I spent a good part of my yesterday sitting in a court room watching
one after another get sentenced to jail time. The majority of these
people were young men, a few girls from 18 to 30. Most of these
jail times were for repeated drug offenses. I have seen many young
people come out of jail with no change... including my own son.
To me it just makes sense to put the money into rehab and fix the
problem , not just put a band aid on it. The money that is spent
housing drug addicts could go to centers that many actually change
their lives...not all of course. Jail is for punishment, not rehab
I understand. However these are the young who will be the majority
of our society..would it not make more sense to help them with their
addictions than to punish...?

Jail is for punishment. I agree there needs to be more programs and funding for rehab... during and AFTER they get out of jail. But, if they commited a crime, whether they were a drug addict or not, they have to be held responsible and do the time.

The problem with that is rehab centers are for people that want to quit. Not for people that got caught. The real crime isn't that people are using drugs, it's what they do to get them.

I agree if a crime is committed.. what if their crime is that they are an addict..they didn't pass their piss test, therefore violating probation, and going back to jail for that..are they are criminal or an addict?

What is the offence.and does the punishment fit that. It seems to me that most sentences handed out by the courts really do lack a sense of proportion. Punishment is generally a knee jerk reaction rather than a rehabilitation process, reactive rather than proactive. Jail for the most part offers the interned no hope for a future. Without hope there is nothing.

Do you not think some of these people want to quit..rehab cost thousands of a dollars a month and they are limited with their otions? I know many who would love to be checked in and get help...

I think we should kill them, that would set a very good example of what not to do...and would curb the crime rate considerably...meh, cheers to dreams.

Thank you..that is my point...many of these young people want help, they are stuck, no $$$$ to go to a rehab for 6 months, just back to jail to dry out..

kill all the addicts? geez fear

We would have to kill most of us..most have some addiction, even if it's a legal one..

No, just one...the others will get the picture.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
who governs the governors. Something like that. Where do you draw the line and who gets to decide where the line is actually drawn.
Hitler...Stalin...Amin...all serial killers or psychopaths...maybe you should choose?

Who is governing the governors now? For the lot of it the US seems to just lay their head down and mumble something that could possibly be intelligent but no one has the stance to say it to anybody of importance. As far as I'm concerned if we even killed a governor for the crime(s) they committed it would go a long way to curbing greed and 'money-bought' political gain. This really can go multiple ways, kill off enough murders, people will get the idea they should quit killing.

Face it, the only thing that has ever changed this country for the better has been and will always be fear. September 11th, Pearl Harbor, the first WTC bomb, the abortion clinic bombings...we are an entire nation ran off the notion of fear, now if we could just use it for our benefit we would be far better off...because in the long-run fear will be the only thing to check people and keep them in-line with a plan or plans.

I guess it sounds better when you put it into context with recent events and/or past events, but it really all falls about the same on the table.

It's a criminal offense to be in the possession of illegal drugs. If they are failing their urine tests, the probably have already commited a criminal offense before, and are now on parole / probation... which is why they are having to be tested. If they fail, they are committing another criminal offense. It's not that they aren't told this prior to being tested.
Being an addict is hard. They lose a lot to keep their drug of choice. However, they are still making these decisions. Even tho they are using drugs and under the influence of drugs, they are still responsible for taking these drugs. And when they do sober up, say in jail... they choose to go back on them when they get out. Everybody is responsible for their own actions. Jesus may forgive, but the State prosecutes.

oooh cause that worked really well back in the day of public hangings

It did...then people became all soft...wussies.

There's a difference between the person that is using a lil for his / her own personal use, and the one that breaks into houses and robs people to feed his habit.

...they get no help to get clean but are expected to just be clean and if they are unable they are a criminal
so pot showing up in a piss test makes a criminal..again

I'm sure glad smoking is legal cause I have never been able to quit for very long..I would be locked up all the time for my addiction..

There was a time when not doffing ones cap to an aristocrat was as bad as being a traitor. The person not demonstrating such respect as was deemed worthy was sent to the penal colonies of France>Devils Island or England>Botany Bay, Australia. Most then obliged the system, and died. If the punishment does not fit the crime that is all it is> punishment. Without hope for the future man is reduced to just another dog eat dog existance.Alcohol was not so long ago deemed to be illegal. It did not stop consumpion and did not stop crime. All of the killing associated with that did nothing to stem the actual addiction of alcohol.

I hate to be the one to point out the obvious.

People strapping on a buzz ain't the problem.

People being dumb enough to caught is the damned problem.

Think of how much it would save our society if people could be level headed enough to stop being so damned obvious.

There is a cycle that starts once the person is caught ...there are fines, and piss tests. If they are not done the way the probation officer says they are back in jail for non compliance.
Of course NOT getting caught in the first place would help.. however some do and so begins the cycle.

And you do not hate being the one to point out the obvious...