Should Non-Violent Drug Offenders Be Remanded to Drug Court
Moore_Argument Essay
February 18, 2013
Should Non-Violent Drug Offenders Be Remanded to Drug Court
Pablo Rayo Montano and Rita Faye Myers two people in comparison, entirely different, yet both are currently incarcerated on drug related charges. The only commonality shared with the two incarcerations is the word “drug” the severity and the type of crimes are worlds apart yet both are serving sentences over 20 years. Montano, responsible for over 15 tons of cocaine entering the United States from Columbia per month, was convicted for drug smuggling. At the time of his arrest the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) stated his enterprise was so vast and organized “he had his own navy” which included a small submarine. Myers by contrast was as far from an international drug lord as one would expect. She is a nice, quiet, older woman with only a sixth grade education that currently is serving 21 years in an Alabama prison for forging a prescription for the opiate Dilaudid. It was the disease of her addiction that lead ultimately to committing the criminal act of forgery, a forgery that did not harm anyone else physically. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) describes addiction as a primary disease, meaning that it's not the result of other causes, like cardiovascular disease and diabetes, addiction is recognized as a chronic disease; so it must be treated, managed and monitored over a person's lifetime. Myers has an addiction, an illness that requires intervention and treatment from professionals specifically trained to help control the cravings associated with addiction. Myers is only one of many people currently incarcerated today that are not receiving the proper treatment for the addictions that they live with. What makes this situation worse is that the prisons that these people sit in do nothing to assist in educating and rehabilitating these offenders. Courts believe by incarcerating these offenders they are preventing the usage and
February 18, 2013
Should Non-Violent Drug Offenders Be Remanded to Drug Court
Pablo Rayo Montano and Rita Faye Myers two people in comparison, entirely different, yet both are currently incarcerated on drug related charges. The only commonality shared with the two incarcerations is the word “drug” the severity and the type of crimes are worlds apart yet both are serving sentences over 20 years. Montano, responsible for over 15 tons of cocaine entering the United States from Columbia per month, was convicted for drug smuggling. At the time of his arrest the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) stated his enterprise was so vast and organized “he had his own navy” which included a small submarine. Myers by contrast was as far from an international drug lord as one would expect. She is a nice, quiet, older woman with only a sixth grade education that currently is serving 21 years in an Alabama prison for forging a prescription for the opiate Dilaudid. It was the disease of her addiction that lead ultimately to committing the criminal act of forgery, a forgery that did not harm anyone else physically. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) describes addiction as a primary disease, meaning that it's not the result of other causes, like cardiovascular disease and diabetes, addiction is recognized as a chronic disease; so it must be treated, managed and monitored over a person's lifetime. Myers has an addiction, an illness that requires intervention and treatment from professionals specifically trained to help control the cravings associated with addiction. Myers is only one of many people currently incarcerated today that are not receiving the proper treatment for the addictions that they live with. What makes this situation worse is that the prisons that these people sit in do nothing to assist in educating and rehabilitating these offenders. Courts believe by incarcerating these offenders they are preventing the usage and