“I’m very grateful for this program. If it weren’t for this, the only option I would have had was to wait for the phone call to get the pine box,” says Kathy Ketchum to John Keilman from the Chicago Tribune. Kathy is the mother of a heroin addict who was given the chance to go to rehab instead of prison. Her daughter, Katelynn Lahmann, had been addicted to heroin for 9 months at age 20. Instead of being sent to prison, policemen sent her to many facilities to help her overcome her addiction. This is just one example of how sending drug addicts to rehab instead of jail is more beneficial.

The teenage years are when you are most vulnerable and easy to be pressured, which is why many teens tend to test out drugs. First they usually try the gateway drugs (pot, tobacco, and alcohol), and then a percentage of those people get themselves into harder drugs such as cocaine, meth, prescription pills, and heroin. Once you start those hard drugs, it seems almost impossible to stop. Eventually, they get caught and usually sent to jail. But who is that benefitting? The addict will be thrown into a cell without anything to feed their addiction and start to experience withdrawal symptoms, which puts them in excruciating pain that could possibly kill them.

If they didn’t commit any other crime than being in possession of illegal substances, they’re not really hurting anyone but themselves. Meanwhile police officers are forcing them into a confined area with people who have robbed, murdered, and raped – people who have hurt other people.

Sending drug addicts to rehab or detox centers would be more beneficial to their wellbeing. Since many drug addicts tend to be young adults, they still have their whole life ahead of them. Throwing them into a jail cell would only increase the chances of the situation getting worse. Not many businesses hire people who have done time in jail, which basically ruins the chance of the addict getting a job in the future.

Overall, rehab would be the better option than jail. Would you rather watch someone suffer in a cell for years on end, or see his or her life slowly piece back together? Drug addiction is a disease, not a crime. Let’s treat it that way.