US: NYT Editoral - If Addiction is a Disease, Why is Relapsing a Crime?

[aihfl]

When Julie Eldred tested positive for fentanyl in 2016, 11 days into her probation for a larceny charge, she was sent to jail. Such outcomes are typical in the American criminal justice system, even though, as Ms. Eldred's lawyer has argued, ordering a drug addict to abstain from drug use is tantamount to mandating a medical outcome - because addiction is a brain disease, and relapsing is a symptom of it.
Ms. Eldred's case, now before the Massachusetts Supreme Court, has the potential to usher in a welcome change to drug control policies across the country. The case challenges the practice of requiring people with substance abuse disorders to remain drug-free as a condition of probation for drug-related offenses, and of sending offenders to jail when they relapse.

Rest of it

 

[Jabberwocky]

^about time. My hopes aren't too high when it comes to courts dealing with drug use stuff, but maybe this will change for the better.

Not really holding my breath, but one may dream.

Thanks aihfl

 

[BeachBum4u]

I don't know if it's technically correct to call addiction a brain disease but what is true is that if one takes medium to high doses of opiates for any real length of time, the brain chemistry is undeniably altered. So, it's not about lack of willpower or moral weakness etc., its actually a physiological fact. It constantly bothers me that pain patients who take their medication properly get labeled as ađdicts with no moral code. Not as human beings suffering every Fucking day trying their damnest to live a hopefully semi-normal life. For crying' out loud, what has this society been reduced to?

 

[Jabberwocky]

What bugs me is that doing anything to the point it becomes a habit tends to radically alter brain chemistry, biology, and even someone's genetics.

Why people single out opioids as doing this more than, say, hot and heavy romantic love, filial piety or parental love, is frustrating to no end for me. People single out opioids not because they are more harmful than love, but because they're considered deviant, use criminalized and users demonized.

Righteous anger.