One of the key decisions that a court has to make when someone has been convicted of a drug-related offence is whether that person should serve time in prison, or should be ordered to enter a drug rehab program. To many outsiders, the two options might seem to be at opposite ends of the punishment spectrum, with prison seen as the correct means of dealing with a drug offender, and drug rehab considered a lenient option, neither of which view is entirely correct.
In effect, what a court will be determining is whether the drug offender would be better served by being punished or treated, and many factors need to be considered concerning each one of these. This is not a straightforward ‘lock them up’ or ‘let them off’ decision, and whilst drug crime can never be condoned nor pardoned, simply putting someone in jail for a length of time may not serve either the offender or society as a whole.
We say that not to be harshly critical of prison, but given that the person offending may be addicted to drugs, placing them in an environment, where, with the best of wills, drugs will still be able to be obtained, simply defers many of the problems of drugs use rather than deals with them.
Alternatively, a strong case can be made that were that person ordered to enter a drug rehab facility and receive the treatment, therapy, and support which will have the best chance of breaking their drug dependency, then there are several winners including the individual, their family, and the community at large.
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