Relapse

Remember the heroin addict who used to be the car saleswoman that I mentioned a couple weeks back? Last time we left her, she had completed a fifteen day program, had been clean for a few weeks, and had put on ten or fifteen pounds. She looked a lot better. Well, I saw her today. She did not look so good. She didn't lose the weight, but she was shaking and not making any sense. She is using again. We may enter a plea on her multiple felonies on Thursday. She will get probation, and they will order whatever drug treatment is available. It will not work. She will get violated over and over for testing positive. Eventually, some judge will just activate her sentence and she will wind up doing about eight or so months in prison. And that is just how it goes.

People say that it is bad that we don't have enough treatment for drug addicts. I agree with that, certainly. But with someone like her? Well, she is just fucked. At least in prison, she won't die. Out on the street, I expect she will be dead within a year or two. I have had multiple clients like her die. I am not sure what I can do. I will do my best to keep her on probation and getting active drug treatment. But I don't know if that is really any better than prison in her case. As I said, at least in prison she will be alive.