We are all clear on one thing regarding our current drug policy – more could be done to end the epidemic of drug use, especially among our young people.
Gretchen Bergman has taken up the drug policy cause.
She has created a website and speaks to the issues that plague the drug problem and what needs to be done to help people recover from the disease of addiction.
With the current drug policy, we are incarcerating non-violent drug users often without providing drug treatment programs which just encourages the prison revolving door for many young people. We all paying for our drug policy in one form or another. Addicts are often not given the services they need in order to reach recovery and become a productive person in our communities.
In a recent article from the Huffington Post, the Center for Economic and Policy Research, was quoted as saying that there are more than 2 million people incarcerated. The rate has climbed to 743 per 100,000 people. Nonviolent drug offenders account for “roughly one-fourth of all inmates in the United States, up from less than 10 percent in 1980.”
Many believe that now the war on drugs has so far cost close to a trillion dollars. What has that vast expenditure bought? Very little. According to the government’s latest “Survey on Drug Use and Health,” more than 22 million Americans — nearly 9 percent the U.S. population — used illegal drugs in 2010, up from 8 percent in 2008.
Clearly more work is needed and a change of the drug policy may be the answer. Giving treatment for non-violent offenders helps them understand the root of their drug use, and gives them an opportunity to make a long term recovery from the disease of addiction. It is the humane and logical thing to do. It will in the end save all of us precious tax dollars.
Gretchen Burns Bergman is not alone in her feeling that a new approach is needed with our current drug policy. She is educating and spreading awareness regarding the changes that would benefit all of us.
Gretchen, can you please introduce yourself to the Treatment Talk readers who may not know you?
I am Gretchen Burns Bergman, Co-Founder & Executive Director of A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing) & Lead organizer of PATH’s Moms United to End the War on Drugs campaign.
What is the purpose of the organization?
PATH was created in order to build a strong voice of parents and concerned citizens that would work to reduce the stigma associated with addictive illness and to advocate for therapeutic rather than punitive drug policies. We work to educate the public, media and decision makers about the true nature of addiction, and the need to expand access to treatment services. We advocate for an end to discriminatory drug policies that serve as roadblocks to recovery.
Our mission is to reduce the stigma associated with addictive illness through education and compassionate support and to advocate for therapeutic rather than punitive drug policies.
Could you tell us about Proposition 36? What has it accomplished since it’s passage in 2000?
Prop 36 was an initiative that was passed in California and implemented in 2001. I served as State Chairperson for this landmark law that mandated treatment instead of incarceration for non-violent drug offenders. Since its passage, over 30,000 people have accessed treatment annually, over 50% of whom had never accessed treatment before. Unfortunately, today in our economic climate, funding for this life-saving law has been gutted, although the law remains on the books.
In fact we will have another ballot measure that has been given the same number – Prop 36 – on our Nov. ballot that will amend California’s 3 Strikes Law. This is a much needed change that we are advocating for!
What is Moms United to End the War on Drugs and what is the mission?
Mothers, parents and families are taking a leading position to end the violence, mass incarceration and overdose deaths that are a result of current punitive and discriminatory drug policies. We are building a movement to stop the stigmatization and criminalization of people who use drugs or who are addicted to drugs. We are urgently calling for health-oriented strategies and widespread drug policy reform in order to stop the irresponsible waste of dollars and resources, and the devastating loss of lives and liberty.
What challenges have you gone through that have contributed to you becoming interested in therapeutic drug policies?
My two sons have addictive illness. My older son spent over a decade of his life cycling through the criminal justice system for non-violent drug offenses. This was a tragic waste of human potential, a painful saga for our family and a waste to taxpayer dollars. I knew that we must raise our voices for change and in order to save lives and heal families.
What suggestions do you have for families who are struggling with an addicted family member?
Never give up hope. Advocate for their right to therapeutic treatment. Speak out against injustice. Do anything you can to help them to access treatment and understand that addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder, not a character flaw. Join Moms United to End the War on Drugs and become a part of our voice for positive change in drug policy!
Gretchen Burns Bergman is Executive Director and Co-Founder of A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing), a non-profit organization that works to reduce the stigma associated with addictive illness through education and compassionate support and to advocate for therapeutic rather than punitive drug policies. She served as State Chairperson for Proposition 36 in 2000, which mandates treatment instead of incarceration for non-violent drug offenders in California. She is leading the national Moms United to End the War on Drugs campaign that was started in 2010. A native of San Diego, she is Owner/Director of Gretchen Productions, a Fashion Show Production Company, started in 1979. Her articles on treatment vs. incarceration have been published nationwide, and she has spoken before countless audiences on the topic of therapeutic justice for substance abusers. She has two grown sons who have struggled with addictive illness.
“As a parent, I know first-hand how pointless and dangerous it is to throw a drug-sick individual in prison, where he is treated like human storage, rather than giving him the services to recover, to make amends and heal wounds that he inflicted while living in the nightmare of addiction, so as to be able to give back to society.”
What are your feelings about the current United States Drug Policies? Please share in comments.
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