Ridiculous - that's the only possible reaction to the finding that putting junkies on 'cold turkey' while in prison deprived them of their human rights. We don't do them any favors that way.
I live in a neighborhood blighted by junkies. They have the appearance of being human, but they often don't act it. And they're responsible for a 70% of robberies. Yet the police can't seem to do anything about them.
Why are we going soft on junkies? We don't do them any favors. We need to be a lot more forceful about getting them off drugs and back into normal life. Drugs are suicide by installment. Society tries to stop other kinds of suicide (even some we should allow - like people with painful terminal disseases). Why do we let junkies kill themselves, starting with their humanity?
Why can't we use compulsory detention, as we do with people who are mentally ill and who are a danger to themselves or others? Doesn't that apply to many junkies? Similar checks and balances for mentaly ill could be applied.
So we have to do three things:
- get junkies into jail or some other form of controlled environment
- prevent junkies from getting drugs while they are in there
- get them off drugs before they go out.
Some junkies will accept this treatment gratefully - other will not. Where the junkies face a countr of law (for whatever reason), the courts should be able to impose sentences where parole is dependent on junkies proving they are drug-free over an extended period.
None of this will be cheap, but it has to be done - for the sake of the junkies, their families and the rest of us.
Tough love, if you like.
posted by Not so Anonymous @ 9:00 AM
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