A family member of mine has been addicted to crack cocaine since the age of fifteen and now at the age of forty six, I am witnessing him at his worst that I've been exposed to.
Since overcrowding of the jail system, the petty theft that would normally land him in jail for months to a year is no longer there. In order to do "time", his offense would have to lead to prison time, which he is afraid of. For him incarceration was actually a good thing. Even though drugs are there too, still more challenging to obtain, therefore he wasn't as bad.
Without that safety net, he went from being productive, wanting to get out of addiction, in the middle of being addicted, to now chasing a high on a daily bases. He once told me, it only took twenty dollars to do it, my response was, "but it takes your whole check to keep it going".
A talented man who has become a shadow of himself
Since overcrowding of the jail system, the petty theft that would normally land him in jail for months to a year is no longer there. In order to do "time", his offense would have to lead to prison time, which he is afraid of. For him incarceration was actually a good thing. Even though drugs are there too, still more challenging to obtain, therefore he wasn't as bad.
Without that safety net, he went from being productive, wanting to get out of addiction, in the middle of being addicted, to now chasing a high on a daily bases. He once told me, it only took twenty dollars to do it, my response was, "but it takes your whole check to keep it going".
A talented man who has become a shadow of himself