Rehabilitation As A Solution For Drug Addiction In America

It was once fashionable to smoke in America, but that’s not the case anymore. The average American is well-informed about drug use, both medically and legally. The U.S. continues to struggle with drug abuse despite this. Our country has believed for a very long time that stricter laws on drugs and stiffer penalties would help to reduce drug use. But this doesn’t seem to work. Despite the drug war, drug use continues to grow. It’s high time the U.S. modernized and looked at the drug problem from a fresh perspective. If drug users are sent to government-run rehab centers rather than jails when they get caught, the use of drugs will decline.

It is necessary to understand this problem more deeply before attempting a solution. Many people today mistakenly believe that addiction is a character flaw, but it actually represents happiness and fulfillment in a person’s life. Bruce Alexander’s Rat Park experiment is the test of “Rat Addiction”. In a normal experiment, two types of water are placed in the cage, one with and one without cocaine. The rat almost always chooses to drink the cocaine-laced water and ends up overdosing. Bruce recreated it, but instead he transformed the cage to a “rat-heaven” complete with food, companions and other activities. Surprisingly the rats did not choose the cocaine water. Bruce says that in virtually every experiment, rats in solitary were consuming more drug solution. “A lot”. This quote illustrates that solitary treatment does not work for addiction. However, an environment of support and a good atmosphere can. The quote shows that jails don’t work in treating addiction because it continues even after the release. Federal Bureau of Prisons stats support this statement: “An estimate 68% of released prisoner were arrested in 3 years. 79% of them within 6 years. And 83% of them within 9.” It is clear that prison sentences in the U.S. are not effective at reducing drug use. The high re-entry rates for drug offenders show that prison sentences will not solve addiction. A new strategy is needed. These centers will ensure their success by assigning each patient a worker with specialized knowledge who can assess the client and decide what they should do. Alltyr is a similar clinic in Los Angeles that uses an individual approach to addiction treatment. They reported “40-50% of clients completely recovered” after 90 days of treatment. The government would hire counselors who would pass a test and be licensed to work in these centers. They would also be compensated based on the success of clients. New Mexico will test the program for three to five years. It is estimated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons that “50% of all prisoners” are nonviolent offenders. The success rate will then determine whether other states implement the program or if they need to make changes to suit their state.

The U.S. spends a fortune on prison inmates. With the most crowded prisons ever seen in U.S. history, Americans are spending a fortune. Americans spend billions of dollars each year on inmates in prison. According to addictioncenter.com, a 90-day intensive rehabilitation program would cost each occupant only “3,000-6,000 dollars”. These centers will not only reduce drug abuse but also save the U.S. millions of dollars by reducing the amount spent to treat drug offenders.

Some opponents of this argument will say that these centers could be abused by people. These centers are not effective at treating drug abuse, and they will argue that stricter laws should be implemented to stop the use of drugs. Reed Anika states in her “drug abuse” article, “It’s a core concept that prosecutors pursue the most grave, easily proven offense” (para. 8). Even though it’s true, some drug usage can be stopped through harsher law and more severe sentencing. However, this argument has no validity because countries like Portugal have proven that drug use has dropped in the last year and the past month. This is according to Washington Post. It is clear that harsher sentencing coupled with a war against addiction, rather than drugs can be effective. In order to solve the American drug problem, government-run rehab centers should replace prisons.

The drug use in America is expected to decrease dramatically if the government runs rehabilitation centers instead of jails for nonviolent drug offenses. This will save America millions of dollars and will help combat the addiction problem. America has to change its attitude and approach towards the drug issue. The U.S. should set an example for other countries, and we will all advance as a race.