Terence T. Gorski
Criminalization vs. Legalization Debates of Addiction
Tue Mar 2 17:57:35 2004
64.140.158.141

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Criminalization vs. Legalization Debates of Addiction
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 11:40:55 -0500
From: ttgorski@cenaps.com
Organization: Gorski-CENAPS Corporation

In my last article (which can be read at
http://www.cenaps.com/news_releases/NR_040219_AddictionTrendsAndFads.htm

I described the trends and fads of the field today. Today, I’ll explain the Criminalization and Legalization debate raging through America.

Three major policy directions have emerged: criminalization, legalization, and public health addiction policy. Criminalization: On the extreme right is the policy of the criminalization of drugs. This policy is based upon three beliefs: (1) drugs are bad and need to be legally banned; (2) people who use drugs are criminals and need to be punished; and (3) punishment and the threat of punishment are the preferred and most effective way to prevent and manage drug abuse problems. This position contradicts the emerging science-based understanding of the addiction.

Many governments, including the United States and the countries of the European Union, are embracing this policy of criminalization and declaring an ongoing war on drugs. This war on drugs is actually a war on addicted people and their families. Millions of addicts have been incarcerated. Millions of families have been destroyed as parents are sentenced to long and harsh prison sentences for one and only one reason - they have the disease of addiction and the political policy at the time believes that they should receive punishment instead of treatment. Billions of dollars are spent on military action to stop international drug dealing and on domestic enforcement to arrest, prosecute and incarcerate drug dealers and users.

In spite of the expenditure, the drug war is failing. The international epidemic of alcohol and drug addiction is growing worse day by day. The policy of criminalization and the war on drugs is a failed strategy that has not, cannot, and will not effectively address the worldwide drug abuse epidemic. Criminalization and the drug war has, in fact, made things worse instead of better. The drug war does more damage to addicted people and their families than the addiction to drugs that it was designed to protect people from. So alternatives are being sought. One such alternative emerges from the extreme left of the political spectrum. It is called legalization.

Legalization: On the extreme left is the policy of Legalization. The two ideas that form the foundation of legalization are the opposite of the ideas that support criminalization. Proponents of drug legalization state that drugs are good, people have a right to use drugs, and society has no obligations to create laws and policies that will protect people from addiction or provide help should addiction occur. It's an "every man for himself" type of policy.

Like criminalization, the legalization policy cannot be effective in addressing the current worldwide addiction epidemic. All this policy will do is invite the world to end criminal sanctions against drug production and use by making all forms of drug production, distribution, sales, and use legal. Then we can stop feeling responsible to help addicts in any way. We can turn and look the other way while pretending the addiction problem will go away. The problem is that it won't.

Drug legalization policies are fraught with problems. What drugs will be made legal? Will all of them including such deadly drugs as PCP? Who will have the right to produce and sell them? Will everyone, including high school students, be allowed to set up methamphetamine labs in their basements and garages? How will they be distributed? In vending machines? In school yards? In pharmacies? By kids selling them door-to-door in our neighborhoods? By doctor prescription? Who will pay for the damage done by poisoning due to poorly controlled production standards, overdose, accident, and addiction? As the details of legalization policies are explored it becomes clear that middle ground must be found. A pathway between the extreme control and punishment advocated by the drug warriors and the benign and deadly neglect advocated by the drug legalizes must be found. That emerging middle-of-the-road alternative is called public health addiction policy. In my next newsletter we will explore the Public Health Addiction Policy, with a PowerPoint slide show, available upon request.

The good news is excellent training in addiction treatment is still available:
March 8-12, 2004-Relapse Prevention Therapy-Advanced Certification-44 CEU’s - Manage personality and lifestyle issues. Relapse Prevention Therapy books are available at http://www.relapse.org/custom/list.asp?c=19897%20&pageid=11617 .

Denial Management Counseling-Certification 20 CEU’s
March 24-26, 2004- Learn to motivate clients with denial and treatment resistance. Denial Books are at available http://www.relapse.org/custom/list.asp?c=19827&pageid=6734 .

Relapse Prevention Update 2004-September 16-18, 2004-20 CEU’s
This conference will present the history, current best practices, and future trends of RP to special populations including African Americans, Latinos, women, adolescents, prescription drug abusers, and chronic pain patients.

Terry Gorski and his team of trainers are available for training and consultation. Gorski also offers small group intensive training in his office in Spring Hill Florida. He will design custom training for small groups of 8 to 10 and is available to lecture and present workshops.

Video tapes explaining Addiction, Recovery and Relapse are available at http://www.relapse.org/custom/list.asp?a114=Videotape&pageid=6723 .


For more information, please contact the CENAPS office at (352) 596-8000, or via email at info@cenaps.com .

Sincerely,

Terence T. Gorski

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