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Comparison Of Treatment Vs. Incarceration For Opioid Abuse

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Treatment vs. Incarceration for Opioid Abuse There are more than 15 million Americans that suffer from opioid abuse disorder (WHO,2014). This paper looks at treatment options verses incarceration. Out of the 2 million people in federal and state prison more than one-quarter of them suffer from drug abuse (Common Sense for Drug Policy, 2016). What is more astonishing is that most of them do not receive the treatment they need to recover from their opiate addiction. There are many treatment options available one that is looked at here is Naloxone, which is an opiate antagonist. It reverses the effects of opiates as well as helps those who overdose from opiates. Many factors are looked in this paper such as social impacts, treatment methods, …show more content…
It seems that within our society it is easier to lock someone up for their substance use disorder rather than helping them to overcome it. Essentially what we are doing is locking up the issue itself. In a study conducted in Spain it showed that individuals who were given mandatory community treatment rather than incarceration had decreased rates of recidivism (Garcia-Jiménez, Godoy-Fernandez, Llor-Esteban, and Ruiz-Hernández, 2014). Scientific studies have shown that treatment programs help drug abusers change attitudes, beliefs, and how they behave; more importantly it helps prevent relapse. Studies have also shown that after treatment an individual changes their lives completely; they do not have substance use disorder nor do they conduct in criminal activity that would result in incarceration (NIH, …show more content…
There needs to be more drug courts established to uphold these matters in regards to non-violent offenders. The statistics of our society and opiate use is astonishing. We need to make a drastic change and soon. Drugs like Naloxone need to be given to those who have not only overdosed on opiates, but those who are using. The effects of the drug are scientifically proven to be a healing point for a user. Educating those using or before prescribing opiates the effects of addiction would also be a beneficial factor in decreasing the amount of those that get addicted. There are too many people in our prisons and with all the numbers provided understanding the underlying factor that many of these people should be in treatment not in

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