American Inmate Population Continues to Grow
Effective drug rehabilitation programs offer help for non-violent drug offenders
(PRWEB) May 3, 2005 -- There are now more than 2.1 million people behind bars
in the United States according to the Department of Justice, which is an
increase of more than 400 percent over the last 25 years. According to The
Sentencing Project the number of arrests for drug offenses rose from 580,000 in
1980 to over 1.5 million in the year 2000.
Sixty percent of the growth in
the federal prison population over the last twenty years has been due to drug
offender commitments, and approximately 80 percent of inmates have substance
abuse issues, according to sources such as the Sentencing Project and the Bureau
of Justice Statistics.
Many states are continuing to review and revise
their sentencing laws for nonviolent drug offenders to curb the costs of the
nation’s fastest growing population segment. While limiting the number of new
inmates with drug addiction treatment alternatives is a positive step, there are
still hundreds of thousands that need rehabilitation within the walls of the
prisons.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics cites that only 10-15 percent
of inmates with drug problems actually receive some form of treatment while
incarcerated.
A recent study released by the Substance Abuse Policy
Research Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation examined addiction
treatment practices and outcomes in Connecticut prisons. The study found that
recidivism rates are greatly reduced when inmates receive some form of
rehabilitation services during their prison sentences.
The cost to
re-incarcerate offenders (at well over $20,000 per year) is much higher than it
is to provide drug treatment services in the prisons or to divert offenders to
inpatient drug rehabilitation programs. It cost Americans $25.96 billion to
imprison 1.3 million non-violent offenders in the year 2000, meaning our nation
spent 50% more than the entire $16.6 billion the federal government spent on
welfare programs to serve 8.5 million people.
One organization that is
continually producing long-term results throughout the world for rehabilitating
nonviolent alcohol and other drug offenders is the Narconon® Drug Rehabilitation
and Education Program.
Narconon Arrowhead is the largest center in the
international network, producing a phenomenal success rate for rehabilitating
addicts using the effective drug-free methodology developed by American author
and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard.
Narconon literally means
"narcotics-none" and was founded by a former heroin addict named William Benitez
in Arizona State Prison in 1966. Thirty-nine years later, Narconon is still
considered a new, proven approach to successfully ending drug addiction.
The program consists of communication and confrontation exercises, sauna
detoxification to rid the body of the old drug residues and a series of courses
that empower former addicts through learning life skills to raise their
responsibility for themselves and others to become productive members of
society.
The overwhelming issue of substance abuse affects nearly every
individual in one way or another. If you would like to seek help for a loved or
are interested in learning more about the program, contact Narconon Arrowhead
today by calling 1-800-468-6933 or log on to www.stopaddiction.com.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/5/prweb235554.htm