Narrative on Addiction

In the past, drug addicts who were convicted of drug related crimes were most commonly either sent to treatment or incarcerated. I have experienced both and did not benefit much from either one. In 2001 I was in a fairly new program called Drug Court. Drug Court is a unique and extraordinary program that gives addicts the tools they need to endure life without using drugs.

When I came into Drug Court, I was lost and confused. I thought it was a joke and I thought I could keep doing what I wanted to do. I thought the Judge and everyone on the team was just out to get me. I didn’t know who I was because I built my life on lies. I never aspired to anything great. Being in Drug Court this long has shown me that the Judge and the Drug Court team really do care about each and every one of us personally. I can see that the Drug Court team cares and always has time for me no matter what, to give me so much encouragement. It wasn’t until I was in Drug Court that my life changed and I believe that I was headed for a prison sentence which that didn’t matter to me at the time. Drug Court showed that they believe in us, that we are okay, and they really do care about us to take the time to help us. It has taught me to be more of a responsible person. Going to jail was honestly one of the best things that ever happened to me and I needed to be in there. I no longer wanted to be everyone’s burden and the family disappointment. I have realized what all I have put my mom through and I am sorry for all the wrong I’ve done, the sleepless nights, the broken promises, and the stealing of money.

Once the individual is infatuated with one or more drugs it is viewed as an addiction, but programs such as the F.I.S.T program consider it to be a disease. This specific program takes those diseased who are willing to get clean and want to be reintegrated into society as a law abiding citizen. Many have argued that drug court programs do not focus enough on the participant’s life outside of the program after his or her graduation. A recent study researched the success of the after effects this program had against offenders who were eligible and entered the program versus those who were eligible and did not enter. With the F.I.S.T program, participants received therapeutic tools and rigorous education compared to those who did not. With this study, out of the 186 individuals who participated, only 10 of them were rearrested after the first 6 months. The counter research of the 994 who did not participate, had 108 individuals be re-arrested after the first 6 months. Once the one year or more re arrest comparison between the two were calculated, it was found that completers of this program are 16% less likely to recidivate to drug offenses than those who did not complete F.I.S.T. The reason behind these finding were the teachings the participants were exposed to during the process. With educational programs, they discovered what they were

For how long they will be in prison depends on the severity of their case, for a federal drug case they face an average of 11 years. While in prison, a 2004 survey showed that 40 percent of State and 49 percent of Federal inmates took part in some kind of drug program, most were self-help or peer counseling groups. (2014) While inmates may get some form of treatment it is nowhere near the level of intensity they truly need. There is no way that a self-help group or peer counseling can successfully help an addict overcome their addiction. Only 15 percent of State prisoners and 17 percent of Federal prisoners took part in drug treatment programs with a trained professional. (2014) How is an addict supposed to recover when they are not even receiving treatment from a trained professional. If their family and friends couldn’t help them how is an untrained correctional officer or counselor supposed to help? Once released from prison they will be on probation or parole. While on parole they will need to maintain sobriety, find a job, and rejoin society. Many felons struggle with adjusting to the “real world” these addicts feel the pressure of trying to go back to everyday life. They have to face the reality of the choices they have made and the people they have hurt. They’ll have to look those people in the eye, some for the first time in years. They feel the guilt of the pain they have caused. As a result, most will go back to using and committing crimes to fuel their habits because they didn’t get the proper treatment while incarcerated. According to The Justice Policy, nearly 60% of those released from prison will be re-arrested within 2 years. Within three years after their release, 67.5% of all offenders are expected to be rearrested. Among drug offenders specifically, 41.2% will be re-arrested on another drug offense. (McVay,

Researchers at Stony Brook University have compared going through a broken heart to a cocaine addiction. Yes, that’s right, I said cocaine addiction! That sounds pretty powerful to me. “Researchers have also found the area of the brain that is most active during the anguish and pain of a break up is the same part of the brain associated with motivation, reward and addiction cravings”. “Just like a drug addict we go through withdraws, the rejection feels so bad because we actually get addicted to the relationship”, and when the train leaves town we go through withdraw, sounds pretty scary “withdraw from drugs” WOW! I’m just not imagining that I feel like I’m going a little crazy, what a relief. I guess being weak has nothing to do with it,

I wish I could tell you that day I turned my life around and realized that I had another purpose in life but that was not the case. I eventually went home to try make amends with my family and get help. I was not easy and I struggle for years. Eventually one day after seeking treatment for my addiction and taking a hard look at my life, I new I had more life left in me and it was time to take charge of my life.

Life had took an unexpected turn for the worst as I began to smoke both meth and heroin. Sudden changes in attitude, appearance and isolation began to take place. The stuff I would steal from local stores was to sell for dope money. Many times I would get caught stealing, get a theft charge, go to jail for a short period

Addiction has been in my life since I could remember. At the age of 4 my father got put in prison for five years because he was addicted to meth. My parents soon divorced after my father got put in the prison system and my mother packed my siblings and I up and moved us to Indiana. Growing up my mother told me my dad was dead and since my father's family was in Alabama I had no way of knowing what the truth was. At the age of 9 my mother got really bad sick and was placed in the hospital and had to have a stint put in her heart. A couple of weeks being in the hospital my mother passed away suddenly due to a drug overdose. A couple of day's after my mother had passed away my grandmother and the rest of my family had started to move things out of my mother's house we found out my mother was addicted to alcohol and painkillers.

According to The National Institute on Drug Abuse, “addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to the addicted individual and to those around him or her” (Drug Facts, 2012). Codependency disorder and drug addiction often go hand in hand; they feed into each other’s obsessions and unhealthy behaviors. The brains of those afflicted exhibit similar flaws within the prefrontal cortices. There has been speculation as to whether or not addiction is a disease due to the addicts’ initial decision to abuse the substance. This paper aims to explore the inner workings of a drug addict’s brain in terms of disease analysis and the similarities with codependency disorder. This paper will examine, in detail, the structural effects of addiction.

According to drug abuse.gov, “addiction can be managed successfully.”For a large majority of drug abusers, they led completely independent, and prosperous lives, until they engaged in taking drugs. They may very well have led productive lives before the mistake. For an even bigger amount, there are misled juveniles who thought they could not flourish in life, but had several characteristics and talents that no one ever assumed or got to see because they have made a mistake that impacted their life in a major way. If more places put large importance on drug rehabilitation, the likelihood of them returning to that behaviour is

What attitude do I hold in references to addiction? My attitude is the one of compassion, understanding. My life change on May 9, 1992 I was addicted to cocaine. I had never done drugs was not big on alcohol. Until I started associating with the socialites, people who draw lines of cocaine in the bathroom. That stuff took me real fast real quick and I am glad. I end up going to jail I was 31 years old and never even had a parking ticket. That fact I went to Jail on January 3, 1992 would be the begin of my end. A journey onto a beautiful new life a gift call recovery. I stay in jail for almost five months. I went to jail for a law called construct to Delivery a Control Substances. That laws is you did not sell the drugs you told where to by

Being held in jail cells but i always managed to not be officially locked up because most of the cops pitied me. At 16 i did manage a lock up in a way. The state had enough of my behavior and put me in a group home. It was my last chance or i would go to juvie then jail. This was beyond hard, because the amount of rules. I had broken all of them. I had broken the rule of fighting, which everyone expected based on my fighting record. Ai had become so lost on who i was, i realized i used a stereotype to become someone. As time moved on i . I realized i did not want to be the person i was becoming. I knew that i was better, stronger, and smarter than that. I knew things had to change. I knew i had to put life back together because i did not want to live the life i had watched others live. I started following the rules and staying out o trouble. I started picking up my school work again. People still tried to shove me down. I had people, even teachers, as me “why are you doing your school work” when i was going nowhere and doing nothing with my life. Eventually i had everything together to the point that family took me back. I am no longer the person i used to

I abused narcotics and barbiturates for the better part of 15 years. I initially liked the way the drugs made me feel. Toward the end of my use, however, everything had changed. I was hopelessly addicted. I lived in terror of being caught, thinking that I was maybe one of two or three doctors in the entire country with such a shameful problem. I went to bed every night vowing not to use tomorrow, but I always did. I despised myself for my lack of willpower and for not being able to control my drug use. Friends, family, and colleagues commented upon my unpredictable mood swings, bizarre behavior, and fits of anger..Finally, the day came when I reached bottom. I had been removed from my job, my family life was in shambles, and I felt that my

In order to understand how I got to where I’m today, and why I have made the choices that I made, I need to tell you where and how this journey started. Twenty years ago I was a wife, mother of three girls, owned a nice home in a small town and had a secure job working at United Parcel Service (UPS). Even so, after an injury at work, I very rapidly got addicted to pain medication which turned my world upside down. In a very short time I lost my job, my kids, and my husband and my home and began a six year struggle with addiction that included several arrests, incarceration, probation, and three different treatment programs that finally ended on October 2, 2001.

I know what you’re going through. I’ve done some bad things that caused consequences as well. I was young too and did some things that I am not proud of. I felt that no one looked at me the same way after I got out of prison. After a while, I got back on my feet and had a mentor when I was in prison. I made better decisions because I didn’t want the people I care about to see me as a murderer. I too wrote in journals and made films about my experience in prison.