhelton]

Well, my husband was sentenced to 10 years for POCS. This is his first charge ever. This is the only thing on his record. 10 years seems like cruel and unusual punishment to me.....There is people who rape and kill that get less time than my hubby.....oh... and what he got charged with was .23 grams ): really unfair

[Klewis]

I don't think drug dealers should get more time then murders. I understand that they are selling a substance that can kill people and it messes up a lot of folks lives but that is not the same as murder. I think drug dealers should go through some kind of rehab program and they also should have to take a trade since most of them never worked a real job in their life. I don't think they should be giving sentences like 17 years, 25 years, etc.

[goodgirl22]

Why does the gov't / judicial system not like drug dealers??....that is an easy answer. How much money is spent and made in the drug industry? Billions of dollars. How much of that is taxable? A BIG FAT ZERO! Lol. It's not good for business....plain and simple. Say you murdered someone....you come out of jail and decide you want to go to school and expand your horizons. No problem, you can get all the financial aid you want. Say you are convicted of a drug related crime...BIG PROBLEM. Anyone convicted of a drug offense can not get any sort of financial aid. Seems like drug dealers are the ones who are in need of career training/education. But they are denied.

I think it all has to with money. They dot want people making money and not paying taxes. Just like politicians use sex offender registry laws to make the public feel "safe" in order to gain more votes...when in reality, the registry has no effect on decreasing sex offenses. It all comes down to money and politics. Sad...but true. That is how the system works...and it sucks.

Oh...and don't EVEN get me started in how much private prisons and contracted companies in state prisons make! The more people in prison, the more money is made! It's a booming business! Has nothing to do with corrections OR rehabilitation.

[MrsCetina]

I dont think it should be a crime for anyone to use or possess drugs. I think it should be looked at as more of a medical issue and there should be more clinics like there is in Vancouver, Canada for heroin users. They provide clean needles, staff on site to counteract overdoses and a rehab center
upstairs for those who are ready to quit. The war on drugs has been going on long enough that its obvious it hasnt solved anything. People are still manufacturing, still dealing, still using, still overdosing and dying. I think people in charge need to accept the reality that people dont care about drugs being illegal, it doesnt stop anyone who wants to use from using. The only way anyone ever successfully stops using drugs is to want better for themselves and their lives, and thats a decision that cant be forced upon you. It just doesnt work. The laws against drugs are not helping anyone.