Should drug addicts be sent to jail?

Answer 1

I think the main thing is that they get help. If going to jail is the only way for them to do that. Then yes

Answer 2

perhaps, but I sure would like to see serious dollars given to treatment over prison when it makes sense.

Some addicts will never ever stop, or even want to, and the resulting crimes over time should be penalized hard I think. Anyone who makes or sells METH though should be killed on the spot.

Those who really want to be clean, well there are limited ways to get help.

My 17 yo daughter is an addict - has been for the past 3 almost 4 years. She is clean now through a combination or rehab, threats, consequences etc etc. It has only been 4 months but I am hopeful. Then again I was hopeful before.

Answer 3

No drug addicts should not be sent to jail, unless they committ a crime. Not all drug addicts committ crimes. It amazes me that we as a society still are looking at the symptons as the blame, instead of what causes people to use drugs. We have to help the people to believe in life and theirselves enough to want to get off drugs. Rehab and a self help orginization with people that have been there and gotten through is the answer. First they have to believe that their life can be better.

Answer 4

No. Addicts cannot be reformed, unless they want it. I am not, and have never been a drug user, but I do belive in legalization. We should have learned from the prohibition, that making substances illegal, never works. It just makes criminals, of those who probably wouldn't have been otherwise.
What happened to Al Capone and all of the gangsters after the prohibition was lifted?
Same thing would happen to the gangs, and drug related crimes, if we would admit that we've lost the war on drugs, and made them legal.

Answer 5

The problem with sentencing them to rehab is that, if they are not ready to be rehabilitated, then it won't work. It just won't. The person has got to WANT to get better in order for rehab to be helpful.

I agree with the first answer. If they commit a crime that warrants prison, they should be sent to prison...or jail, depending on the crime, I guess.

A lot of times, the prison time is just the kick in the pants some addicts need to help them WANT to get better. There have been drug addicts in my family in the past. They were in and out of rehabs. In and out of jail. It was the crime that landed them in prison that got them thinking. All of them are now out of prison, clean and sober, and have jobs.

Answer 6

If you're goal is to get them to stop using drugs, then no. Prison is fairly useless as a means of controlling or reducing addiction, while rehab and medical treatment can actually get them to stop using drugs in the long term.

If you're goal is merely to punish then, maybe. But what's the point, other than to be cruel and authoritarian.

Prison was originally intended to serve two functions. Deterrence of future crimes, and protection of society from those who are dangerous. As deterrence, jail fails its goal, because addictive behavior is not entirely voluntary. So, unless they get treatment, jail isn't going to stop them from using again.

As to protecting society, people who are taking drugs are not hurting anyone else directly. They may go on to commit other crimes, but those are separate crimes that may be punished separately. We don't send people to jail for alcoholism or nicotine addiction or compulsive gambling, but we do send them to jail for any separate crimes they commit to feed their habit.

So, if jail doesn't stop them from using drugs, and using drugs doesn't harm anyone else, and it's the continued addiction that poses the risk to society, how does jail solve anything? It doesn't. But effective treatment does, because it prevents the person from using again, and it protects society because there is no addiction to lead to other crimes.

Note: I'm talking just about drug addiction and recreational drug use itself. Not about distribution, smuggling, selling, or any other voluntary drug-related crimes.

Answer 7

Then the great majority of people would be in jail. Alcoholics, nicotine addicts, caffeine addicts..the only difference between "legal" and "illegal" drugs is legal definition, plants and chemicals have been used and abused far longer than the US has been around. :\

Answer 8

Just for being addicted? No. The problem with addiction is the things people do to get their next fix.

Answer 9

Yes, addicts to an illegal drug should be sent to prison and given hard time. They are comitting a crime, plain and simple.

Answer 10

NO. If they are unable to function as responsible, productive members of society, they need rehabilitation. IF they commit a crime, they should be sentenced as criminals. "Preventative legislation" is baloney- stop putting innocent people in jail just because they choose to enjoy drugs responsibly. Using drugs, in and of itself, is not a crime.