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The prison population in the United States (U.S.) has increased by five times since 1975, and much of that population increase is the number of addicts and alcoholics that instead of getting help are being punished for actions taken in an impaired mental state. If Substance Use Disorders, an excepted behavioral health diagnosis in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) was looked at as the mental health impairment that it is, the decisions made under the influence of drugs and alcohol and the distorted thinking that is part of the disorder it-self should be looked at differently than it currently is. As high as 80% of the crimes that that lead to incarceration involve drugs or alcohol use. Sixty percent of all people arrested test positive for at least one illicit substance at the time of their arrest. Hopefully new options or solutions, other than punishment, can be made available more and more of the time for this enormous problem in the U.S..

Addiction Treatment runs an average of $5000 - $10,000 per person when the cost of incarceration per inmate in the U.S. is $20,000 - $30,000 per year. Maybe instead of punishing the victims of addiction and saddling them with criminal records to further complicate their lives and make recovery and healthy sober living more and more difficult to obtain, the money could be invested in helping addicts overcome their addictions and gain skills to change and empower them-selves. Rehabilitation only works when the system builds people up and gives them expanded capabilities. It seams like the current treatment or punishment of addicts only tears them down and limits their options and possibilities. With estimates that as high as 65% of the general population of prisons in the U.S. still meet the diagnosis criteria for a Substance Use disorders less than 15% of that population get any type of help for their disorder while incarcerated. It has been estimated that as high as 95% of incarcerated addicts return to substance abuse upon their release from prison and most of them return to the criminal activities that go hand and hand with their addiction. 

The growing and hopeful trend of Drug Courts through-out the U.S. may be one of these valid solutions. Drug Courts have not only been more successful at real rehabilitation for addicts but save lives by getting help with detox and recovery sooner and more cost effectively. Drug Courts and some of the experienced and compassionate judges that have led this shift in treating addiction as the disease it is instead of a moral failure worthy of only punishment, may be the future answer to stop the out of control prison population growth. With over 3,000 drug courts in the U.S. with statistics that show great success in lowering the percent of repeat offenders and a reduction of crime as high as 45% there may finally be a shift in how addiction and addicts are perceived in the United States. The public and all involved need to support this trend, moving from punishment to compassion with the addiction problem in the U.S.. As an advocate for change I support this shift and hope to find and support even more solutions to helping addicts and their families.

Kevin Brough
kevin@visionlogic.org