RoquesAnn Brown

English 2010
Empathy for Disease?
When it comes to the fight against breast cancer, our community
demonstrates sincere commitment through wearing the well-recognized
pink ribbon apparel. Millions of participants were empowered by
completing the ice bucket challenge to bring awareness to ALS. We get
involved for walks and runs in the fight against heart disease! In general,
the human population has empathy and understanding for those suffering
from and living with the challenges of disease. When it comes to drug and
alcohol addiction, a chronic and progressive brain disease, a shift is made
and it becomes the war on drugs. The problem that quickly follows is
societys inability to distinguish between the war on drugs and the war on
the user of such substances. What makes this disease of the limbic system
and cerebral cortex any different than those listed above, and why isnt it
being credited as the plague that it is?
Its common place in our society to sustain blind judgment before
genuine understanding, and for those in addiction recovery its an uphill
battle. Just this past December actor Mathew Perry was on the BBC debating
with journalist Peter Hitchens over the generalized misconception that
addiction is a conscious choice and merely an act of will power. As an
advocate, and after successfully completing the Government Mandated Drug
Court Program, Mathew Perry has a more accurate and clear understanding
that addiction is in actuality an allergy of the body and obsession of the
mind. Even though the American Medical Association has recognized
alcoholism as a disease since 1956 many are continuing to adopt Hitchens
approach that addicts can simply think their way into recovery, which is
mentally and physically unrealistic without the tools to guide you.
The Drug Court Program was first introduced in Florida during 1989. It
was created to address the complexity of the over-simplified issues
generated by drug offenders that were repeatedly appearing before the
courts. The solution was to combine drug treatment therapy with the order
and authority of a Judge. Amidst favoring support and statistics, 25 years
later there is still an ongoing debate over the effectiveness of the program.
Drug courts are geared toward helping drug offenders discover the root
cause of their addiction by placing them in less formal hearings in which
judges, prosecutors, public defenders, case workers, and the defendants
themselves work together as teams to correct the offenders drug and

alcohol problems. The goal is: rather than placing these offenders (suffering
from this disease of the mind) directly into prisons/jails to allow them the
support and opportunity to break away from their addiction and embrace
their potential.
Those with misconstrued ideas of addiction and the program, as well
as those who have become desensitized to such issues, debate whether the
Drug Court System is effective. The opposition argues that Drug Courts
1) are taking away the purpose
of the justice system, 2) are
less cost effective when
participants relapse back into
the system, and finally 3) are
not holding the offenders
accountable for their actions.
The difficulty comes with
the complexity of the matter
and recognizing the numerous
variables involved in the success of a participant. As Mackinem and Higgins
state in their book Drug Court: Constructing the Moral Identity of Drug
Offenders: The behavior of the drug users does not itself decide the
outcomes. The staff does. Within their courts policies, through their
evaluations of the clients, in light of the resources available and the potential
clients waiting to enter, and through interaction with each other, the staff
and judges produce the failures-and successes-of the clients. This does not
take away from the responsibility of the offender, but reminds us as a
society to recognize the role we are or are not playing in the ability to
overcome this tragic disease.
Contrary to the arguments opposing the system we are seeing
tremendous success as a country. The National Association of Drug Court
Professionals (NADCP) has stated that, There has been more research
published on the effects of Drug Courts than on virtually all other criminal
justice programs combined. The results are unquestionably pulling in favor
of the program with 75% of Drug Court graduates remaining arrest-free at
least two years after leaving the program. Nationally, for every $1.00
invested in Drug Court, taxpayers save as much as $3.36 in avoided criminal
justice costs alone. Drug Courts are six times more likely to keep offenders
in treatment long enough for them to get better. Possibly most importantly,
parents in Family Drug Court are twice as likely to go to treatment and
complete it, which overflows and has a dramatic impact on society as a

whole.
What it really comes down to is the question of: is our heart in the
right place, and are we seeing these offenders as people with real lives,
issues, and concerns or cattle to be funneled through the gate of the justice
system. I would hope that our goal as a society is to help each of us serve
the higher good and have a more genuine concern and understanding for
each other. There isnt one of us that doesnt have an issue or concern that
we are struggling with, and I feel the Golden Rule should apply that we give
others the same care and concern that we hope to receive in return.
Absolutely there are some hindrances and areas of the system that
need us as individuals to step forward and get involved through electing
representatives that will help secure our society. We need to step outside
ourselves, participate, and volunteer by giving the care you or a loved one
would hope to receive. The 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
concluded just last year that on average 1 in every 13 people is suffering
from a substance abuse addiction, and this does not include those effected
by someone suffering from such an addiction. It is not a question of if but
when the reality of the situation will be realized in your own life. As we
work together as a society to bring awareness and understanding to this
horrific disease we can create a system that not only decreases the rate of
reoccurring drug offenders but gives people like you and I their life back.

Works Cited
Matthew Perry Debates Drug Courts with Peter Hitchens - Newsnight. Perf.
Matthew Perry and Peter Hitchens. BBC Newsnight, 2013. YouTube. BBC
Newsnight, 16 Dec. 2013. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDtIZZiySgA>
Mackinem, Mitchell B., and Paul Higgins. Drug Court : Constructing The
Moral Identity Of Drug Offenders. Springfield: Charles C Thomas Publisher,
LTD, 2008. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
Robinson, Matthew B., and Renee G. Scherlen. Lies, Damned Lies, And Drug
War Statistics : A Critical Analysis Of Claims Made By The Office Of National
Drug Control Policy. Albany: State University of New York Press,
2014. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
McKean, Jerome. "Drug Courts." Salem Press Encyclopedia (2014): Research
Starters. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.
NADCP. The Verdict is In. Drug Courts Work (2010): Learn. Web. 28 Oct.
2014. http://www.nadcp.org/learn/drug-courts-work
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from
the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National
Findings. NSDUH Series H-48, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4863 2014.
Web. 19 September 2014
Drug Courts Monopoly Chance. Digital image. Ohio's Drug Courts. All
Treatment, 10 Apr. 2014. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.alltreatment.com/ohios-drug-courts>.