Prop 5: A Trojan Horse?

Some people believe California's Prop 5 to be something of a Trojan Horse . . . on the outside it looks great, but on the inside it is filled with dangerous things. Voters will have to decide that on election day for themselves. But, I have to again ask the question, why do we (and I include society here) let things get so bad? By the time the person (addict) comes to the attention of law enforcement, they have been in their disease a long time. Do you really think that the first, second, third arrest is the first time anyone knows this person has a drug or alcohol problem?? Get real. Lots of people know. Their families, their friends, their neighbors, their bosses, their co-workers, people who have cleaned up their consequences (i.e. lawyers, doctors, social workers, clergy). But those who have seen it have either missed the signs entirely or have chosen to turn a blind eye. Had one person, just one, stepped up and sought professional help the chances are the police and the courts would never become involved. Would it prevent every criminal case fueled by drugs from becoming a criminal case? No. But, if it prevented one in 5 or one in 10 from reaching the criminal justice system the savings would be unimaginable!!

The next time you see an over-the-top crime that hits the headlines, look for "the bottle in the picture." By that I mean the drugs or the alcohol. Chances are you will find them. We have another one that has just hit the scene . . . the tragic story of the family of star Jennifer Hudson. What an awful waste. All of the facts are not in, more investigation is being done. But, already crack cocaine is surfacing in this story. Am I surprised?? Sadly, I'm not. Sober, healthy people don't generally get so out of control committing crimes like this. Would intervention have prevented this? Perhaps not. Perhaps professional intervention was done long ago. Perhaps many times. I doubt it, but maybe so. What I do know is this . . . chemotherapy does not work in all cases. But, we use it as soon as we can. We don't wait. And, we don't not use it because it isn't successful every time.

Pre-Intervention: Limbo-Land

Got a call from a lady recently regarding her 24-year old daughter who she "just discovered" has been using cocaine for 2 years. The school she said she was going to, the jobs she said she held . . . all lies. The money going to the girl for "support and education" has been going up her nose. Her brother, who has been harboring this secret, is alarmed now because sis has started to shoot the stuff. So, the cat came out of the bag. Daughter had a "little marijuana problem a few years back, but we took care of that", Mom explains. Mom is really, really worried and ready to "do something right away." She has been referred by a well-known treatment center, we talk about intervention and her options, she is really ready but she needs to talk with ex-husband (cocaine daughter's dad). They have talked, she assures me, and he will be on board as he is scared to death. I tell Mom that, in my experience, if she (not the family) does not make a decision to move forward with intervention within a day or two tops she will most likely wind up in the pre-intervention place of indecision known as the Limbo Land. She gets that, assuring me that would never happen to her, she will call me back one way or another to let me know what her family is doing. Never heard from her.

I used to follow-up with these people . . . "Hi, just checking to see if you spoke with so and so, what your family has decided to do, how I can help you move forward", etc. Invariably they say one of three things:

1. He/she is going to go to counseling, a psychiatrist, getting meds, etc and we'll see how that works.
2. We decided to talk with him/her first (we are going to do it on our own).
3. It's premature/over-reacting to do an intervention because:
a. He/she hasn't hit bottom ~ He/she is not ready
b. The time for our family is bad now (vacations, health issues, work, etc).
c. We can't agree as a group that this is the way to go

Families will stay in this place until the next consequence. Then they will go through it again . . . and again . . . and again . . . just like their addicted loved one. Often, they stay in it too long and the consequence they receive is a real doozy or even irrecoverable. Sometimes they don't know this for years as in the case of testing positive for HIV/AIDS.

Why do families like this get stuck? Fear.
Whose fear? Theirs.
Tragic? Yes.
Avoidable? Absolutely.