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Addiction Recovery Bulletin
INCARCERATION FOR ADDICTS –
Dec. 5, 2024 – Trump’s “Agenda 47” proposes an aggressive stance against drug trafficking and addiction, including measures such as naval embargoes on cartels and the death penalty for drug dealers. (Yours truly would have been a target if these were in place 20 years ago.)
The “War on Drugs” has long been criticized for its disproportionate impact on marginalized communities and its failure to reduce substance use and related struggles. Instead of addressing root causes such as poverty, trauma, and lack of access to mental health care, these policies focus on punishment, exacerbating harm for individuals and families.
As I emphasize repeatedly in Unhooked, addiction is rarely about the substances or behaviors themselves. It’s about the pain, trauma, and emotional activation driving the behavior. Policies focused solely on eradication and punishment do little to address the core question: Why are people turning to drugs? Without tackling this, we risk perpetuating cycles of addiction and incarceration.
And in the U.S., people keep turning to drugs, no matter the policies.
CONTINUE@PsychologyToday
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