Drug Rehabilitation In Prisons

For everything in life there is a consequence. Growing up we learn how those consequences can vary. These consequences can start very small, starting as a child we learn not to touch the stove or else we might get burned, or to respect our parents otherwise we would get a timeout where we would have to think about our actions that got us the punishment. Whatever punishment it was, they all had one thing in common. And that thing is the fact that we learned from our mistakes. So why is that when we’re adults those type of learning experiences are suddenly turned into consequences in which the person who committed that mistake learns nothing and not only that but the rest of their life they’ll have that mistake following them everywhere else

They might argue that as soon as prisoners are set free they would go right back to their continued drug use. Although this could be considered a valid argument, this is wrong mainly due to the fact that without any treatment it is more likely criminals would continue their drug use than if they were to get the treatment that would help them in the long run. The first thing that needs to improve in all prisons is how people who clearly have a problem should get treatment. Many inmates who are currently in jail have a drug problem, what these people get instead of help is a punishment that could often times lead them to continue their drug use or escalate it as soon as they get out of prison. “The reason for the increase is related to the war on drugs and convictions for drug-related offenses.” (Wormer) During the war on drugs, people, more specifically african americans, were getting arrested for minor drug offenses. And when this plan was first started it was a way to specifically target minorities, mainly african americans. “African Americans now constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population... African Americans are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites” (NAACP) But this is much greater than just helping inmates who need treatment for their drug addiction. This would ultimately help with bettering society as a whole. “More than half of all the people arrested in the United States test positive for illegal drugs. Drug and alcohol abuse contribute to higher rates of property crime and robbery as well as domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual violence” (Wormer) If treatment was prioritized in these prisons our society would become better as a