It’s no secret that substance abuse treatment has been severely lacking in America. However, it seems that people
are finally starting to notice that this issue needs a solution. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is making this hot button issue a major aspect of her campaign. As opiate and methamphetamine addiction seep into the historically unaffected suburban communities of Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Iowa, the general population is becoming ever more aware of the present risks involved with letting this problem escalate. Increasing state funding to treatment programs for substance abuse has typically shown a drastic statistical improvement in drug related crime. While it is becoming more and more obvious that punishing addicts does not help.
With incarceration rates at an increasing high in the U.S., it’s no wonder that politicians are focusing more on substance abuse and mental health. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 48.7% of the inmate population is there for a directly drug related offense. (Inmate Statistics, 2015)That’s not counting the users incarcerated for crimes they committed to get drugs. In fact, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, next to the obscure Indian Ocean island of Seychelles. It’s astonishing there has yet to be major reform of substance abuse treatment here.
-Sam Kwalwasser
Works Cited
Inmate Statistics. (2015, April 25). Retrieved June 4, 2015, from Federal Bureau of Prisons: http://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp
