Pubdate: Fri, 04 Nov 2005
Source: Morning Star, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Morning Star
Contact:  http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1352
Author: D. Rollins

REHABILITATION A PRIORITY

Wouldn't it be refreshing if that stiffer jail sentence, ("Drug dealer
shocked by jail term," Morning Star, Oct. 16), signaled the beginning
of the end of our revolving-door justice system?

I too sympathize with the sad, miserable life of the accused resulting
from her illness/addiction. But the judge's comments, for a change,
were spot-on: by poisoning others to support her own addiction, she is
a danger to the community.

Incarceration must always be a last resort, (unlike our neighbours to
the south, who have filled their prisons with hundreds of thousands of
soft-drug users under truly draconian sentences).

A more compassionate society would drastically increase spending for
detox and rehabilitation centres.

As it is, addicts who want to kick their habits must wait for weeks or
months to get into short-term detox, then often wait again weeks or
months to get into lengthier rehab programs. Going back to the streets
after a short detox because there are no vacancies in rehab virtually
guarantees relapse.

If we're going to imprison addicts who commit criminal acts...as we
should....why can't they, and society, get some benefit out of jail
time?

Why can't our prisons be drug-free? If they were, how many addicts
might come out of a jail sentence with a real chance at recovery,
having been clean for weeks and months...whether they initially wanted
to or not?

Instead, given the state of our prisons, a jail sentence is a free
pass to all the drugs anyone could crave. I'm tired of the lame
excuses offered by those who are mismanaging our prisons when they are
so quick to explain that it's impossible to keep drugs out of jail.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin