How Many Chances for Drug Addicts?

Probably most of us have known someone who was seriously injured in an accident and then prescribed narcotic pain killers for a great length of time. Some of these people do become addicted, and many do not receive the help they need from physicians. Often these addicts break the law and then receive treatment by court order. Then there are those who began their drugged up path to destruction of their own free will.

Now put yourself in their place; if you had conquered an addiction, would you immediately begin to take the same narcotics again? Narcotics obtained illegally?

If you did, why would you do it? Perhaps you have a death wish? Perhaps you desire to get back at a family member? And just how many chances would you expect the courts to give you? How many rehab stints would you expect the state to pay for on your behalf?

As for the last question, we do know that most private insurance companies will pay for three trips to rehab. Their rationale is that statistics show if you aren’t off drugs after three rehab stays, you never will be. Interesting, isn’t it?

So why do courts keep giving chance after chance to any drug users who aren’t convicted of trafficking? We’re told that community corrections are a big money maker for the counties. It would seem money talks In both the corrections game and DHR.

On the flip side, victims of drug users will probably never see complete (if any) restitution if these drugged up thieves aren’t made to work while serving their sentences. The moral of that is for everyone to have adequate insurance to cover such losses.

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With apologies to Jay Leno: Dumb criminals? Lauderdale County has them.

Lauren N. Columbia has now been arrested on a second charge of using drugs while pregnant. Like the law or not, it is how it’s being interpreted in our state and county. We’ve received several communications about her second arrest, and these readers are singularly unhappy about Columbia’s actions.

The first child she lost? We would have hoped a sense of remorse and proper rehab would have sufficed to turn her life around after her September 2015 indictment. We would have thought she would have suffered enough without being incarcerated. Now she’s lost a second child at birth due to drug usage; it seems incomprehensible. We don’t know how many times she has been in rehab altogether or even if her family has helped her, but obviously she still has an active addiction. Is prison the only cure? We don’t know. Comments are welcome.

More such stories to come...



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