Should drug addicts go to jail or rehab?

What would be a better option for them? At first I said to myself rehab because it gets them immediate help. But then I think back my youth. When I only got a "slap on the wrist", I didn't take it seriously and went back to doing what I shouldn't have. But then again, some people say straight jail is too severe. Can anyone chime in on this?

Rehab. Put in them in jail will only have them siting there taking cells and than releasing them back to the same life same place to live IF they have one and same type of life they had before which means they WILL be back.

If given Rehab for 30 to 90 days(preferably 60 days or longer with after care cause 30 is nothing) and then release to a sober living or half way house they have the chance to get on their feet They deal with the addiction and the whys of the addiction and learn to live a life without drugs and learn how to deal with life on different terms legal terms. They have a chance to than gain education, jobs, housing. Many addicts at least in the inner city have No where to go back to. Most are released right back to the empty houses and shooting galleries hey were in when they left.

Depends on the crimes they've committed. If their only crime is drug use, then jail won't do anything for them except teach them to be real criminals. Rehab is the best place for them. If, on the other hand, they HAVE committed other crimes to support their addiction, they should be tried for their crimes and, if convicted, be mandated to drug rehabilitation while paying for those other crimes.

Either way, rehab should be part of it, but I'd rather have a jail bed taken up by a REAL criminal instead of some guy who gets high and has never hurt anybody.

Addiction isn't a crime. By itself, but a violation of any penal code. Addicts should go to treatment, but only after they accept that they need help, otherwise they are wasting time money and energy that could be spent on someone who wants help. However, if an addict is arrested for a low level offense like possession of narcotics or paraphernalia, they should always be given the option of treatment, and never should be locked up for these minor offenses. Jail should be reserved for real actual crimes (burglary, assault, rape, etc). Locking up sick people solves nothing.

Rehab. The one who should be jailed are the people who sell substances.

I think rehab is a much better option because in prison people only learn how to hide it better and cause more trouble. Treating addicts like criminals makes it a self fulfilling prophecy and it has been proven not to work as a deterrent nor as a correctional method. As for not taking rehab seriously because of the lack of severity, I think it's mostly because they are being forced onto it instead of just allowing them to voluntary go to a free facility since the system is built that way. If usage were decriminalized and free clinics would be put out on the open I think the success rate would increase, as evidenced by some cities that already do it this way.

If their only crime is to be a drug addict, then they need to go to rehab for help, not to jail to be punnished.

People are always crying that the jails are overcrowded, and people that commit a crime have got a lesser sentance than what they should have done to ease the prison population.

If you take the drug addicts out of the system and into rehab, it will help with a lot of that.

I think it depends or a case to case basis. If an addict committed a crime, he should be jailed or penalized according to the law and/or based on the crime committed. Rehabilitation should be done as early as possible before a crime will be committed because of addiction.

I would love to chime in but I think even after only reading your post, I am a little torn. I think I am going to present this to the youngsters I am surrounded by and yet their thoughts. This is quite an interesting question. Right now I am leaning a lot towards rehab but I think other things must be taken in consideration before I made my final vote.

Definitely, rehab should be the first form of punishment. If that doesn't work and the addict eventually relapses then I don't think rehab will have a significant effect on his behavior the second time. A correctional facility might prove the better choice for him in the long run. The stern discipline might just show him the right way after all. It's all about results in the end, regardless of who or where you've been.

I think it should be both jail and rehab. First you must have recovered then you must do time if you have broken the law. Some people get alternatives to jail, such as community service along with rehab. It depends on how severe the crime is. I think with minors, we try to spare them, however some of them take advantage of the situation rather than seeing it as a second chance.

If the kid is below 18, then rehab and counselling is the preferred option since the person is currently lacking in maturity. But if the person is already an adult, then I think jail time is the more suitable option.

Marijuana is illegal in my country first off. So one day I am at home and I get a call from a young lad I know telling me he's in trouble with the law. He was looking for some sort of money to bail him out of his situation. He said his mother wanted nothing to do with it. He was so scared of losing his job and all the repercussions.

Anyway, I never got to make what would have been a very difficult decision as the judge apparently sentenced him to some community service as he was a first time offender. Did it stop him from getting involved again? No.....I actually think he got more deeply involved. Would a few months in jail have been better and taught him a lesson? I am still asking myself those questions.

Rehab, in my opinion. I feel like surrounding them with others who WANT to change instead of people being FORCED to make a change is a much more productive solution.

It really depends on the degree of their crimes. If an addict hasn't done anything serious, I think he/she needs help rather than be put in jail. But if that person has already killed/raped someone because of drugs, then a prison would be a better option for them.

I would have to say both can have good benefits in helping someone get off of drugs. Rehab because it will help teach them and show them the way to stop using drugs. When people go to jail there basically not using because they have no access to the drugs which can also help some people to quit. In jail there is no real teaching unless they have a rehab program which adds more support in helping someone to get off of drugs.

But here is the thing. Take marijuana which is illegal in my country. There are person using this drug who don't have any intentions of stopping. They don't see any change as necessary, so what do you do then.

Someone made the point that it should depend on the gravity of the crime and I think that makes some sense. I see this is the kind of subject where the debate can go on and on.

I do not believe that jail is the place for a drug addict as I am told that they can get any drug they want when they are locked up. It is also the means of obtaining these drugs that may be even more life threatening. There is only one place for drug addicts and that is Rehab. Here they can get the help they need.

They should go to rehab centres. Drug dealers are the ones supposed to be jailed. In rehab is where they will learn to change.