Don"t Make Me Go to Rehab
Bruce, who would not share his last name, is homeless, his house was burned down, and he has nobody to help him. He walks around New York City, asking people to give what they can so he can buy some food. Although he has no time to spare, he takes 20 minutes to discuss his experience in the drug rehabilitation process with me, which he knows well because he worked in a rehab center in upstate New York and has spoken to many people who have been put through system. His insights shine a light on the abject failure of the "war on drugs," which was never designed to curtail drug use or help addicts recover.
He calls the rehab centers and halfway houses he knows akin to "concentration camps." He says, "They're supposed to help incarcerated inmates with drug problems who've gone home and got caught with dirty urine or got in trouble. Instead of going back to prison they go to these drug camps," where they are required to stay for at least six months. Bruce explains that these programs are "about psychology and exercise," but "they put pressure on you to stay positive. If you're negative or they don't like the way you're behaving they'll keep you there longer."
And that's the objective. To keep people in the rehab centers for as long as possible. The centers are privately owned corporations that are funded by the taxpayer through welfare. Corruption is rampant. "Taxpayers are being ripped off and don't even know it," Bruce says. "There's been a big kickback between parole and the halfway houses and drug programs; there's corruption going all the way through." He explains that "If you own a halfway house you'll go to a parole officer and say 'here's a couple thousand dollars, send your clients to me.' The drug programs collect the welfare, $120 a day per person, and they have roughly 150 people in there. Imagine that 50 times over, they must have a thousand different places."
Medicaid pays for all this. "Medicaid is where the cash cow is because they [the rehab centers] won't accept you without a medical or insurance card." The programs have expanded dramatically during the past 15 years because it's too expensive to keep so many people in prison, which can cost roughly $85,000 a year per inmate compared to $35,000 at rehab centers. "So we save money that way, but everyone's double dipping," Bruce avers.
The conditions inside the centers are awful...
For full article check out my blog:
http://thebloodycrossroads.com/
He calls the rehab centers and halfway houses he knows akin to "concentration camps." He says, "They're supposed to help incarcerated inmates with drug problems who've gone home and got caught with dirty urine or got in trouble. Instead of going back to prison they go to these drug camps," where they are required to stay for at least six months. Bruce explains that these programs are "about psychology and exercise," but "they put pressure on you to stay positive. If you're negative or they don't like the way you're behaving they'll keep you there longer."
And that's the objective. To keep people in the rehab centers for as long as possible. The centers are privately owned corporations that are funded by the taxpayer through welfare. Corruption is rampant. "Taxpayers are being ripped off and don't even know it," Bruce says. "There's been a big kickback between parole and the halfway houses and drug programs; there's corruption going all the way through." He explains that "If you own a halfway house you'll go to a parole officer and say 'here's a couple thousand dollars, send your clients to me.' The drug programs collect the welfare, $120 a day per person, and they have roughly 150 people in there. Imagine that 50 times over, they must have a thousand different places."
Medicaid pays for all this. "Medicaid is where the cash cow is because they [the rehab centers] won't accept you without a medical or insurance card." The programs have expanded dramatically during the past 15 years because it's too expensive to keep so many people in prison, which can cost roughly $85,000 a year per inmate compared to $35,000 at rehab centers. "So we save money that way, but everyone's double dipping," Bruce avers.
The conditions inside the centers are awful...
For full article check out my blog:
http://thebloodycrossroads.com/
