Florida Governor Ordered to Dismantle Unfair Voting Rights Restoration System
Gov. Rick Scott and his cabinet have been using an arbitrary system to decide when—and if—to restore Florida residents’ voting rights after they have been convicted and served time for a felony. This system has kept more than 10 percent of adult Floridians from being able to vote, and this largely includes those who were arrested on a felony charge of possession who are often individuals suffering from drug addictions. Once a person in this situation serves time, gets treatment, and gets clean, they can still be permanently barred from ever being able to vote again in the state.
On March 27, 2018, a judge ordered Gov. Scott to dismantle this system and replace it with something better by April 26. The judge’s decision comes on the heels of a grassroots campaign attempting to change this outdated law and to help those who have paid their debt to society or recovered from addiction after getting help.
Treatment Vs. Prison
More and more states, cities, and other areas in the U.S. are looking toward a focus on treatment rather than prison for those who are caught with illicit substances. In many cases, these individuals are addicts who will not receive the care they need if they are simply sent to prison.
Many people think that going through withdrawal cold turkey in a prison will scare a person into never using drugs again. The belief is that these individuals will remember the pain and suffering they went through by experiencing full-on withdrawal and that they will stay away from drugs in the future.
o This is actually untrue and ignores the main factor associated with addiction: the fact that it is, first and foremost, a disease.
o Even those who may not want to return to drug abuse after prison may still do so because they are not in control of their use.
o Those who withdraw will no longer be dependent on the drug, but they will still be addicted. It works similarly to the process of putting someone through detox but not following up with rehab treatment.
Prison not only fails to help the prisoner who is addicted to drugs, but it also costs the country more money than professional addiction treatment.
o According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a full year of methadone maintenance treatment would cost the country a little over $4,700 per patient. But a full year of imprisonment costs a whopping $24,000 per inmate.
In many ways, Florida as well as the entire country has a skewed view of addiction and what is necessary to help a person stop using. If we can work together to ensure that people receive treatment rather than prison time, more and more people will likely be able to achieve recovery and avoid recidivism, which would help our communities thrive overall.
Do You Need Help for Drug Addiction?
We are available 24 hours a day to help you find safe, effective detox and rehab centers near you. Just call 888-646-0635Who Answers? now to speak with a treatment advisor.
Millions of people online share their own personal stories of success, failure, despair and the disasters that come from living with an alcoholic husband but few share the keys to success or the methods of finding help. It can be trying, difficult, deceitful, dangerous and utmost disastrous to live with an individual who is an alcoholic,….
The 12-step recovery process is nothing new to drug rehab centers, in fact many are founded on these same principles as they were developed back in 1939. For many, the 12-step recovery process is a very beneficial type of treatment that has profound effects. Although the 12-steps are not a form of evidence based treatment….
In the past 10 years, teen drug abuse has seen significant increased and some minor decreases along the way. Unfortunately, the number of teens who are now using dangerous drugs is seeing an all-time high that has not been reached in the prior 20 years. Teens today aren’t just experimenting with pot or alcohol, today’s teen drug….
Relapses are unfortunately a large part of addiction and may happen despite our best efforts. They can sneak up on you, and determining if an event is going to trigger a relapse can be a daunting task. Experiencing a traumatic event can often be one of the biggest ways a person can relapse back into….
If you or someone you love is addicted to drugs or alcohol and needs help then there’s already a chance that you have begun searching for treatment and realized that the cost is rather high which makes getting the help you need difficult. If you think that drug rehab is out of the question because….
There are many different alcohol rehab center options available for those suffering from addiction to alcohol. Sometimes, because there are so many options to choose from, choosing an alcohol rehab center can be a difficult task. If you’re not sure what your options are for alcohol rehab or if you have learned about the various….
One of the most difficult things to do is watch a loved one kill themselves with drugs or alcohol. You beg and plead with them, asking them to seek treatment but they always go back to their addiction. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, treatment does not have to be voluntary to work…..
It may be simple to determine if an individual is addicted to drugs or alcohol once they have been using for many years and the addiction has progressed to such an advanced stage that they use daily, suffer withdrawal symptoms when they aren’t using and are clearly in trouble. Unfortunately, by this point addiction has….
Some people don’t even realize that their drinking has become a problem until it’s too late. Whether it’s just a few drinks at the end of each day, you drink all day everyday or you only drink when you go out with friends, you could suffer from a serious drinking problem. Don’t ignore the signs….
Certainly, addiction crosses all barriers: gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age group, etc. And, all of these people also face the risk of a dual diagnosis, a situation in which a person receives more than one diagnosis for concurrent conditions, like addiction and depression for example. But, a recent study indicates non-heterosexual women who have….
Calls to numbers on a specific treatment center listing will be routed to that treatment center. Calls to any general helpline will be answered or returned by one of the treatment providers listed, each of which is a paid advertiser that includes Right Path Rehab.
By calling the helpline you agree to the terms of use. We do not receive any commission or fee that is dependent upon which treatment provider a caller chooses. There is no obligation to enter treatment.
