Substance Abuse In Prison

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Treatment for substance abuse issues are over looked in the jail and prison system. This paper will consider how and why substance abuse treatments should be provided. It will also explore what types of treatment are effective in this setting and how people can change if treatment is addressed. A focus on rehabilitation will help prevent returning to the prison system repeatedly. Most often incarceration is the first time offenders have their substance abuse identified while they are incarcerated. Frequently substance abusers return right back to active use once they are released from jail or prison. I believe treatment for substance abuse while in jail or prison is an absolute need. First, by not addressing the issues of treatment in jail and prisons, drug offenses have increased from 67 percent to 70 percent from the late 80s to 90s. About 16 percent committed a crime under the influence of drugs or alcohol and committed that crime for drug money (Service 5). Maruschak found only 4 percent of those jailed for DWI receive any type of alcohol abuse …show more content…
Years later, thanks to Sen. John Whitmire, it changed when money was put back adding 6,000 beds to treat nonviolent prisoners with a substance abuse problem (Carmichael 4). They started to see some positive results as the prison population was predicted to climb by 5,000 at the end of 2008, but only enlarged by a 10th of that (Carmichael 4). In the long run, treatment programs save money. The NIDA( National Institute on Drug Abuse) reported some statistic on heroin addicts that received no treatment were “Seven times as likely as treated inmates to become re-addicted, and three times likely to end up in prison again” according to Human Rights Watch (“Carmichael” 2). Jail and prison substance abuse treatment programs are reducing inmates from returning to prison after release (Service