Recovery through the judicial system (National Recovery Month)
Many of us in recovery came through the legal system as a pathway to changing our lives. There is debate about whether the legal system should be the path of least resistance in this regard. Since the Nixon administrations all to infamous speech that started the war on drugs, it is has been non-stop. What does this mean? Starting recovery through the legal system?
In layman's terms, you commit a crime while in active use, you get arrested, and than you might find a path to treatment; thus, you might be able begin a life in recovery. Now, there is much more to this method of finding recovery than meets the eye. Let me give you a bit of my own walk with this all to common route.
In the mid-90's I was head first into the meth epidemic raging through Pierce County. It was ugly. Not that Pierce County wanted this moniker, but, in the mid 90's, Pierce County was the meth capital of the world. It was everywhere and I was right in the middle of it. Meth is what really spun my life out of complete control. It's a drug that will take a sane person with morals and values and turn their life a complete 180. I was not immune to this. When I was at the end of a near two year run I was facing my second set of felony charges sitting in Pierce County Jail. I had plead guilty to a previous charge and was now a convicted felon, facing more felony charges.
I kinda remember my first time pleading guilty to charges that put me in the category of being a "convicted felon". I had a public defender and remember each court room experience being a lot of chaos. It was super busy and we were ran through much like cattle. One after the other in a court room filled with strung out people on one side and lawyers on the other side. My attorney said it was best for me to just plead guilty. I didn't know any better at the time so I did. During this time I honestly don't remember if I was offered an option to go to treatment or not. I mean, really, that's what I needed most. Treatment not jail. Yet, I plead guilty to a possession charge and became a convicted felon. I really didn't have any idea at the time how much of a negative impact this would have on my life moving forward (In 2010 I was able to have my record vacated) At this time, in 1995, I had a GED and life experience.....that was it. I had no formal education beyond the 10th grade, had no idea how the legal system worked, and, to top it off, I was either high, or sick from being high, and was not in a clear state of mind.
My second time facing similar charges, and again subsequently pleading guilty to another felony, was a point where I was simply scared to death of what was happening right before my eyes. I was facing serious jail time this go around and I was paying attention a little closer. I had been on probation, and my probation officer was trying to help me see that my continued use and behavior wasn't going to go well for me. I had also engaged with new program for Pierce County at this time call Felony TASC. It was a type of diversion that was being tested to attempt to help people find recovery. This was where I found my way back to inpatient treatment. I ran there as fast as I could! I went back to Olalla for my second time at the beginning of 1996. All the while waiting on my pending sentencing date for my second guilty plea. I went to inpatient at Olalla, and then, went to another treatment center, Prosperity House in Sumner, right after that. In total I went to four months of treatment before going back to being on my own in society. I was also involved in an amazing program call the V.O.T.E. (vocational opportunity training & education) program. This was a seven week program to help people in early recovery turn their lives around. The VOTE program was nothing short of amazing. These processes, the going to treatment for months and the VOTE program, are largely why I am where I am to this day.
Now, I went back to court for my sentencing in May of 1996, while at Prosperity House and engaged with the VOTE program, and after completing Olalla again. I was also fully engaged in recovery, and, for the first time since I was 13, was months into recovery with no use of anything at all. I was all in with the recovery world and changing my life. The judge, who could have sent me to jail for up to a year, gave me day for day for my treatment time and time with the VOTE program, and, put me on probation for another year. Even my attorney was surprised the judge did this. Everyone on the professional side of what I was facing clearly believed I was going to jail for at least six months. When I was allowed to continued my new walk in recovery that day, I ran with it!
So, you might read this and say, 'well, you coming through the legal system and finding recovery worked'. And, I might agree with you to an extent. To an extent only though. Here is the reality that many face on a regular basis to this day in the arena of substance use disorders, treatment, and recovery. I give you this scenario to help paint the picture:
If an individual, and this is very true in communities across the nation, were to walk into any social services office and say "I need help, I need treatment", here is what would happen: They would be given a stack of paperwork to fill out and then asked five thousand questions to determine if they are eligible. One of the key areas would be financially. Even government agencies want to know if you can pay for it yourself. Now, if you don't have good insurance, and many don't have insurance at all, you will likely be put on a waitlist to get into what you probably need....inpatient treatment. Mind you, if you have private insurance, guess what, you would get in right away. But, you don't, so you get told you are on a waitlist....30 days let's say. What will a person, who needs treatment for addiction, likely do if they have to wait 30 days? Yup, they will continue use, and likely commit some sort of drug related crime. Now here's the kicker:
That same person that said "I need help, I want treatment", who wasn't able to access it because of lack of resources, goes and commits a crime and gets arrested. Guess what they will get? INSTANT GOVERNMENT RESOURCES via a jail cell. What we know costs astronomical amounts to keep up, that person will get instantly. No paperwork to fill out, no insurance needed, boom, it's instant. And we pay for it, again, and again, and again, through our tax dollars. Yet, when people say lets help people, through our tax dollars, find a path to recovery, we say "no way".
My view is this......we have wasted over a trillion dollars fighting a "drug war" that hasn't had it's intended impact for nearly 70 years. Why not shift just half of the dollars that we keep wasting through the story I described above, to prevention, treatment, and ongoing recovery services? Let's just see if it shifts the momentum and helps our tax dollars to be spent in a better way.
Read about the drug war and it's historical and ongoing effects on society:
http://www.drugpolicy.org/issues/drug-war-statistics
In layman's terms, you commit a crime while in active use, you get arrested, and than you might find a path to treatment; thus, you might be able begin a life in recovery. Now, there is much more to this method of finding recovery than meets the eye. Let me give you a bit of my own walk with this all to common route.
In the mid-90's I was head first into the meth epidemic raging through Pierce County. It was ugly. Not that Pierce County wanted this moniker, but, in the mid 90's, Pierce County was the meth capital of the world. It was everywhere and I was right in the middle of it. Meth is what really spun my life out of complete control. It's a drug that will take a sane person with morals and values and turn their life a complete 180. I was not immune to this. When I was at the end of a near two year run I was facing my second set of felony charges sitting in Pierce County Jail. I had plead guilty to a previous charge and was now a convicted felon, facing more felony charges.
I kinda remember my first time pleading guilty to charges that put me in the category of being a "convicted felon". I had a public defender and remember each court room experience being a lot of chaos. It was super busy and we were ran through much like cattle. One after the other in a court room filled with strung out people on one side and lawyers on the other side. My attorney said it was best for me to just plead guilty. I didn't know any better at the time so I did. During this time I honestly don't remember if I was offered an option to go to treatment or not. I mean, really, that's what I needed most. Treatment not jail. Yet, I plead guilty to a possession charge and became a convicted felon. I really didn't have any idea at the time how much of a negative impact this would have on my life moving forward (In 2010 I was able to have my record vacated) At this time, in 1995, I had a GED and life experience.....that was it. I had no formal education beyond the 10th grade, had no idea how the legal system worked, and, to top it off, I was either high, or sick from being high, and was not in a clear state of mind.
My second time facing similar charges, and again subsequently pleading guilty to another felony, was a point where I was simply scared to death of what was happening right before my eyes. I was facing serious jail time this go around and I was paying attention a little closer. I had been on probation, and my probation officer was trying to help me see that my continued use and behavior wasn't going to go well for me. I had also engaged with new program for Pierce County at this time call Felony TASC. It was a type of diversion that was being tested to attempt to help people find recovery. This was where I found my way back to inpatient treatment. I ran there as fast as I could! I went back to Olalla for my second time at the beginning of 1996. All the while waiting on my pending sentencing date for my second guilty plea. I went to inpatient at Olalla, and then, went to another treatment center, Prosperity House in Sumner, right after that. In total I went to four months of treatment before going back to being on my own in society. I was also involved in an amazing program call the V.O.T.E. (vocational opportunity training & education) program. This was a seven week program to help people in early recovery turn their lives around. The VOTE program was nothing short of amazing. These processes, the going to treatment for months and the VOTE program, are largely why I am where I am to this day.
Now, I went back to court for my sentencing in May of 1996, while at Prosperity House and engaged with the VOTE program, and after completing Olalla again. I was also fully engaged in recovery, and, for the first time since I was 13, was months into recovery with no use of anything at all. I was all in with the recovery world and changing my life. The judge, who could have sent me to jail for up to a year, gave me day for day for my treatment time and time with the VOTE program, and, put me on probation for another year. Even my attorney was surprised the judge did this. Everyone on the professional side of what I was facing clearly believed I was going to jail for at least six months. When I was allowed to continued my new walk in recovery that day, I ran with it!
So, you might read this and say, 'well, you coming through the legal system and finding recovery worked'. And, I might agree with you to an extent. To an extent only though. Here is the reality that many face on a regular basis to this day in the arena of substance use disorders, treatment, and recovery. I give you this scenario to help paint the picture:
If an individual, and this is very true in communities across the nation, were to walk into any social services office and say "I need help, I need treatment", here is what would happen: They would be given a stack of paperwork to fill out and then asked five thousand questions to determine if they are eligible. One of the key areas would be financially. Even government agencies want to know if you can pay for it yourself. Now, if you don't have good insurance, and many don't have insurance at all, you will likely be put on a waitlist to get into what you probably need....inpatient treatment. Mind you, if you have private insurance, guess what, you would get in right away. But, you don't, so you get told you are on a waitlist....30 days let's say. What will a person, who needs treatment for addiction, likely do if they have to wait 30 days? Yup, they will continue use, and likely commit some sort of drug related crime. Now here's the kicker:
That same person that said "I need help, I want treatment", who wasn't able to access it because of lack of resources, goes and commits a crime and gets arrested. Guess what they will get? INSTANT GOVERNMENT RESOURCES via a jail cell. What we know costs astronomical amounts to keep up, that person will get instantly. No paperwork to fill out, no insurance needed, boom, it's instant. And we pay for it, again, and again, and again, through our tax dollars. Yet, when people say lets help people, through our tax dollars, find a path to recovery, we say "no way".
My view is this......we have wasted over a trillion dollars fighting a "drug war" that hasn't had it's intended impact for nearly 70 years. Why not shift just half of the dollars that we keep wasting through the story I described above, to prevention, treatment, and ongoing recovery services? Let's just see if it shifts the momentum and helps our tax dollars to be spent in a better way.
Read about the drug war and it's historical and ongoing effects on society:
http://www.drugpolicy.org/issues/drug-war-statistics
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