Do you think drug addicts should have to go cold turkey in prison?

Question

I include cigarettes and alcohol .Before answering be aware some prisoners would actually die although this would be a great deterrent.

Answer 1

No I think they should get more help than they do at the moment.

Answer 2

Cold turkey sounds like a good plan to me.  I wouldn't agree with the people dying thing, they are human after all but a good plan to get them off drugs by going cold and helping them with the effects has got to be a good idea.

The majority of inquisitive crime (theft related/crime for personal gain) is drug related usually committed to fund a habit so a decline in drug use would surely relate to a decline in inquisitive crime.

Bear in mind though that we would have to also make prisons more strict and less of a comfort for the people residing in them.  There are a lot of illegal drugs smuggled into prisons so stopping this would have to be a priority before the cold turkey plan can take effect.

Answer 3

Yes cold turkey is the only way

Answer 4

Well in the US punishment cannot be cruel and unusual, so the addicts that would die from going cold turkey should be weaned off the drug(s) the best way  possible.  The technique to use for the rest of the drug abusers should be the one that gets the best results.  The one which keeps the most people from using again once they have quit.  If cold turkey is that technique, then that would be the one to use.  If it's not, then use the proper one.  To address the cruel and unusual punishment, the pain and struggle of cold turkey would not be a part of their punishment, but simply a consequence of their drug abuse.  Regardless of what technique is used, it will be a long, hard road for an addict.

Answer 5

how can they when theres more drugs in prison than your own street.

Answer 6

Why would they die, when there's such thing has medicine.But yes they should be made to go cold turkey, but it would cost to much to monitor and nurse the addicts.

Answer 7

in california there is no smoking in any correctional facility. therefore all inmates quit cold turkey. as far as alcohol and or drugs/ they are ususally given a different drug to combat the withdrawl.

Answer 8

Drugs are illegal therefore they should not be legal in a detention facility. Cigarettes also should not be allowed due to matches or lighters have to be used to light them. What's to keep an inmate from using them improperly? Medical staff is usually in charge of taking care of a patient who comes in with an addiction. During my time as being a corrections officer I never saw anybody die from coming off of meth, heroin, cocaine, and numerous other drugs. These inmates are usually just a bit more anxious than others.

Answer 9

They would not be given illicit drugs for liability reasons. If they were going through withdrawals, they would be treated by a doctor. There are medications out there that ease withdrawl symptoms, so no one would die.  

Answer 10

I really don't think that that would solve anything.

You firstly have to understand why a prisoner took drugs in the first place- they might have gone though something like the death of a family member, lost their job/house etc. so you must address these issues first. Otherwise they'll go back to drugs, looking for an escape.

  Also, the sheer logistics of this would be enormous- security in prisons is normally tough anyway, but keeping drugs completely out of the system would involve checking ALL mail, vetting and searching visitors, checking prisoners on arrival for any hidden drugs...etc. The sheer cost and logistics of this would be expensive and time-wasting.

  As for cigarettes and alcohol, these are legal.

  You'd have the human rights lawyers knocking on the door in no time if you pulled this one.  

Answer 11

Yes - Many have stopped their addiction by the method. They were the ones who had a strong will.to succeed.