British Prisons Relapse Addicts Before Re-Entering Society

[The Giant Noodle]

Dumbest thing....... Im just at a loss on how stupid this is.

(NewsCore) - Drug-free convicts in Britain are being turned back into junkies by prison doctors before being released due to a controversial government program, The Sun reported Tuesday.
Prisoners targeted for "retoxification" are inmates who came into jail as addicts and are due to be released. The idea behind the program is that those addicted prior to serving their sentences will likely relapse, so giving them addictive substances ahead of time should cut down on deaths by overdose.
Thirty-three prisons across England offer highly-addictive heroin substitutes like methadone to inmates, even if their sentences mean they are effectively drug-free at the time of their release.
Supporters claim it gets former addicts' bodies used to drugs again by building up tolerance and slashing the risk of overdose deaths. Critics blast it as "state-sponsored" drug dealing.
Kathy Gyngell, of the London-based Centre for Policy Studies, said: "It gives the impression the government is giving up on tackling drug addiction. This doesn't get people off drugs, but captures them in the grip of methadone instead."
Similar programs exist in jails in Scotland, but the program was until now kept quiet in England, despite being in operation for over five years.
The Conservative Party spokesman for justice issues, Dominic Grieve, blasted the policy as shameful, warning that "substituting methadone for heroin leaves criminals hooked and liable to return to crime."
The U.K. Department of Health said doctors only resort to retoxification in "exceptional circumstances."

British Prisons Help Addicts Relapse Before Re-Entering Society

 

[LiberalAvenger]

Does each prisoner decide or are they forced to shoot up?

 

[Goshin]

Dumbest thing....... Im just at a loss on how stupid this is.

(NewsCore) - Drug-free convicts in Britain are being turned back into junkies by prison doctors before being released due to a controversial government program, The Sun reported Tuesday.
Prisoners targeted for "retoxification" are inmates who came into jail as addicts and are due to be released. The idea behind the program is that those addicted prior to serving their sentences will likely relapse, so giving them addictive substances ahead of time should cut down on deaths by overdose.
Thirty-three prisons across England offer highly-addictive heroin substitutes like methadone to inmates, even if their sentences mean they are effectively drug-free at the time of their release.
Supporters claim it gets former addicts' bodies used to drugs again by building up tolerance and slashing the risk of overdose deaths. Critics blast it as "state-sponsored" drug dealing.
Kathy Gyngell, of the London-based Centre for Policy Studies, said: "It gives the impression the government is giving up on tackling drug addiction. This doesn't get people off drugs, but captures them in the grip of methadone instead."
Similar programs exist in jails in Scotland, but the program was until now kept quiet in England, despite being in operation for over five years.
The Conservative Party spokesman for justice issues, Dominic Grieve, blasted the policy as shameful, warning that "substituting methadone for heroin leaves criminals hooked and liable to return to crime."
The U.K. Department of Health said doctors only resort to retoxification in "exceptional circumstances."

British Prisons Help Addicts Relapse Before Re-Entering Society

That's a great big WTF, Over? :damn

 

[LiberalAvenger]

It's a lot saner than america's war on drugs/people.