Many young men and women are incarcerated for petty crimes and possession of
small amounts of illegal drugs. I am assuming many of these drug usages are
due to peer pressure, curiosity, or an attempt to escape some pain in their life.
Each of these reasons may need a different solution to help the individual remove
themselves from the temptation of returning to its usage.
Rehabilitation is one of the primary purposes of punishment; however, this has a
low success rate.[1] In some instances, rehabilitation groups may find drugs being
handed off to one another, displacing the participant's ability to stay clean and
away from any substance. For an individual to overcome this, the participants
must be willing to remove themselves from the temptation of both receiving and
offering any drug and the facilitator overseeing this possibility. Another aspect of
this is the peer pressure and temptation outside of the group and its environment.
Small amounts of drugs should not all be treated the same. The type of drug in
possession must be considered. Are the drugs intended for personal use or the
intent for sale? What is the individual's age, and what is their affiliation, if any, to
organized crime? Other questions pertinent to the situation will have to be
examined.
If incarceration is opted for, where and what level of containment will they be
sent to? g How will this help the individual overcome their minor crime? This may
be a way for counseling and withdrawal of the drug from the system to occur, yet
peer pressure of a more accessible drug may rise. g These instances are known,
and there are limitations that the authorities can do to stop any and all drug use
even within the system.
So, what is a possible solution? g A great possibility is for the individual to explain
why they are taking the drugs and the primary reasons that lead to this, and
guide, help, counsel them in choosing different alternatives. This can be done
through Christian teachings or secular options for those not open to Christian
teachings.[2] Using this route, the individual has private, counsel, and group
methods available to them, each with its benefits. This method can be adopted
within each of the other usual methods the judicial system has to offer. It is only
when the individual changes from within that their exterior choices will change.
Proverbs 18:24 is a key verse that can be used. “There is a friend that is closer
than a brother.”[3] There must be accountability to another while going through
these processes. The possession may be small and insignificant to many;
however, the intent to use or sell is the main focus; possession is a means of
transport. If the individual can turn from the end distribution early before it can
compound, lives and communities can be changed. If this can be done through
effective Christian teaching and fellowship, it can achieve the difference in the
individual’s life where the others fail. g
g g g g g g g g g g g g [1] Robertson McQuilkin and Paul Copan, An Introduction to Biblical
Ethics: Walking in the Way of Wisdom (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2014),
441.
g g g g g g g g g g g g [2] Ibid., 442.
g g g g g g g g g g g g [3] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the
King James Version.
