Essay #2-Chasing Heroin was a documentary that highlighted many different programs to help with America’s increasing Heroin issues. There were two programs that were mentioned to help people with their heroin addiction. The first program is known as the Law Enforcement Addiction Diversion program, or LEAD program. This program has a goal to not punish people for their addiction but to improve their quality of life. This program essentially gives users a second chance by instead of taking them to jail right away. This program has shown police another way to deal with users and it is cheaper and helps lower the crime rates. It works like an intervention. Users who are “convicted” meet with counselors that work with them to help them
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As seen in the documentary, the stories that were used in the documentary, those people almost overdosed. In the time a counselor might be waiting for a client to want to quit, they might overdose and die. There is no pressure on the client to get them to want to quit in the meantime. Another reason why it might not work is there is no real punishment for users. Users who are found by the police get referred to the LEAD program do not go to jail or get in any legal trouble. While this might seem like a good thing, it does not teach the client how dangerous this drug can really be. It kind of teaches them that it is okay to keep using because they are not going to get into trouble. The last reason it might not work is because of the lack of funding. During the documentary, the story of the male client, he wanted to go to detox and he had to wait weeks to get into a detox facility and when he got there, they did not have a bed for him. That can be discouraging and can cause clients to want to use again because they feel there is no hope or no point to getting clean. The studies that have been done on the LEAD program has shown its success rates and without funding this program might die off and not get an opportunity to help other users
As seen in the documentary, the stories that were used in the documentary, those people almost overdosed. In the time a counselor might be waiting for a client to want to quit, they might overdose and die. There is no pressure on the client to get them to want to quit in the meantime. Another reason why it might not work is there is no real punishment for users. Users who are found by the police get referred to the LEAD program do not go to jail or get in any legal trouble. While this might seem like a good thing, it does not teach the client how dangerous this drug can really be. It kind of teaches them that it is okay to keep using because they are not going to get into trouble. The last reason it might not work is because of the lack of funding. During the documentary, the story of the male client, he wanted to go to detox and he had to wait weeks to get into a detox facility and when he got there, they did not have a bed for him. That can be discouraging and can cause clients to want to use again because they feel there is no hope or no point to getting clean. The studies that have been done on the LEAD program has shown its success rates and without funding this program might die off and not get an opportunity to help other users