Re: oversentencing of individuals addicted to prescribed drugs. I live in Fort Bend County. My husband is a surgeon and I have worked in Health Care Administration for over 35 years. We cannot continue to prosecute and convict and sentence young adults addicted to prescription drugs that were legally prescribed to them by licensed physicians. My husband has many times had to deny his patients to continued prescription of pain medications only to see them seek treatment from physicians who specialize in pain treatment and that who continue to prescribe the patient with these medications. Many are subsequently arrested either for driving under the influence of the prescribed drug or for public intoxication. Arresting and convicting these individuals and incarcerating them is not the remedy and is more costly to our Society than spending funding on helping to rehabilitate them. They become addicted through no fault of their own. Rather than these addictive drugs being taken off the market the Federal and State Legislature has chose to past laws that lead to arresting those individuals. This is wrong. They are ruining lives and avoiding the real issue. Drugs such as Vicodin and other drugs like it should be banned and taken off the market. Too many individuals become addicted to them. Stop over incarcerating our citizens. Fort Bend County is abusing its power to arrest and incarcerate. Especially when it comes to young adults. Our Courts are backed-up. Plus I haven't had a ticket or been arrested in over 30 years while my sons have done the same as I when driving and have been ticketed and arrested several times as have the young adult children of many of my friends. It appears we have a double standard and it appears there is discrimination when it comes to those under 24 years of age. We look at discrimination when it comes to race but not when it comes to age. I have lived in this County since 1982 and have now become tired of the inequality when it comes to applying the law and the County Prosecutors decision whether or not to prosecute those that clearly had no intent to break the law. Even Federal Law should be changed to prohibit not only discrimination based on race but also discrimination based on age. IMO
While I agree we incarcerate way to many and give out punishment that does more damage than the drug itself, taking pain killers off the market because of the actions of a small percentage is the penny-wise pound-foolish thinking of the short sighted.
It isn't a small percentage; and everyone that is sent for pain management and put on these drugs may become addicted to them through no fault of their own. There are other drugs and others ways to deal with their chronic pain, using highly addictive drugs should be avoided. But the "pill mills" disguised" as pain management clinics are making big bucks and addicting many to the drugs. It is only short sighted to not understand what is happening. These are "drugs legally prescribed by physicians", not bought on the "black market".
