Drug Addicts Should They Receive Rehabilitation Or Go

Patricia McKenna Professor Riley English 101 16 November 2015 Drug Addicts: Should they Receive Rehabilitation or Go to Prison? People everywhere suffer from the life-ruining disease, drug addiction. A common way people try to escape the hardships of life is to turn to drugs. Once they get into drugs that are highly addictive, such as heroin, they are trapped by a dependency that can be incapacitating. These people are no different than anybody else, they are simply people who made a bad decision and are now stuck. The best thing for these people is to be in a supporting environment to kick the nasty habit they have formed. The place that provides the perfect conditions is rehabilitation centers, not prison. Prison is a very hostile†¦show more content†¦Meaning that it is not the addict choosing this life, it is the drug taking over the abuser (Johann). Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse reiterates the fact that addicts are sick by saying, â€Å"We need to first recognize that drug addiction is a mental illness.† Also, researchers have shown that most addicts also have psychiatric issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis, ADHD, and other personality disorders (Singer, Kola, and Biegel). So, not only do addicts have a disease that they struggle with day by day but also, often they have other mental issues that need to be treated, some even caused by the addiction. Brig Gen Maktoum al Sharifi, the head of Abu Dhabi Capital Police expressed the same idea by saying, â€Å"A drug addict is a sick person and he should be treated as such. Alternative punishment would be more effective. A drug offender could be just an addict, not a criminal† (Jakarta). A person suffering from cancer or bipolar disorder would not be punished and put behind bars so why should someone with a drug addiction? Addictions are frequently caused by deeper reasons that need to be helped and addressed by professionals in order to make a change in addictsâ⠂¬â„¢ lives. Addicts usually go in a downward spiral and they often lose everything in their life from their family to their job to a