Drugs

In general, the effects of drugs are at the center of almost every sad story, but in the world of prison, they can give a defining end to those stories. Being incarcerated presents the perfect isolation to impact those in society who for many diverse reasons have turned to the numbing effects of drugs and alcohol. At a time when humanity should take advantage of this isolation, our prison has failed. The judge assured them, they would find the help they need, yet when they arrived at prison those promises were empty lies.

In most cases, it has wasted its opportunity to rehab those who are lost in addiction, opting instead to simply leave it to them to figure out. Rather than change, they find people diving headfirst off the top tier because of something they smoked...or so high that they are crazed out of their minds... or days away from going home, a man never sees that day come because they pass away from an overdose leaving a wife and kids lost in their anguish.

They watch officers simply step over a twitching inmate seized up on K2 to continue doing their rounds or tell other inmates to drag him into a cell so he can finish his count.They watch as overdoses take the lives of an inmate after inmate without much of a blink from anyone. They don't find any help, just more reasons to escape into the blissful world of addiction.

The programs that the judge promised are a pipe dream to satisfy a society that knows no better. Many times, the time given you can't ever possibly do without losing everything you ever had, including hope. Too many 15 years, 30 years, or even living in this lost world is like saying, "You'll never be forgiven for what you've done, so why try". Someone give me something...anything to take this pain, this sorrow away. Anything that can numb the effects of this world where no redemption is offered.

Society-First seeks to end this epidemic that keeps paving a destructive path in our communities by empowering society with the truth and understanding that they are the solution to the problem. The need to change today's criminal justice system is so vital, it goes hand and hand with ending the repetitive cycle of society's victimization.

As we grow, you can read many different stories, experiences, concerns, and solutions from the incarcerated, ex-offenders, victims, volunteers, politicians, prison employees, and ordinary citizen by clicking on the specific links within each categorical section.