The United States is struggling to manage an opioid overdose crisis among the country’s residents, with the numbers of fatalities careening off the charts in recent years. In the midst of this, a Drug Defense Lawyer in Madison WI may find the organization inundated with requests for assistance from people who have been charged with possession of heroin, opium or prescription painkillers obtained illegally.
The Ineffectiveness of a Prison Sentence
Families of people addicted to these substances may sometimes wonder whether time spent in jail would get them back on track. Research indicates this is usually a futile attempt. Upon release, not only do these individuals have to deal with being an ex-convict, they also routinely face temptations and triggers to use drugs. It’s common for them to begin using again quickly, starting another downward spiral of addictive behavior.
A Bipartisan Bill
A Drug Defense Lawyer in Madison WI would much rather help clients stay out of prison and have access to rehabilitation and other beneficial activities. Amid all the press coverage of the Supreme Court confirmation hearings at the end of September, Congress quietly passed a bipartisan bill to address the crisis. It is intended to improve access to treatment and other interventions. Such a bill may give attorneys better ability to defend their clients, encouraging judges to issue a sentence requiring inpatient or outpatient rehab, ongoing counseling, and community service instead of prison.
Alarming Statistics
About 72,000 fatalities in the United States in 2017 were attributed to drug overdoses, and about half of those were caused by fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Fentanyl is extremely dangerous, as it is substantially more powerful than heroin. Fentanyl has been implicated in the deaths of Tom Petty and Prince.
A Definitive Shift
As the country begins working harder to assist people who have become dependent on these drugs, lawyers with an organization like Gregory Wright Law Offices S. C. provide their legal defense. There has been a definitive shift from the attitude of the late 20th Century, when so many people were sent to jail for years because they possessed drugs for their own use. They were not selling; they needed help. Like us on Facebook.
