Heroin Addiction Paper

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Behavioral treatment is highly encouraged for addicts. After all, users claim addiction is a mental and physical disease. The National Institute claims that cognitive-behavioral therapy and contingency management are effective when it comes to treating heroin addiction. A few institutions have specific programs for substance abusers. For example, the R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility, near San Diego. This medium security prison has program called, the Amity Prison Therapeutic Community (TC) program. According to Reichel, this program enrolls 200 men that have a history of drug abuse, demonstrate a willingness to participate in the program, have no history of child molestation or mental illness, and be within nine to fifteen months of release …show more content…
Usually, it does not just affect the user, it affects all those surrounding them. Whether it be family members, friends, co-workers, or even the community, a heroin addiction can have a negative effect on all associated. Heroin addicts use once to a multitude of times a day. This addiction is not cheap and requires sufficient and consistent funding. Sufficient and consistent is not something associated with the middle and lower classes of America when it comes to income. Middle to lower class addicts end up using all of their money to obtain the drugs. Once the money disappears they usually result to other methods of gaining money, legally and illegally. A few sale or pawn their belongings, donate plasma, or donate sperm (male only). Others steal, participate in prostitution, and forge prescriptions. Addicts steal from those closest to them. This is how the people that surround the addict are affected by the addiction. Upper class addicts are able to fund their addiction with ease. Unfortunately, upper class addicts and lower/middle class addicts endure the same outcomes of addiction. They humiliate themselves, lose everything, end up in jail or prison, or …show more content…
In no way was this paper a lashing at law enforcement. It was a means of constructive criticism and providing of statistics to show the hole the United States is falling into. Law enforcement professionals have enough running through their minds when they put on the badge. With the media portraying officers as the bad guys day and night, it is not surprising that an addict who is participating in an illegal act would not look to them for help. There are law enforcement professionals in the world that do want to help and end this epidemic just as much as the next

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