There are at least two sides to a topic or issue,
including whether or not to provide inmates being released from prison with Naxolone. I understand policy makers being wary of doing
something that, on the surface, appears to be a “pass” for addicts to return to
their addictions. But after reviewing
and witnessing stories and results of various perceptions, tactics, and
programs surrounding addiction recovery, I believe providing inmates with
Naxolone upon release is worth a five-year trial.
Imagining myself being an inmate about to be released, I
am sufficiently detoxed. I have attended
AA, NA, and/or Al-Anon meetings (or similar programs) while incarcerated. Upon release, unless court ordered to go to a
halfway house for recovering addicts, I will return to where I came from prior
to incarceration. Chances are high that
I will associate with the same people as I did prior to serving time.
If I am released without Naxolone, my chance of
relapsing is high. Despite today’s numbers
of overdoses, my concern about relapsing is minimal because to addicts the
prospect of death caused by using is a likely fact. Some, if not most, of my social network will
be involved in risky behaviors, and they will not discourage my return to my
old ways.
If I am released with Naxolone, I am leaving with
a container of hope. My accepting it
indicates I have a preference for life – either my own or someone else’s. Obviously, if I overdose, I cannot administer
the product to myself; but I will hope someone else will know how to administer
it to me. I might even go so far as to
teach a few people close to me how to do that.
Or, I might be in the presence of someone else who overdoses and needs
to be revived – an experience I’ve no doubt would have a lasting, profound
effect on me and bring to ultimate clarity how essential it is to never take
addictive drugs again.
Why society continues to keep the “needy” in need after
witnessing the devastating effects doing so has on society in general, not to mention
the loss of hope it can extract from those in need, is beyond my
comprehension. Until the policy makers
themselves experience addiction and the effects of incarceration themselves,
they will never appreciate the stigma, exclusions, and barriers addicts encounter. We keep throwing away money on reactions to
addiction that have been practiced for generations. It would make sense to spend money on something
different that may very well prove successful in the long term.
The public is kidding itself if it believes releasing
incarcerated addicts with Naxolone would give the addict a reason to resume
his/her addiction in the outside world. The reality is that if the addict is going to
use, he/she will do so regardless of whether or not Naxolone is available. The signal an addict will receive if released
with Naxolone is that the outside world does care about him/her and
wants the inmate to remain alive, with hopes of choosing to live drug
free. So many addicts in recovery have shown
their desire to “give back” and help others go through the process of a
successful recovery. That, in and of
itself, is impetus for the rest of us to help that movement continue.
I ask that residents pressure their representatives to
reconsider their latest vote, and do the right thing by giving “release with
Naxolone” a five-year opportunity. With
the epidemic we currently face, we have absolutely nothing to lose; but we sure
do have something priceless to gain.
Copyright © July 2017 by Maeke
Ermarth
Cheyenne, WY
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