Drug addiction is a malignant problem that many communities face across the country. Illegal drugs are catalysts of hate, violence, and crime that often results to pain, suffering, and death. However, Staff writer Elizabeth Barber has reported for The Christian Science Monitor that most Americans are now more compassionate to drug users as a poll found out:
“In a significant shift, a new poll finds that two-thirds of Americans favor drug policies that emphasize treatment, not prison sentences, for those who use illegal drugs such as heroin or cocaine.
That’s the conclusion of a new Pew Research Center poll finding that two-thirds of Americans prefer drug policies that emphasize rehabilitation, not jail time, for those who use illegal drugs such as heroin or cocaine. Most Americans also support proposals to scrap minimum sentencing laws for nonviolent drug offenses.”
The result of the Pew Research Center poll seems to anchor on the idea that people should condemn the sin and not the sinner – especially when a drug user was merely caught using illegal substances, and not performing acts of violent crimes, such as robbery and assault. Drug usage, though a crime under laws, is more of a disease that needs treatment. Missouri drug rehab answers the core issue of addiction with medication, thereby curing the user more efficiently than any correctional facility could hope to do.
Just like how St. Louis alcohol treatment facilities recognize that alcoholism and alcohol abuse are disorders and complications, people must also acknowledge that being drug dependent is a complex disease and quitting takes more than just having good intentions or a strong will. Because these illegal drugs are made of chemicals that adversely cloud judgment, and affects personalities and behaviors strongly, a comprehensive program that includes therapy and medication is needed to help users get back on their feet and start a new life.
Drug rehab offers users a chance to become productive and an opportunity to once again join the flock of responsible members of society. Instead of judging drug users, people must reach out so that drug addicts are encouraged to see the errors of their ways and may be motivated to get the treatment they need.
Comprehensive drug rehabilitation centers, such as Midwest Institute for Addiction, are usually on the frontline of helping drug users find the right path. They offer intensive programs to help them gradually break free from the deadly hold of illegal drugs, and even prepares them for the eventual re-integration to the real world. This is definitely a better option than adding more people to the already congested jail system of the country.
(Source: Americans, weary of war on drugs, prefer rehab to jail, poll says (+video), Elizabeth Barber, April 3, 2014)
