Consider this. In the 30 years of our War on Drugs, we have spent $600 BILLION, yes that's BILLION, and today, more people are using drugs, they are cheaper, better quality and more available. That is clearly the definition of failure.
On the other hand, lets look at probably the most addictive substance out there, Tobacco. With nowhere near the budget, and without criminalization, public health has managed to get tobacco use to decline and cigarettes are less available and harder for young people to get.
You tell me what makes sense.
Hilary Clinton recently said we can't legalize drugs because there is too much money in it. In a way she is right. Long ago, the drug war ceased to be about public health and addiction and is all about money. The money is big on both sides of the war, those who produce and sell and those who try to catch, prosecute and incarcerate. None of those people want to see the war end because they would loose too much money.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Your Tax Dollars at Work
I just had my weekly "drug treatment" group last night. I've told my PO I hope they aren't spending much on their contract with this agency, because they sure aren't getting much for their money. It's a small non-profit drug treatment and counseling organization that is the main contractor for the Federal Probation system and provides all the court ordered drug treatment and counseling that the PO's require clients to attend. As is typical in the chemical dependency treatment (CDTx) world, the primary credentials of the counselors is that they are recovering addicts, not their education and training. At the office I go to for the groups and my 1 on 1, I'm pretty sure non of the counselors has a 4 yr. college degree, though at the other office they supposedly have one or two counselors that have masters degrees.
The size of the "group" is ridiculous. There are usually about 15-20 of us in the group, which if you know anything about group work, means you will never build any trust and cohesion in the group. But then the group seems more about punishment than treatment. On good nights, we all go around and "check in" about our week and talk about anything that is going on. Since there is no trust, we seldom talk about anything of substance. The most common discussions are about stressors with spouses/partners and with the children of the group members. Employment is also a big issue, since most of us are not working or are grossly underemployed.
We also watch a lot of movies. So far we've watched "Machete", "American Drug War" (my contribution), "Requiem For a Dream", and lately we are watching "The Corner". I'm not sure what the point is of our watching these movies, except that the "group leader" (there is only one for this large of a group) doesn't have do do anything.
Whenever we talk about anything close to significant, it is mostly a one on one conversation between the "group leader" and the person that has something going on. The group members never really talk to each other or interact with each other.
The most lively times are when someone has gotten "busted" for something and face getting "revoked". Usually it is for some kind of "relapse" that they got caught for. Since I've been attending group, about a half dozen guys have been sent back to prison for something they did, but not a single one has been for doing any real "crime" other than consuming alcohol or drugs. The latest was a guy who got 18 months back in prison for failing UA's. He was a meth addict, but had his own business and was making good money.
The craziest one was a guy who went out with a buddy, who was also an ex-offender on probation, after the Rangers won the AL Championship and got drunk at a bar. He and his buddy knew they were too drunk to drive, so they called someone to come get them and then fell asleep in their truck while they waited. The cops came by and busted them for public intoxication and the PO revoked them primarily because the rule of probation is not to consort with other felons. He got a year back in prison.
I have to admit, that most of these guys aren't the brightest bulbs. I mean when you are on Federal Probation and you're not suppose to drink, how smart is it to go out and get shitfaced at a bar in public. But how crazy is it that our tax dollars are paying to lock someone up for something that is not really a crime. Plenty of people get shitfaced at a bar all the time and we don't send them to prison for it, unless they try to drive.
This is one of the lessons I've learned so far on probation. The system is rigged to keep you in it and it's pretty hard to get out of the "system". Once they are "supervising" you, you can get sent back to prison for who you hang out with, what you do in your own home, not having a "job", being in the wrong place, all kind of things that most citizens would not get in trouble for. Maybe people who get caught breaking he law should have to meet a higher standard to get off of supervision, but what this really does is bloat the correctional system and cost all of us a lot more. I'm not sure that is in our best interest as a society and I'm even less sure that it does anything of merit for the people being supervised.
The size of the "group" is ridiculous. There are usually about 15-20 of us in the group, which if you know anything about group work, means you will never build any trust and cohesion in the group. But then the group seems more about punishment than treatment. On good nights, we all go around and "check in" about our week and talk about anything that is going on. Since there is no trust, we seldom talk about anything of substance. The most common discussions are about stressors with spouses/partners and with the children of the group members. Employment is also a big issue, since most of us are not working or are grossly underemployed.
We also watch a lot of movies. So far we've watched "Machete", "American Drug War" (my contribution), "Requiem For a Dream", and lately we are watching "The Corner". I'm not sure what the point is of our watching these movies, except that the "group leader" (there is only one for this large of a group) doesn't have do do anything.
Whenever we talk about anything close to significant, it is mostly a one on one conversation between the "group leader" and the person that has something going on. The group members never really talk to each other or interact with each other.
The most lively times are when someone has gotten "busted" for something and face getting "revoked". Usually it is for some kind of "relapse" that they got caught for. Since I've been attending group, about a half dozen guys have been sent back to prison for something they did, but not a single one has been for doing any real "crime" other than consuming alcohol or drugs. The latest was a guy who got 18 months back in prison for failing UA's. He was a meth addict, but had his own business and was making good money.
The craziest one was a guy who went out with a buddy, who was also an ex-offender on probation, after the Rangers won the AL Championship and got drunk at a bar. He and his buddy knew they were too drunk to drive, so they called someone to come get them and then fell asleep in their truck while they waited. The cops came by and busted them for public intoxication and the PO revoked them primarily because the rule of probation is not to consort with other felons. He got a year back in prison.
I have to admit, that most of these guys aren't the brightest bulbs. I mean when you are on Federal Probation and you're not suppose to drink, how smart is it to go out and get shitfaced at a bar in public. But how crazy is it that our tax dollars are paying to lock someone up for something that is not really a crime. Plenty of people get shitfaced at a bar all the time and we don't send them to prison for it, unless they try to drive.
This is one of the lessons I've learned so far on probation. The system is rigged to keep you in it and it's pretty hard to get out of the "system". Once they are "supervising" you, you can get sent back to prison for who you hang out with, what you do in your own home, not having a "job", being in the wrong place, all kind of things that most citizens would not get in trouble for. Maybe people who get caught breaking he law should have to meet a higher standard to get off of supervision, but what this really does is bloat the correctional system and cost all of us a lot more. I'm not sure that is in our best interest as a society and I'm even less sure that it does anything of merit for the people being supervised.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
How this started
Two years ago yesterday, a drug task force burst into my house with guns drawn and arrested my wife and me for growing marijuana. It took them over a year to charge and convict me in the Federal Courts, and at the end of April, I will have been on "supervised release" for a year. I have learned a lot over the last two years about how our criminal justice system works and what it is like to be on Federal Probation. I am grateful and fortunate that I did not have to serve time in a federal prison, but my experience has shown me how utterly insane our "war on drugs" has been.
I hope to use this blog to record my experiences in the criminal justice system and to discuss many of the issues that I face on a regular basis. It has taken me a while to be willing to try and write about this experience, but I believe I will be better for having written about it and, I hope it will contribute to a larger discussion of the issues facing victims of the "drug war".
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