Crack Cocaine Addiction & Rehab

Overcome Crack Cocaine Addiction During Incarceration

crack cocaine effects: incarceration

Many people who have never been incarcerated assume that it should be easy for prisoners to stop using drugs while they are in prison. Dealing with addiction during incarceration can sometimes be harder than if the person was in regular society. The following guide walks you through the major differences. The differences between stopping drug use in prison and getting clean in regular society.

Detox Treatment Options

When someone isn’t incarcerated, they have access to many different Crack Cocaine addiction and rehab treatment programs. There are inpatient and outpatient options they can choose from.

When someone stops using crack cocaine, they will go through withdrawal symptoms that can be hard to handle. When detoxing from crack cocaine people typically feel intense anxiety, shake uncontrollable, have emotional outbursts, sweat profusely, and have a hard time sleeping.

At the rehab facilities, there are medications that people can be given to minimize the symptoms they experience and make the detox process more bearable.

When someone is in prison, they don’t get the option of whether to detox from drugs or not. If the drugs aren’t available to them, they have to detox because they cannot get access to them. Many individuals continue drug use in prison simply because they don’t want to have to experience the withdrawal symptoms.

There are some prisons that do offer medications to help with detox. Detox from crack cocaine, but it still isn’t a pleasant experience for them. Many of the prisoners are left by themselves during their detox, which can make the process even worse.

Behavioral Counseling Options

When someone goes through crack cocaine rehab in society, they are given intense behavioral counseling to help them learn that they are valuable and don’t have to go through life on drugs.

The counseling helps them to determine what caused them to start learning and develop strategies that they can use to avoid relapsing when they get out of rehab. Someone in prison often isn’t awarded the same courtesy.

While there are some prisons that do offer some form of behavioral counseling for drug addicts, it often isn’t very in-depth or for a long period of time. There are so many inmates in every prison that it’s nearly impossible for a counselor to talk to any of them for an extended period.

Emotional Support

When someone detoxes from drugs, it can leave them feeling very emotionally drained. They often want to talk to their friends and family about the way that they are feeling. As well as, apologize for their mistakes while high and work toward mending relationships.

This emotional redevelopment is key to long term success with drug abuse recovery. Someone who is living in incarceration, won’t get to express their emotions. It’s important to express emotions as soon as they feel them with their friends and family. Many inmates don’t feel comfortable talking about feelings on the phone or during family visits. They worry about speaking about feelings because they don’t want to look weak in front of the other inmates.

Crack cocaine changes the pleasure sensors in the brain. This makes it difficult for people to feel happiness or control their emotions in a healthy way. Getting the right counseling can make all the difference in the world when it comes to long term success from drug addiction.

Peer Pressure in Prison

When someone stops using drugs in the real world, it’s easy for them to avoid peer pressure. It’s easy because they can simply move away from the area or avoid the people who are attempting to pressure them.

When someone is in prison, they cannot get away from their peers. There are many people who end up relapsing while they are in prison. Simply due to fear of not taking drugs when another inmate tells them to take the drugs.

Addiction During Incarceration

After overcoming crack cocaine addiction, going to regular meetings can help someone to stay clean for the long run. Research shows that 70 to 80% of prison inmates are drug users before they face incarceration. This data shows a significantly high percent of inmates with substance abuse problems prior to ever being convicted. Only 10% of those people ever seek help for their addiction while they are in prison.

This means it’s really difficult to create a support system while someone is in prison. This is because most people they are in prison with are still using drugs.

Fortunately, there are recovery programs available in some local prisons to help the inmates stay clean after overcoming an addiction. The inmates are able to learn tips and tricks that they can use while they are incarcerated and when they are released back into society to help them learn how to avoid relapse and rebuild their lives as best they can. These programs are voluntary for the prisoners to take, which can make things a bit more difficult.

Long-Term Support

Many people make the mistake of assuming that rehabilitation from crack cocaine takes only a few days. This isn’t the case at all though. It can take months for someone to be able to recover from the physical addiction to the drug and even longer to overcome the emotional ties to it.

Being able to talk to others who have overcome their addiction can make it easier for people to handle the triggers and temptations that occur later on down the road.

If someone takes the time to get the right help while they are in prison, they can return as a productive member of society when they get out.

They need to learn how to manage their emotions properly and avoid exposure to temptation.  If they do this, they can have the best chance of a drug-free future later on down the road. It’s important for people to take the time to push for better drug treatment options for prisoners. Help for addiction does need to be more readily available to prisoners.

People who are able to become drug free while they are in prison have a reduced chance of reoffending when they get out, which is better for them and society as a whole. If you need help with addiction or know someone who does, contact us for resources and assistance at (877) 322-2450.

About the author

Dr. Michael Carlton, MD.

Leading addictionologist, Michael Carlton, M.D. has over 25 years of experience as a medical practitioner. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and returned for his MD from the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona in 1990. He completed his dual residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and his Fellowship in Toxicology at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center and Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

He has published articles in the fields of toxicology and biomedicine, crafted articles for WebMD, and lectured to his peers on medication-assisted treatment. Dr. Carlton was a medical director of Community Bridges and medically supervised the medical detoxification of over 30,000 chemically dependent patients annually.

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