When discussing the actual depths of the damage that is done when the state attempts to “fix” the portion of the population who battles drug addiction, it’s important to look at just how many US citizens are being arrested for drug crimes. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Statistics for 2017, an estimated 1,632,921 arrests were made for “drug abuse violations”. Of those 1.6 million arrests, not only do these individuals now have to be churned through an already saturated court system, but in the process they will most assuredly incur lost wages if not losing their jobs altogether, only to be met with a sentencing that will result in heavy fines/forced participation in various levels of the rehabilitation industry that will require them to pay out of pocket for doctor/counselor visits as well as paying for their court mandated drug screenings.. First time offenders will generally be offered probation or “drug court” depending on the severity of their charges. Repeat offenders might get lucky and snag a plea deal for drug court, however, many addicts will wind up in prison. On top of the aforementioned measures which result in forced payments from those unfortunate enough to get ensnared by this system, there’s the ridiculous prices for services made available to inmates while incarcerated.
Taking Oklahoma County Jail for example, the second you’re booked, any money you have on you has to go into the commissary system with $15 taken off the top for a TB test. A 15 minute phone call costs as much as $18.77. Now if you’re trying to coordinate legal representation and potential bail solutions with family outside you’ll be getting knocked over the head for each call you have to make. And heaven forbid you should need medical attention for any reason because that will get docked from your account as well. It’s easy to dismiss these scenarios because as far as the general public is concerned, if you’re in jail then you obviously aren’t deserving of any reasonable accommodations to fight for your freedoms.
Regardless of the direction someone’s sentencing takes, one thing’s for sure: Uncle Sam wants his money. This entire empire of criminal justice is a costly endeavor, and while the general public wants those seemingly morally deficient drug addicts locked away for good, they certainly will make their displeasure known the second a politician suggests raising their taxes to compensate for progressive measures/upgrades in the penal system. That leaves only one person to pay the price: the addict. Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not attempting to paint addicts in the light of being all out victims, if they’ve aggressed towards someone’s person or property then they need to be held accountable for such actions. However, creating a system of mass incarceration for mental health issues and then sticking the individual you’re trying to “fix” with the bill via force and coercion reads as anything but moral. This mentality is no different than someone stopping by your house and impounding your vehicle because you’re overdue for an oil change, then forcing you to buy a vehicle from them that’s in much worse condition than your previous one. It’s utter insanity, as most bureaucratic state sponsored solutions tend to be.
Now let’s remove the obvious failure that’s apparent in trying to bleed a turnip, and instead let’s look at the drug court system. Drug court is sold as being the gold standard for true rehabilitation, the carrot on a string caveat to the addict being that IF they can make it through the process, their charge(s) will be wiped from their record. It requires individuals who agree to its conditions to attend various levels of outpatient rehabilitation, weekly random drug tests, intensive supervision, and ultimately forced participation to attending 12 step meetings. Now, what I’m about to say will come as a shock but it needs to be said: the state got it right when they acknowledged the level of success to be found in going through the 12 step process, they missed the mark completely in believing that they can somehow court mandate the level of rehabilitation needed in order for an addict to find a new way of life. The 12 step process works through a VOLUNTARY participation in its process and principles. You simply cannot force someone to have a “spiritual awakening”. This has to be done organically. While there is some merit in simply being exposed to meetings before someone’s ready to participate, it’s ultimately the state acknowledging that they’re powerless to address the underlying issue and that this whole charade is simply the empire playing middleman and doing what it does best: extortion. So while shades of this modus operandi appear to be successful, the actual mechanism that works in the formula has absolutely nothing to do with what the state is offering.
The drug war has raged on since Nixon declared a “war on drugs” in 1971. In the time since then not only had the state marked untold amounts of individuals with “felon”, but it’s cost an estimated $1 trillion. In 48 years we as a society are no closer to solving this never ending war than when we first began. In fact if you look at some of the low brow maneuvers that law enforcement have utilized in the process the waters become muddied as to what the end game actually is anymore besides keeping impoverished communities under the thumb of authority and skimming money off the top. We saw CIA involvement with cocaine trafficking during the Reagan era, ATF involved in funneling firearms to various cartels during the Obama era with the Fast and Furious scandal, civil asset forfeiture is now common place among most law enforcement agencies as a means of financial gain for resources under the guise of public safety, and assuredly other scandals throughout the years and at present that haven’t yet made the headlines. At what point can we call this dog and pony show what it actually is…a horrendously failed experiment at social control.
Liberty Unfiltered 