ADDICTION UNCOVERED
Addiction and Jail
Our Society: Addiction and More Uncovered Ch 46
Bernadette talks about her brother-in-law who was a very bad crack addict for years, he could not get clean. He finally robbed a bank and ended up in jail.
She said this was the best thing that ever happened to him.
His system had time to recover from the drugs, they cleared out and he became sober. He is alive now because of it. The family was grateful when he was in jail because then they knew that he was alive. He was in jail before too because of breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s house to steal her stuff for crack. He used to lie all the time. They would know because the story was just too long. He is still clean today and doing good for the first time. It was the prison that did it. He just had another baby. A little boy.
He abandoned his first kid.
The second baby was born when he was in prison, he is clean now and has become a good dad. He shows up and he is there. He was not able to parent the first kid, he was gone, and he is keeping in touch with his firstborn now. There is a lot to say about atonement she adds. Be grateful, remain sober and live a productive life. People got to make up for the shitty stuff they did before, be better, and want to do better. Addiction s****, it hurts everybody, the person, the family, kids, job, community, everything. It is so bizarre she feels, it is what it is.
Albert feels that even if people were sober in the jail many times they get out and there is a cliff, no support and they go back to what they know, where they used to hang out, do the same things they used to do. He feels that the hand-off is not clean often. Some places are trying to start treatment in jail. People fall back to the same trap or habits they have done before. Some jails now are trying to start treatment in the jail and continue to move people into services when people leave. That would be great he said.
He describes people getting out for example Saturday night, now the jail sentence is done so good luck.
If they want to go to the health care clinic down the road they can, except that they are closed until Monday. Then they might need to wait 2 months to get in. Even when jail is a good thing for people Albert explains they might not be able to use it as one because of the lack of follow-up after they get out. A great step would be starting medication-assisted treatment in the jail with immediate follow-up after release with connection to services like housing.
We discussed improper MAT use as well, Albert had seen people on Suboxone for 5 years with high doses and he asserts that does not make sense either. Suboxone as a solution and use it responsibly. Albert states yes, people are supposed to start with Suboxone and then taper it down because if it is not administered properly it can be just as bad as other drugs. Albert mentions studies had shown that when it is done right it can help people, and if it is not done correctly then it just leaves people now “doped up” on something else. The same thing with methadone, people go to the clinic and use it as a baseline then use other drugs on top of it. He laughs.
Please let me know your thoughts….
About me
Previous chapters can be found here
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This book is dedicated to the memory of Bagóczky József my uncle who died at age 19 — alcohol-related car accident and to everyone else who has been hurt or lost related to addiction
Many people had been supportive and inspiring to me so I could create this book. Both of my wonderful children told me, just write that book, mom. My mom. I could have not done this without all the stories provided and the encouragement love and caring from my family and friends, nurses, doctors, counselors, teachers, professors, friends who are dealing with addiction and staying sober; and children, wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers of people who are dealing with addiction currently. Thank you for speaking up, sharing your stories and life experiences. Thank you to all the people who read this book while in progress to provide feedback, ideas, and encouragement for me to continue writing. I would like to say special thanks to my friends and family for believing me and encouraging me to go on.
Our Society: Addiction and More Uncovered. Hear the voices of everyday people — a collection of stories and experiences.
Copyright @ 2020. 1st addition on Amazon KDP. 2nd addition Jan 2021 Barnes & Noble. Gumroad December 2021. By Dr. Gabriella Kőrösi. All rights reserved. Dancing Elephants Press.
