When I was a young addict, in and out of jail for heroin and/or pills, attitudes were entirely different about drugs.
Society looked upon certain drugs as "good." Others as "bad."
For example, marijuana was looked upon as "good," while "heroin" and "cocaine" were among the worst of drugs.
Alcohol, my parents’ drug of choice, was only bad if one got a drunk driving ticket or in an accident.
My parents used to get on my case, wondering why I didn't learn how to enjoy alcohol like they did. Even my parole officer encouraged me to drink - if I had to do anything at all.
It was pretty confusing to me then as it still is today. I mean anything that changes our level of consciousness could be considered a drug, whether legal or illegal. Especially if we were using it for having fun and not curing an illness.
It also showed up in the legal system. I once spent a year in jail for being under the influence of heroin - at that time a high level misdemeanor. Possession of drug paraphernalia would also bring a year in county jail.
I guess I reflect upon all this to demonstrate the complexities of our drug laws and drug treatments. The reality is that we have no hard and fast effective rules of how to deal with addiction or punishment. And quite likely we never will have until science can develop drugs that are both fun and harmless.
But between the moralists and scientists this will likely never happen.
