Emptying out my notebook, I wanted to share a few details that did not make it into the story than ran this week about the Department of Corrections’ decision, in the face of a persistently high inmate population, to extend its contract with Corrections Corporation of America and continue to send hundreds of Vermont inmates out-of-state.
* Given that the DOC currently has 1,600 in-state beds and 2,100 inmates, I asked Corrections Commissioner Andy Pallito whether his department is considering building a new prison in Vermont, rather than relying on the for-profit CCA. Pallito said the DOC does not have even preliminary plans to build a new prison, but expected to discuss the issue with state lawmakers during the upcoming session.
“I think it will come up this legislative session,” Pallito said. “I think it will be a part of the conversation, though it’s always about money.”
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Relapse happens in recovery from almost any substance abuse treatment (unfortunately), especially one as pernicious as opiate addiction. There’s years of research that says methadone is effective. I’m also curious as to how many of those 76 people who died from methadone were actually using it as part of a treatment plan vs. buying it on the street. Nothing’s effective as a treatment method if you buy it on the street, I think…
Outside of the statistics that indicate 70% of those treated relapse? Or that over a 5 year period 76 people died from methadone?
~50 people die each year from opiates in Vermont. Over 5 years thats 250 people. If 30% of those could be successfully treated with methadone (remember 70% relapse) then you could save 75 people…. but 76 methadone users died over a 5 year period…indicating that methadone would actually not save a single life. The numbers are my evidence that Methadone does not work…..
what’s your evidence that methadone isn’t working?
I give up, man you are the hangin’judge! 😉
I don’t either, but if your goal is to eliminate car idling which would work better… a $25 fine or 25 days in prison?
Do you want to live in a society where you imprison people for idling their cars? I don’t. (of course there are some peeps in Burlington who probably think it’s a great idea, LOL).
I concur, we need to try something new. Methadone is being tried, it’s not working. A different approach maybe to make the punishment so outrageous as to deter anyone from committing it.
If the consequence of idling your car for more then 5 minutes resulted in a prison sentence would you idle it for 10? Probably not.
Although politicians make careers out of promising to perfect humanity, that is an impossible goal. Why just this morning I let my car idle for 10 minutes to melt the ice, now in Burlington this is a “crime”. The busybodies who passed that law probably would be outraged that I’m bragging about it here but the fact is there’s nothing they can do about it. Perhaps they could declare “war” but they’d have to rely on the police officers at 1 North Avenue who are idling their own cars day and night to enforce it.
What we end up with is a less free society where we all lose rights and freedom because of a minority who lack self restraint. I can’t fix addicts, no one can, not cops, not prisons and not social approbation. What we can do is recognize that the war has not worked and it is time to try something different.
Here’s where I think there is a flaw in your plan. What do you do with these people? Are you going to give a job to a heroin addict that is now on Methadone? Prob not, so they are going to be in the system collecting benefits and with little money and time on their hands. They are soon going to find that hey, this methadone sucks, I’m not getting high anymore. Hey lets go rob a place and get some heroin. Giving them treatment doesn’t end the problem. In VT we have methadone clinics…we also still have prevalent herion use and a 70% relapse rate for those who took methadone.
Consider, we average ~50 deaths per year from opiates in this state, or 250 over a 5 year period. We have had 76 methadone attributed deaths over a 5 year span. If you consider the 70% relapse that means 75 people who died could have quit using methadone… and 76 of them will then die from the methadone. That doesn’t sound all that successful to me unless your goal is to kill off drug users. Hmmmm…..
The way to end the dealing is to take the money out of it- addicts should be able to get a prescription for methadone or whatever keeps them on an even keel.
We’ve had this war on drugs since Nixon’s presidency and all we have to show for it is massive incarceration, disproportinately of black men, and the system seems fine with that.