Prison Path
Prescription Addictions, Crimes, & Inmates
No one denies that drug abuse has contributed heavily to our mass incarceration crisis. The United States has about 25% of the world’s inmates, but only 5% of the world’s population. During the period from 1993 to 2011, there were three million admissions into federal and state prisons for drug offenses. This statistic does not include non-drug charges caused indirectly from addictions.
When the public hears drug addictions, they think of cocaine, heroin, etc. We do not usually think of prescription addictions. The public becomes aware of the prescription crisis with recurring news stories that another celebrity has died from a prescription overdose or has entered a drug treatment center for prescription addiction. Recently, the problem was highlighted with reports that Prince was allegedly going to meet with a doctor before his tragic death to discuss treatment for an addiction to prescription painkillers.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, several national surveys revealed that prescription medications, such as those used to treat pain, attention deficit disorders, and anxiety, are being abused by more and more Americans. This growing abuse has resulted in increased treatment admissions, emergency room visits, and overdose deaths.
Prescription addictions has increased the number of inmates. Individuals have stolen prescription drugs from friends-family, faked illnesses, stolen prescription pads ( forged doctor signatures), have committed theft to obtain money for expensive painkillers, and other offenses.
When the public hears drug offenses, they think of cocaine, heroin, etc. However, Americans have a major problem with prescription addictions. The public has become aware of the prescription crisis with recurring news stories that another celebrity has died from a prescription overdose or has entered a drug treatment center for prescription addiction. Recently, the problem was highlighted with reports that Prince was allegedly going to meet with a doctor to discuss treatment for an addiction to prescription painkillers.
Common prescription addictions have resulted from the abuse of narcotic painkillers ( i.e. Percocet), central nervous system depressants ( i.e. Xanax, Valium, Ambien), and stimulants (Adderall, Ritalin).
It was reported in 2009 that 16 million Americans, from ages 12 and up, had taken some type of prescriptive medication. It is time to acknowledge and control this growing epidemic–addiction prescriptions.
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WINR, Women in New Recovery–Our drug treatment center is a female only environment. Women tend to abuse drugs and alcohol for different reasons than men. Finding a program that recognizes these differences and addresses specifically how you handle addiction can ensure the maximum effectiveness of your treatment. For additional information, click WINR.
By: Bradley Schwartz
Founder of prisonpath.com
Edward– I agree that prescription medication is a serious crisis in America presently. The reality is this isn’t a new phenomenon and it is something that has been the forefront of many initiatives in communities. The establishment of prescription drip drop boxes in police stations to the DEA drug take backs have targeted this issue. The use of these prescription drugs leads to even harder drug use, such as heroin, when the prescription drugs become to expensive or the prescription drugs become harder to attain.
Ed– A large portion of offenders report being under the influence of alcohol at the time they committed the crime. A large portion of arrests are alcohol related. Alcohol is a legal drug. Will legalizing other drugs solve the problem? I know the article isn’t about drug legalization but the narrative is similar. “The United States has about 25% of the world’s inmates, but only 5% of the world’s population. During the period from 1993 to 2011, there were three million admissions into federal and state prisons for drug offenses.” This misleading statement has been repeated so often that it’s… Read more »
Bradley– Of course, a substantial number of drug offenses are related to violent crimes. However, a substantial number are also nonviolent. Citing the infamous Al Capone is misleading.
Ed– What’s misleading is the whole “prisons are filled with low-level, non-violent offenders.” That overused phrase gives the impression that we’re throwing first time shoplifters, etc. into prison to do hard time. This disingenuous at best and patently false at worse.
So does this mean we should never incarcerate non-violent offenders like burglars, car thieves, dope dealers, swindlers, and others? What about pile with multiple and continuous non-violent crime convictions?
Bradley– Over generalizations are misleading from both points of view re: our prison systems. Yes, there are violent inmates that need to be incarcerated. Yes, there are nonviolent inmates, because of their offenses should face their imprisonment. On the other hand, there are mentally ill inmates who never should have been imprisoned. They should have received appropriate mental health care. Yes, there are offenders who have committed nonviolent crimes who as first or even second time offenders need drug treatment instead of prison. I do not accept that Americans are more inclined to crime than the people of other countries.
Ed– That’s exactly why incarceration in our country is the sanction of last resort, as it well should be. More than 80%, in some states, of our corrections population is under community supervision rather than locked up. Probation is by far the largest corrections component. Out of a total corrections population of about 7 million, about 4 million are on probation alone while about 1.5 million are in prison and the remainder in jails and parole. That isn’t an over generalization. It’s a statistical fact from BJS. We desperately need to improve the system but we can’t be stuck in… Read more »
Bradley– As always, Ed, you made some good points. As always, we differ re; certain issues. Have a good week.
William– state prisons 16% are drug offenders, of which, the vast majority are “dealers”. Instead of focusing on the easiest things to count, ask who goes and how long. Your 3 million figure is skewed because you fail to take into account that many of them had multiple prison terms or received no jail time for previous acts. I understand the passion and mission you have but let’s be honest about the data
Bradley–I am not going to get into an argument about statistics and whether I am “cunning”, but I do not agree with the numbers that you are quoting. For example, you are not taking into account the substantial numbers of small time dealers that are selling drugs to finance their own addiction
William–The numbers are the numbers, agree with them or not but misleading uninformed citizens or those with the inability to research or question “talking points” with ambiguous opening statement as if prescription drugs and abuse are the cause for those locked up in federal and state prisons. Prescription addictions are not the cause of 25% of the world’s inmates
Bradley–You missed the point of the post. The article never stated that prescription addictions are the cause of 25% of the world’s inmates. It is recognized that drug addictions have contributed to the high number of inmates. The point of the article–drug prescriptions are part of the drug abuses that plague our country. By the way, the National center on Addiction and Substance Abuse reported in 2010, “of the 2.3 million inmates crowding our nations prisons and jails, 1.5 million meet the DSM-IV medical criteria for substance abuse or ..’
jessika–Putting sick people in prison doesn’t help…and if prohibition was ended, it would also put an end to drug dealing…kind of like with bootlegging liquor. There are simple solutions but people fail to educate themselves. You have to give people a hand up, not a hand out. If you give the inner cities a chance to get better, then crime will fall. show less
Nizar–No one goes to prison for using drugs . That is the biggest lie that people want the public to believe in order to demonize the criminal justice system . I have been working in this field now for @15 years . No One Goes to Prison for Using Drugs . Now if they are selling them they usually get probation and if they continue then they are sent to prison . It takes multiple prior convictions or selling large quantities in order for someone to go to prison . We don’t send addicts to prison . We’re nice people