In the last 24 hours, G. Robert Cotton Facility in Jackson, Michigan has experienced twelve overdoses. At the most recent one, Naloxone was necessary to revive the person.
America is staring down not just a profound but mind-boggling disconnect in how we approach addiction. While medical science has firmly established substance use disorder as a health condition requiring treatment, our criminal justice system continues to treat it primarily as a crime deserving punishment.
What is the deal, here?
The Revolving Door of Incarceration
Every day across the country, thousands of individuals struggling with addiction cycle through our prison system. They enter with substance use disorders and exit with the same untreated conditions – often worse – due to trauma experienced behind bars. Adding insult to injury, they come out with the added burden of a criminal record that makes rebuilding their lives exponentially harder.
This revolving door isn’t just failing people struggling with addiction; it’s failing all of us. It strains public resources, separates families, and perpetuates cycles of poverty and substance abuse that spans generations.
Punishment Instead of Treatment
The statistics tell us a devastating story:
Why? Because prison is big business, we prioritize punishment over rehabilitation.
And as a result, we waste both lives and taxpayer dollars. The cost of incarcerating someone is significantly higher than providing evidence-based treatment—and produces far worse outcomes.
A Health Crisis Deserving of Health Solutions
We’re failing to treat it as a medical issue. Rather than punishment, people struggling with addiction need:
- Evidence-based treatment approaches
- Mental health support
- Stable housing options
- Education and employment opportunities
- Community support systems
American prisons are designed to provide none of these.
Instead, they often expose individuals to additional trauma, disrupt what stability they may have had, and return them to society with far fewer resources than when they entered.
…And people wonder why prison doesn’t work.
Reimagining Justice
A growing movement of advocates, medical professionals, and even law enforcement officials are calling for a fundamental shift in how we approach addiction.
This includes:
- Diverting non-violent drug offenders to treatment instead of incarceration
- Expanding drug courts that focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment
- Implementing harm reduction strategies that meet people where they are
- Decriminalizing personal possession and shifting focus to traffickers
The Way Forward
The prison system is failing those with addiction…but it doesn’t have to be this way.
Breaking this cycle starts with recognizing addiction for what it really is: a health issue requiring healthcare solutions, not criminal ones. It continues with leaders investing in community-based treatment, housing, and support services addressing the root causes of substance use, pulling people out of squalor and despair.
Most importantly, it requires a compassionate approach and we can begin by seeing humanity in those struggling with addiction. We must stop defining people by their worst moments or poor choices made while in the grip of a devastating, life-altering disease.
By reimagining justice through the lens of public health rather than punishment, we can build a more effective, humane approach that truly serves our communities and those within them who are suffering.
