General Discussion

There are various substance use programs available to individuals who suffer from addiction. However, we aren’t going to talk about the general public. We are going to talk about the population of people who are incarcerated

because of their substance use. The State of Texas has a few specific substance use programs that are specifically for individuals who have been penalized by the justice system. It is a residential program that holds an individual for a required amount of time until they have completed the program that they have been sentenced, by a judge,  to complete.

These individuals were either on probation or parole. Oftentimes, this is the individual’s last chance before the State of Texas revokes their conditional supervision. In many of these facilities, the individuals are rehabilitated or treated using CBT or cognitive behavioral therapy. This kind of therapy is designed to assist the individual in learning to identify what their thinking errors are, what their triggers are, and

changing the way that they think. It follows the theory that if you can change how you think, then a behavior change will follow.

The Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility or SAFPF requires the individual to remain in the facility for a period of 6 to 9 months.  Once the individual completes the program, then they go to a Transitional Treatment Center or TTC. This facility is also known as a “halfway house.” The majority of individuals who have violated the conditions of their parole or probation and as a result this is where they are sent. There are other programs that substance use offenders may be required to attend such as the Pre-Release Substance

Abuse Program (PRSAP), Pre-Release Therapeutic Community (PRTC), Intermediate Sanction Facility (ISF), the DWI Recovery Program, and the In-Prison Substance Use Treatment Program (IPSUTP). Each one of these programs requires that an individual remain residential for a minimum of 45 days ranging up to one year.

Rehabilitation Programs Division - Substance Abuse Treatment Program (texas.gov)

Substance use can make us be someone who we were never meant to be. It changes us in the worst way, causing us to treat those who love us the most like dirt. Substance use causes a person to become selfish, only thinking of themselves. But what about the one person who never gave up on you whenever you gave up on yourself? Did you steal from your mom? Did speak hatefully to your mom? Mothers will always be there for their kids regardless of the things they do or say.

I have seen how drugs can affect a person in such a way that you don’t even recognize them. Drugs alter the chemistry of the brain so much that the person becomes “unbalanced.” However, this is no excuse. Life has a way of opening your eyes and making you see, even amidst what feels like your darkest hour. Here’s the thing though. Moms will not be there forever. There will come a day when you want nothing more than to be able to tell your mom how your day went or just to be able to tell her thank you.

Drug use within any family is hard to go through and hard to watch. It’s important to understand that when you use drugs, it’s not just you that’s affected. Have you ever left your mom’s house and were gone for days at a time without so much as a phone call to your mom? Has your mom ever tried so hard to just see you, talk to you, hug you, or tell you that she loves you? How did you respond? Did you feel like she was getting on your nerves? Did you feel like she was in your business? Did you ever feel like she nagged you? Did you ever stop to think that she was trying to tell you that she was there for you?

When you are in addiction, things are never perceived the same. Everything is always someone else’s fault, nobody ever wants to help you, no one ever does anything for you, and everyone else is always the selfish one. Addiction is very evil and destructive. It seeks nothing more than to steal, kill, and destroy. Tell your mom, your hero, that you love her, and let her know how much she means to you because I promise you, she was there, even if your addiction wouldn’t let you be.

Phillips, W. (18 January 2024). Mom Of An Addict: Navigating The Challenges And Supporting Recovery. Retrieved from Mom of an Addict: Navigating the Challenges and Supporting Recovery - Lantana Recovery: Addiction Treatment Rehab Center

A newly found illegal drug has been making its way through the country. It’s called Xylazine. Xylazine is an animal tranquilizer that is often used by veterinarians and was never intended to be used by humans. Xylazine has been linked to many overdose deaths in the United States. It is usually seen mixed with other drugs such as opioids. Xylazine has been reported to enhance the euphoric effect of opioids like Fentanyl. Xylazine has been given many names on the streets. Some of the names it is known by are “tranq”, “tranq dope”, and the “zombie drug.”

Xylazine has very serious side effects such as strong sedation, suppressed breathing, fatally low blood pressure, severely lowered heart rate, very nasty wounds that become infected to the point of amputation, severe withdrawals, and even death. Narcan can be given to someone who you may suspect has overdosed from Xylazine. Xylazine started off being seen on the West Coast in California and also in

Pennsylvania. It has been sweeping through our country.

It can cause a person to exhibit “zombie-like” effects after they have administered the drug. Initially, it was

injected into the user, but now it has been reported that users are beginning to ingest the substance. The thing I don’t understand is if it eats the flesh at the injection site, then what do people think that’s doing to their inside? There are so many substances that this is being mixed with, including marijuana. Why do you think that all of these lethal substances are being mixed with marijuana? This is because marijuana is the number one most commonly used drug in the United States. The scary part of all this is the fact that society has become extremely accepting of the use of marijuana.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (22 February 2024). What You Should Know About Xylazine. Retrieved from  What You Should Know About Xylazine | Drug Overdose | CDC Injury Center

Recovery just doesn’t involve abstaining from substance use. It goes way beyond that. Recovery is a way of life. It becomes your life. Recovery from substance use, regardless of how much and how long you used, is more than possible. The U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health has reported that recovery is a reality for more than 75% of those who were once in active drug addiction.

There is no one path nor one right way to recover from drug use. No one ever said that the road to recovery was going to be easy. It is a road that is full of twists, turns, and bumps. Recovery begins with the individual learning coping skills and practicing those skills. Ultimately, the individual goes through a change in their behavior. A person has to change many aspects of their life including the people they socialize with, the places they go, and the things that they do.

In the process of recovery, the brain attempts to return to a normal state, which involves the brain cells being restored to their capacity of being able to respond to their natural reward system. This allows the person to regain control over their urge to use. Many individuals ask how long recovery takes. My answer to that question would be as long as it takes. As I stated earlier, recovery is a way of life. The main reason that individuals refuse to attempt recovery

is because they become addicted to the lifestyle just as much as they do the substances. Another reason for their fear is that they don’t have anything to instantly make them feel better. People don’t like to be uncomfortable and therefore, some people find the fastest route back to a state of comfortability, hence drug use. This is where all the facets of recovery come into play. Recovery is not out of anyone’s reach. If you want it, you have to go get it. So, what’s stopping you?

Psychology Today. (2024). Recovery from Addiction. Retrieved from Recovery from Addiction | Psychology Today

Crime and substance use are very closely related. There have been numerous studies that have associated substance use with crime and violence for different reasons. A study was conducted that involved two groups of people, one group that had not committed any serious crimes and another one that was repeat offenders. It was found that the repeat offenders were 11 times more likely to be chronic users of heroin.

However, we are going to focus on the youth of this country. A study was conducted in 1998 that observed 3,382 adolescents. These youths had been treated for substance use in treatment centers from 1993 to 1995. The findings of this study were that most of these kids had reported that most of them had used cannabis and alcohol regularly. These kids were reported to have committed more crimes and had more problems with the justice system. Other studies were observing kids who had some really bad behavioral disorders.

These kids were said to struggle with substance use disorders, which usually ended up being cannabis. In 1999, scientists reviewed the cases of kids who were on probation. The scientists found that 37% of the kids that were on probation had a disclosed substance use history with substances such as inhalants. Substances affect our brains in such a way that they can cause a person to do things that they would never ordinarily do to get the drugs of choice. Whenever you throw mental illness into the mix, the numbers will rise. An addict will do anything that they have to obtain the means to get back to a state of normalcy for them. Another reason that kids would use is to self-medicate the symptoms of many psychoactive illnesses. The cycle just keeps going until these kids get the help that they need.

L. F. Lowenstein (2001) Recent Research into the Direct Relationship between Criminality and Substance Abuse, International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 9:4, 257-272, DOI: 10.

CliffordL. Broman. (2009) The Longitudinal Impact of Adolescent Drug Use on Socioeconomic Outcomes in Young Adulthood. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse 18:2, pages 131-143.