When it comes to combatting drug-based crimes, it is a common suggestion by the public to simply jail those who offend. Drugs are a blight on society, the assumption goes, and for that reason anyone taking part in using drugs is part of the problem. However, such a Spartan view of the complex drugs culture within America and beyond produces more problems than solutions. Most of the people alive today have seen ‘war on drugs’ style campaigns take place – have these arrest-first policies many any progress, though?
Most would argue no. in fact, many people find themselves within an addictive cycle where they are addicted, punished, and convicted. This leaves the addict with both little help with their addiction, and little support in finding a post-prison solution. Naturally, this leaves the door open for a return to committing crimes, taking drugs, and having no real support network to get back to a functioning part of society.
However, many countries across the world are now trialling a treatment-first approach to dealing with addiction. Instead of treating those who take drugs as enemies of the state, they should be treated as what they most likely are: victims.
By helping those who are in need of actual drug treatment to find help and support, we can do more to rehabilitate the individual. We can ensure they are given the opportunity to get help, find support, and make sure they are working towards being free of addiction. Not only does getting treatment help to overcome addiction, but it does not tie a reputational stain to the individual and thus make it hard for them to get back to being a functioning and respected member of society.
Treatment, not imprisonment, is the answer
These topics have long been discussed by those in positions of power. The decision to treat drugs as a criminal act guilty of imprisonment often comes from the need for governments to be seen to be doing something. Just about anyone can pinpoint someone in their lives who has been through a drug addiction, prescription or otherwise.
Therefore, many of us see the scourge of drug addiction and when someone promises to get tough on drugs it feels easy to offer support. However, too many people are put in positions where their lives, their ties to their own community, and their future employment prospects, are ruined simply by having an addiction in their system.
By offering treatment, it becomes easier to push people towards a path of meaningful progress. For one, they are able to overcome the addiction and to return to society to help benefit the world. Instead of being another government incarceration statistic, they can become a walking example of a reformation system that does the job that it was supposed to.
Today, it is easier than ever to simply look at someone who has gone through drug addiction and see them as a criminal. By shifting the focus and looking at them not as criminals but as victims, though, we could do so much more to bring back those who have been hit by drug addiction into society.
The time for ‘tough action’ is over; it is now time to extend the hand of decency to everyone, especially those who are victims of the drugs trade.
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