Year in, year out, you will discover that lots of addicts are sentenced to varying years in prison. This discovery is in line with the conventional notion that addicts should be jailed when they commit crimes.
However, these days, there are advocates who are calling for looking at the change in an addict’s attitude rather than serving jail time.
It would interest you to know that, jail is not a recommended or advisable form of rehab. Hence, it should not be used as one.
When addicts are sentenced to jail, it does not mean that they would change when they get out.
The first problem to solve is to address the old flawed concept of addiction treatment. The general idea is addiction is a moral fiasco and an individual weakness.
Addicts are assumed to have committed a wrong offence due to an internal challenge. Hence, the assumed way of addressing this is to punish them.
This idea also applies to those who do not even have trouble with the law. In times past, strict love and punishment has been the modus operandi when relating with patients.
This is an archaic and wrong method that needs to be corrected because it is still being applied in most places.
Due to the fact that this method is prevalent, addicts are given jail time, and their addiction is not given proper attention.
Jail might be effective for a small number of addicts, but in the long-run particularly when they leave jail, they relapse.
So, it is best to prevent a later rehab, by admitting them to a rehab rather than prison sentence.
Definitely, there should be consequences for crimes related to drugs, but jail time, overtime, has not proved to be the most proficient way.
It is best to put them in a treatment or correctional facility rather than prison. Staying there would provide the help they need to defeat addiction and also transform into responsible individuals.
At this phase, it would be rare to see them break the laws of the society again.