Substance Abuse Recovery Essay

The Recovery from Substance Abuse Disorder

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHS, 2022) finds that, as of 2022, nearly 39% of juveniles in the justice system meet the criteria for a substance use disorder. Substance use disorders (SUD) are “treatable, chronic diseases characterized by a problematic pattern of use of substance”: these substances cause problems in one's health/behavior, and make it difficult to avoid the substance (CDC, 2022). Being convicted of a substance use disorder as a juvenile can affect the rest of their life. Commonly, when trying to escape addiction, there is a high chance of relapse: relapse is the return to addiction after improvement. Relapse can put juveniles back into prison and

Substance use disorders are generally sparked by attempts to cope with childhood trauma (Leitch, 2017). Rather than viewing this tendency as strange or illogical, the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE) with Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) describes traumatized behavior as “normal reactions to abnormal experiences”, which is an interesting take (Leitch, 2017). Coping is a recommended reaction that juveniles attempt to block out by gravitating toward substances; however, this is not an unusual response. Studies also found that childhood trauma has a big impact on all incarcerated individuals. These studies tend to find “elevated rates of childhood trauma in incarcerated populations and offender groups” (Leitch, 2017). Richard Hammersley (2011) agrees with this claim and adds a new perspective by pointing out that “drug use itself causes[…] trauma” and then, they use drugs to “cope with the negative psychological effects of trauma” which creates a vicious circle. This means that drugs are used to cope with past trauma, but can also cause trauma, resulting in more drugs. The only way to fix this cycle would be to repair substance addiction and trauma at the same time. If they are both not treated, history will repeat itself. Surprisingly, there is a large population of youth that take drugs. It is normalized in the teenage years to experiment with drugs, but a small percentage of adolescents end up

Although, some may argue juveniles will never return back to a normal life. This point may be actual in some cases: juvenile offenders struggle with applying for jobs with their criminal record. On every application, there is a question asking if they have been convicted of a felony, which immediately decreases their chance of getting the job (Coleman, 2021). Prison is used to serve time in exchange for the wrongs an offender has committed, so they should not have to hold on to their past mistakes and should be able to return to their life. However, juvenile offenders may also struggle with a lack of education, which limits them from going to school and expanding their knowledge (Teplin et al., 2005). Educational services are mandatory to provide to juveniles when serving time, but very few offenders take them (ACDL, 2019). This needs to be changed, if school time is required for children under the age of 18 who are not in detention, it should also be necessary for those doing time. This way offenders must attend school, but it is ultimately up to them if they decide to pay attention or not. Schooling allows prisoners to better themselves, and have a better chance at a successful life after prison. Even with an education, offenders may still struggle with their mental stability. Taking substances as a juvenile will mess with the development of the