Final Issue Exploration

Thomas E. Altizer
English 1010 Bogle
Salt Lake Community College
Drug Rehabilitation
Issue Overview:
Drug addiction and alcoholism have reached epidemic levels in America in the
twenty-first century. Our streets are littered with the ravages of this terrible disease and
almost every household is affected in some way by this epidemic. For almost eighty years,
the fight to rehabilitate addiction has been commenced to combat the fatal effects of this
disease (Huebner and Cantor, Academic Search Premier). Moreover, over 50% of offenders
currently incarcerated in Americas prison system are serving time for offenses related to
addiction (Altieri, ProQuest). The war on drugs has waged for more than forty years, but has
it helped this situation?
Does incarceration help those addicted? Is rehabilitation a better option? Is
alcoholism/addiction really a disease? Why are so many people and families affected by
drugs and alcohol? The American public can no longer pass a blind eye to these questions.
Drug addiction and alcoholism have reached a public health crisis in America, and no one is
safe. People who otherwise are smart, productive and happy members of society crumble and
die penniless and hopeless thanks to the ravages of their own addictions. The future of our
children and the nation depends on proper care and awareness for this population, and all
other people who can be potentially affected.
Perspective 1: Does Incarceration Help Those Addicted?

Since the 1950s, a certain stigma has been attached to addicts that has led to the
legislation and current treatment of drug offenses in America. The all-out War on Drugs
instituted by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s was bred from prejudices and biases developed by
the government in the 1950s to curb the influence of the mafia and underground crime that
produced the drug market in America (Pembleton, Academic Search Premier). Since this war
has commenced, a multi-billion dollar campaign has thus commenced to keep drugs off the
streets and punish the thugs responsible for flooding our streets with these substances.
Research has shown that this approach is counterintuitive to the goals intended. More
times than not, otherwise non-violent offenders are exposed to a whole new world of crime
and vice once in prison. After leaving prison, the likelihood of someone returning to prison is
quite high due to the life of crime learned in the system, and the lack of life skills they usually
are lacking prior to entering the system in the first place. New studies have shown since drug
prevention plans and treatment efforts have commenced in certain correctional facilities, that
after receiving care for their addiction either in prison or instead of prison, the facility saw an
actual 25% decrease in repeat offenders in just one year (Altieri, ProQuest).
Perspective 2: Is Rehabilitation A Better Option?
Rehabilitation has been around for over eighty years. The ravages of alcoholism and
addiction are by no means a new concept, but it took many years of failed institutional and
medical help to birth the concept of rehabilitation. In 1932 two recovering alcoholic men, Bill
Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith created a program based on developing a spiritual and moral
solution to the alcoholic question. They created the first twelve-step program, Alcoholics
Anonymous. From this twelve-step framework, the first residential treatment center was
opened, Hazleden, which instituted the twelve steps in conjuncture with behavioral therapy

and other forms of holistic treatment to treat the whole person who is affected by this disease
(Heubner and Cantor, Academic Search Premier).
Since this approach commenced, millions of people have saved themselves from
reaching a point of no return in their lives, and have turned them around to do marvelous
things. Unfortunately, even treatment is not always sufficient to save everyone, though.
Celebrities such as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Williams, and Amy Winehouse all had
attended such facilities, and died as a result of their own relapse (Friedman, CQ researcher).
However, this approach respects the fact that an addict/alcoholic is a sick person, not a
criminal, and this holistic approach truly affects change, and treats the issue instead of
punishing it (Felicilda-Reynaldo, Academic Search Premier)
Perspective 3: Is Alcoholism/Addiction Really A Disease?
One of the most controversial issues associated with addiction is its reference as a
disease. What is a disease? Webster defines a disease as, a disorder of structure or function
in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that produces specific signs or symptoms or that
affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury. The specific
location addiction affects is the midbrain and the instinctual part of the central nervous
system which deals with the next fifteen seconds. The symptoms associated with this disease
are the ravenous and despicable actions carried out by the addict to get their next fix or drink
(Prah, CQ Researcher).
Addicts arent born addicts, yes, but addicts are born with a certain mentality and
cerebral structure that makes addiction possible. Addicts make the conscious choice to try
their drug of choice for the first time, and may do the drug a few more times before addiction
takes a hold. At some point, the high levels of dopamine sent to the central nervous system
cause the body and brain to be convinced that the drug is necessary for survival, and once

developed, the phenomenon of craving and obsession never goes away. This fits the model of
disease created by the American Medical Association, and is slowly becoming accepted as
such is some circles of the medical fraternity as of late (Price, CQ Researcher).
Perspective 4: Why Are So Many People and Families Affected by Addiction?
Studies have now shown that one in ten, or 23.5 million Americans over the age of 12
are affected by drug or alcohol addiction (Price, CQ Researcher). This is a serious problem
that cannot be overlooked. Currently 2.2 million Americans are incarcerated, and over 50
percent of them are incarcerated for drug offenses. How did we as a country reach this point?
New studies have shown that through more readily available drugs and high
percentage alcoholic beverages on the market, the newer generations are actually being
bred to have alcoholic and addictive tendencies. With alcohol brands like Four Loko and
Tilt, and street drugs becoming more accessible as the result of the effects of the War on
Drugs, children are able to get their hands on these substances younger and at a cheaper
price than ever before (Price, CQ Press).
Conclusion: Should We Rehabilitate Addicts Instead of Incarcerate Them?
Drug addiction has reached epidemic heights. With more Americans affected by
addiction than the population of Texas, we must help these sick people. No one wakes up one
day and says to themelves, Im going to be a drug addict today. People become addicts
because of serious underlying issues that affect them over time. Nothing is more apparent of a
proof for this than the current pill pandemic in Utah.
The war on drugs has done nothing but exacerbate the problem, either. Otherwise
normal and sane individuals with the disease become incarcerated for non-violent crimes, get
placed in a highly violent prison environment, and as a result, emerge violent criminals who

re-enter the system over and over again, because their true issues are never met. Moreover,
the stringent prohibition and law enforcement of these substances has caused the demand to
skyrocket, making this product a multi-billion dollar industry. All of that money goes into the
most sinister of pockets, which repopulates and grows the crime and destruction which
ravage our streets and grow the problem worse.
All in all, addicts are sick people. Do they commit horrible acts of crime sometimes?
Absolutely. But these acts are symptoms of a disease that plagues their minds, and
chronically manifest themselves at the worst times. Would we punish a type 2 diabetic person
because they ate too much? If the answer is no, then we should not punish the addict for
disease they developed from bad decision making either. With education, awareness, and
proper legislation, we Americans need to cut this disease off at its source, and truly treat the
sick people it produces instead of punishing the symptoms that are a byproduct of that illness.

Works Cited

Altieri, Kathy Marie. Validating the Alcohol and Drug use Survey and Determining the
Relationships of Familial and Age-Related Variables with Substance Abuse of
Adolescents in a Correctional Facility. Order No. 3042389 Kent State University,
2001. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 22 Nov. 2015
Baker, Al. "Governor Offers Legislation to Soften Harsh Drug Laws." New York Times, Late
Edition (East Coast) ed.Jul 16 2003.ProQuest. Web. 22 Nov. 2015 .
Cooper, M. H. (2000, July 28). Drug-policy debate. CQ Researcher, 10, 593-624.
Felicilda-Reynaldo, Rhea Faye D. "Recognizing Signs Of Prescription Drug Abuse And
Addiction, Part I." MEDSURG Nursing 23.6 (2014): 391-396. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.
Friedman, J. (2014, May 2). Treating addiction. CQ Researcher, 24, 385-408. Retrieved from
http://library.cqpress.com/
Huebner, Robert B., and Lori Wolfgang Kantor. "Advances In Alcoholism Treatment."
Alcohol
Research & Health 33.4 (2011): 295-299. Academic Search Premier.
Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

Pembleton, Matthew R. "The Voice Of The Bureau: How Frederic Sondern And The Bureau
Of Narcotics Crafted A Drug War And Shaped Popular Understanding Of Drugs,
Addiction, And Organized Crime In The 1950S." Journal Of American Culture 38.2
(2015): 113-129. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.
Prah, P. M. (2005, July 15). Methamphetamine. CQ Researcher, 15, 589-612. Retrieved from
http://library.cqpress.com/
Price, T. (2012, June 8). Alcohol abuse. CQ Researcher, 22, 501-524. Retrieved from
http://library.cqpress.com/