Reminds me of a study about Vietnam and how so many soldiers were hooked on hard drugs like Heroin and Morpheme. Given the incredibly high rates of recidivism typically associated with those drugs, it was assumed that the returning GIs would have enormous drug problems.
But then something happened. When they returned the majority of the GIs kicked the drug habits and led normal lives. What happened?
Turns out that environment matters. If you send a âcuredâ drug user back into the same environment that made him turn to drugs in the first place, heâs likely to get sucked back into the lifestyle. Drug use is a symptom, not a cause, which is why drug addiction treatment doesnât work very wellâitâs only treating the symptoms. This is also why Wall Street Bankers can be fantastically successful despite expensive coke habits at the same time crack is considered the scourge of the ghetto.
Unfortunately, the cause is much much more difficult to treat, and involves breaking the cycle of poverty and ignorance.
This puts me in mind of a short story by Grace Paley, A Conversation With My Father. Yes, itâs fiction, but this story about storytelling serves as kind of a poignant reminder that this is only one chapter in this womanâs life. There is a possibility she will not have to look tragedy in the face.
Iâm surprised that they arrested the freshly released convict. How much of a role could he possibly have played in the transaction, particularly If they had surveillance on him from his release to the capture.
It doesnât sound like the police were interested in breaking the cycle of poverty at all⌠if they knew that the Mother had the drugs on her they could just as easily have busted her BEFORE they let her son out of jail.
evidence of personality disorders is always, always shocking
" intake-outtake door"
A well labeled door in this case.
Easy to be snarky, but this was an act of compassion by a mother for her dope-sick son. Anyone whoâs experienced withdrawals will appreciate this. We should be questioning why we lock people in cages simply because they choose to ingest politically unpopular substances. Laughing at a situation like this lends tacit approval to the drug war.
Yes, in a better world the might have used that information as an opportunity to intervene before Mr. Hoadleyâs release and try to help him find the help he needed to kick the cycle. Instead they used it as an opportunity to add one more person to the overcrowded and ineffective prison system.
Pescovitz should get a job with the Daily Mail writing front page headlines.
Thatâs expensive and hard to do. Much easier to throw him back in the for-profit prison and suckle on the teat of the government some more.
Reminds me of the Sid Vicious story.
Perhaps mom will now see the downside of enabling her sonâs drug habit. Instead of taking the time to obtain heroin, she should have made arrangements with one of the local methadone clinics to help him get on the road to recovery.
Charles and David Koch⌠er Pescovitz
Just shows how stupid it is putting addicts in prison instead of treating them
The stories about failing criminals are kind of starting to give me a bad taste in my mouth.
Sounds like the thoughts of someone who has never known addiction. Heroin and morphine were nowhere near as available in post-Vietnam USA as they are today, never mind their synthetic alternatives. So saying returning vets were able to give it up because of their strength of will is like saying Saudi Arabians are somehow stronger than Americans because their low rate of alcoholism. Opiates arenât something someone simply has the choice to give up, like waking up and deciding âI really donât need that cruller from Dunkinâ Donuts.â Iâm not saying that drug addicts donât bear a measure of personal responsibility, but withdrawal from opiates is not a matter just of choice, itâs matter of severe physical distress. And I can understand any parent who would consider at least temporarily alleviating that suffering despite the legal implications. TBFTGOG*GI
*G=FSM
For-profit prisons make more money when they have more people in them. There is no incentive to prevent the son from getting into trouble again, and plenty of incentive to make sure he does.
No it isnt
The nurse moves around along with her silver tray feeding the junky and we called her âMotherâ wouldnât you?
-William S Burroughs, Naked Lunch
The successful ones make me a lot angrier. Instead of prison, they end up in Congress.
