Finding Your Anti-drunk

08 NOV 2022

Why Rehabilitation is Better for Sobriety

Rehabilitation for drug abuse

There are too many misconceptions these days about drug abuse in America. Too many politicians and pundits make claims that drug abuse is a crime that should be punished, sometimes with jail sentences that stretch decades. What’s clear is that drug abuse is a huge problem in this country, but the solution is not to go to war against people who have substance abuse problems, but to give them help through rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation for drug abuse is a positive way of reforming people with substance abuse and other self-inflicted medical issues. For several decades now, the “solution” for America’s drug abuse problem has been to arrest people for possession of drugs and imprison them. In the process of doing this, our country has locked away hundreds of thousands of people on charges of possession in state and federal prisons, even though the majority of these people do not have violent criminal records.

Unfortunately, cuts to prison budgets and even the privatization of prisons have made it harder for people who might need help to get it. Overcrowded jails put someone who has a history of drug abuse in the same environment as someone who might have murdered in cold bold. It’s a dangerous and stressful environment that only makes it less likely for someone who is trying to recover from substance abuse successful. On top of this, since prisons have less money in their budgets they can’t focus on rehabilitation programs which help substance abusers recover; they’re just trying to keep the power running, the guards paid, and the prisoners from rioting. G.E.D programs and other skills training that are effective tools in giving former prison inmates a job once they return to the “real world” are usually cut, and psychological counseling and other therapy programs that can help rehabilitate inmates are also less available, which proves harmful to people who are simply trying to recover from a terrible medical condition.

Instead of punishing drug abuse and substance abuse with incarceration and violent force, it would be better for everyone involved – those with substance abuse problems as well as the rest of society – if rehabilitation were the favored method for dealing with drug users. A positive rehabilitation program, where people with addiction are weaned off their drugs of choice, or given access to lots of fresh air, healthy food, bright clean light, and lots of trained counselors and therapists stands a better chance of helping people who have drug abuse and substance abuse problems. With the help of rehabilitation, a helping hand can make a huge difference to people who want to live better, healthier lives and put their past of drug abuse behind them.

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