They thought they were going to rehab. They ended up in chicken plants

[Virginiá]

Our society has a reluctance to give addicts drugs to solve a problem.  That's why methadone maintenance programs have fallen into disfavor; folks think it's giving folks drugs so they can be "high".  That's actually not true; they're given methadone so they can function without going into withdrawal; the "high" is a thing of the long distant past.  However, many addicts reject methadone programs.  Why?  Because methadone programs require the addict to be responsible.  They have to report daily for their dose (this is relaxed over time), they have to not use alcohol or other illegal drugs, and they are subject to drug testing.  

Speaking as someone who has known enough people with issues and who has done their own research, methadone is a terrible way to help an addict long-term. If they insist on going on something like that, it should at least be Suboxone instead. Methadone does get people high, and it lasts a lot longer. The withdrawals also persist for far longer than other opiates, so it becomes very difficult to get off of. The only good thing it seems to do is provide a substitute high with a long half-life that renders all other opioids/opiates ineffective while the methadone is in effect. In that sense, at least the people can't relapse effectively.

Personally, I do see value in some of these kinds of treatments at least in the short-term, but there are also some big downsides. It makes it easier for addicts to continue being addicts if they can use methadone or suboxone when they run out of heroin/oxycodone/etc, to prevent going into withdrawal.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Fuzzy, the idea that we can force people to have a work ethic is to my mind one of the most ludicrous ones out there.

We can certainly provide counseling/treatment to help those who want one to develop one, but as the old adage goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.  My point is that is should have been fairly obvious from the start to the judge that this guy wasn't interested in water. He should have gone to jail. The only real problem with that option was that our system isn't well set up to discover or handle when someone in jail reaches a point where treatment will begin to work for them.

[pbrower2a]

This would be a great solution for illegal immigration and for crime in the inner cities. 

Yup. Slavery is a great choice.

It isn't slavery, it is punishment and rehabilitation combined.  also, they can choose prison instead.  This is way better as they get church, something to do, and they produce something.  A guy sitting in a cell doesn't produce anything, a guy working in a factory does.

This is simply economic exploitation, as in the old practice of convict leasing. The convict is simply offered as ultra-cheap labor. There is no effort to rehabilitate the offender through change of his behavior.

Access to religious instruction of the choice of the offender is a right in prison.

[Idaho Conservative]

hard work builds character.  it is rehab.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

hard work builds character.  it is rehab.

And I guess you think slavery was just about building up the African race?

[Badger]

If drug use isn't punished, what would be the ramification? 

We'd be closer to having a functional riminal justice system.

Unfortunately, we have a criminal punishment system, which isn't the same thing. The guy here clearly wasn't going to benefit from rehab, forced or otherwise, since he wasn't ready to seek rehab.  So why did he agree to it? Why did he try to tough it out? Because if you want to ensure you're essentially unhireable for all but the shittiest of positions, and not even for some of those, get yourself a felony conviction on your record.

As an aside, I agree that those in rehab (or jail/prison) should not have cell phones, tho it is a pain thanks to how ubiquitous they've become in society.  However, it it is a scandal the high fees and limited availability they have for monitored phone use.

You ask why the guy sought rehab.  That answer is simple; he believed that this would be "easier time". 

Long term residential treatment isn't jail or prison, but guys like this guy don't make that distinction in their minds.  at CAAIR,, the guy was on Probarion; he was not an inmate, and he could walk away or opt to leave treatment.  There would be legal consequences to that, to be sure, but it's not jail.  He knew that as well going in.  He took rehab because he wouldn't be locked up, would be able to go to work, would be able to have a number of creature comforts not available in jail or prison, would be allowed some free time away from the facility, etc.  He wouldn't be a prisoner, wouldn't be subject to the proximity of the worst of the worst, and would be in a facility where the offenders would be classified as non-violent offenders.  That's "easy time". 

Treatment and 12-Step groups are two (2) different concepts.  Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are for folks who want to stop drinking/using; what they do is geared for folks with that mindset.  Treatment, on the other hand, deals with folks who need to stop using, but don't necessarily want to stop using.  Part of any treatment program involves confronting denial as to the seriousness of the client's condition and the likelihood of progressive negative consequences if they continue to use or resume using.  The treatment environment is supposed to help folks come to this realization.

What a lot of clients are not willing to do is make the kind of lifestyle changes needed to sustain alcohol/drug abstinence.  Some folks want to keep drinking alcohol, or just smoke weed; they're not committed to a drug-free lifestyle.  Others are willing to be sober, but they don't want to make other lifestyle changes.  They don't want to stop hanging out in bars or clubs, or ditch old friends.  They don't want to end relationships with significant others who are either (A) drinkers and users at their level, or (B) are toxic to them in other ways (e. g. domestic violence, uncontrolled behavioral health issues).

I remember the time a guy in my group was giving his "going home" presentation.  He was saying all the right things.  Out of the blue, a guy in the group (this took real guts) said, "Bull----!  You're goin' up to see your old girlfriend and get laid!"  After he got over ranting in anger that his cover was blown, he was confronted about the fact that right about the time he and she were both naked, she'd be pulling out a cocaine rock and a pipe; at that point, the sight of drugs and paraphernalia would render him unable to resist joining her in usage.  Treatment educates folks to see these situations as high risk.  Role play exercises can actually simulate the thoughts and feelings folks will experience if they put themselves in high risk situations.  But some folks don't want to pay the price for lifestyle change.

This guy was one of those people.  The Judge was right; he didn't have a work ethic, and while there are addicts and alcoholics that do have a work ethic, this guy did not want his life structured to where he had to work 40 hours a week.  He did not want anyone to tell him how to spend his money, and he did not feel obligated to pull his own weight, let alone support dependents.  That was the REAL issue with the "chicken farm"; he HAD to work, and he couldn't just call in sick like he did when he was in active addiction. 

This guy deserved to go to jail.  He wasn't remorseful, didn't take responsibility, and gamed the system.  I consider his entire story suspect.

Fuzzy bear, your overall General analysis is correct, but your application to this real world situation it shows incredibly bad judgement. Yes, malingering is hardly uncommon with individuals wanting to do treatment because of problems with the legal system. Yes, this guy definitely screwed up and deserved sanctions by the judicial system. Yes, gainful employment is an important part of recovery because, in my experience the old cliche about Idle Hands being the devil's handiwork is really true. Clients of mine who have gainful employment and can throw themselves into it as much as possible don't have time to sit around, be depressed, and fall back into bad habits out of ennui. And they know that.

However, this had nothing to do with a game full volume Terry employment system like a lot of rehab centers have. Employment systems were people will frankly clamber over when a number to try to get one of the jobs at local facilities that will hire them. This situation however was pure and simple slave labor without an ounce of Rehabilitation. It's not just that the judge clearly thought that it was laziness that led to this guy's drug rehab, but it isn't an awful corporate scam where these jobs get free labor that they can hold prison sanctions over their head if they don't work worse than a dog, or in this case even work after a severe injury, to their liking. That does nothing for rehabilitation. It's the need and drive to want to succeed and want to participate in the workforce. This had no more rehabilitative effect, either 4 drug use or criminal behavior in general, then pounding rocks in a prison Courtyard. The only difference is now some private Corporation gets to exploit this guy's labor at a pretty savings.

This is an awful awful awful application of all the principles you are espousing. The mere fact that you're objecting over the fact that they wouldn't let workers comp cover his mangled hand doesn't make it much better frankly.

[Middle-aged Europe]

hard work builds character.  it is rehab.

The theory that working in a chicken plant is a cure for drug addiction is probably the most mind-blowing thing I've heard this week.

[J. J.]

hard work builds character.  it is rehab.

The theory that working in a chicken plant is a cure for drug addiction is probably the most mind-blowing thing I've heard this week.

It may an incentive to get off drugs.  There are a number of possibilities levers to pull in getting off of drugs.

[GeorgiaModerate]

I hate to admit it, but the first thing that came to mind when I saw the thread title was Soylent Green.

[Fuzzy Bear]

hard work builds character.  it is rehab.

The theory that working in a chicken plant is a cure for drug addiction is probably the most mind-blowing thing I've heard this week.

This is Criminal Justice-based drug treatment.  One of the major issues of criminal addicts is employability.  These are folks with major problems in their backgrounds that affect employment.  It is not unusual for a facility to partner with local employers, and the fact that the clients in work phases of these programs are required to show up when scheduled; absenteeism is a major problem for many low-wage, low-skill employers.

Another issue is, indeed, a work ethic.  Some addicts and alcoholics are workaholics, but some are folks that will work, but can't hold a job, for a variety of reasons.  Obtaining and maintaining gainful and lawful employment is a relevant consideration in long-term criminal justice-based drug treatment.

I do think that the relationship between this particular program and the particular employer is conflicted.  That being said, I'm not convinced that the man who was the subject of the article was truthful; indeed, I believe that he IS a liar.  He either lied about not being an addict, or he wasn't an addict and lied to avoid jail.  (I believe the former.)  He was a guy with an unstable work history who wanted to do a Rodeo Reality TV Show; is the thought that this guy had a pre-existing hand injury really that far-fetched?  Has no one who has been without health insurance slipped and fell at work, then tried to put every ache and pain they had on the Workers Comp tab? 

And the writer was complicit in this guy's manipulation and lying.  He "blew off" his Probation Officer (the person supervising him through the DA's pretrial program).  Did the writer ask the DA's office about the circumstances of him "blowing them off"?  Was it a drug test he blew off?  Except for the fact that he was using, what possible reason could someone have for missing such an appointment.

I will grant you that this program CAAIR needs to be scrutinized, and its business relationship with employers examined for conflicts of interest.  But the premise of the program this guy was sentenced to was sound, and I believe he was appropriate for such a program.  And I think he's a liar; he had no good reason to "blow off" his supervision at the DA's office, and it begs the question as to what his bad reasons were.  The writer of the article hates Christians, hates meat packer execs, and hates the idea that criminals should be required to work.  How many of the reporter's biases  cause important questions and follow-ups to NOT be asked?

The man is full of crap.