The tragedy that happened in Austin, Texas during the SXSW music festival is just another horrific event caused by lack of communication and education between the addiction field and the judicial system. This, like the countless other high profile addiction fueled “accidents” will soon lose steam and people will get back to their day-to-day routines and think nothing more of the deaths, injuries, and solutions of this latest tragic event.
Alcoholism, and addiction, is a disease. Yet it continues to be the only disease that is thought about socially as a disease of self-will. The myth that if an addict or alcoholic truly, deep down in their soul, wants to stop they can do so by self-willing drugs and alcohol out of their lives. This disease, like cancer, needs treatment early and often. “This time will be different.” “Next time you’ll go to jail.” “I’ll monitor my drinking and using.” These things not only an addict or alcoholic tells him or herself, these things are being told by our judicial system.
Burning Tree Long Term Rehab Programs is committed to working with the legal community on several levels, both statewide and nationally. It is a long term process, much like drug and alcohol abuse, to educate, create awareness, and treat those individuals that have drug and alcohol run-ins with law enforcement agencies. Burning Tree promotes treatment over incarceration. The need for mandatory, intensive treatment for anyone arrested and/or convicted of a crime where drugs and alcohol played a major role in the offense. Loss of license, fines, threat of jail, probation, etc. is not working. First time offenders need to be educated and made aware of the possible consequence of continued use, and be educated on solutions to living a life free from drugs and alcohol.
Burning Tree Programs is a long term drug and alcohol treatment center, with two locations in Texas. Burning Tree deals specifically with chronic relapse, where Burning Tree clients are proof that early education and treatment can eliminate problems and crimes down the road. Clients get an opportunity to see how the disease of addiction has not only affected their lives, it has affected the lives of everyone around them. They will analyze the lies they tell themselves to make using or drinking again acceptable. Death no longer scares them. They are terrified living a life without drugs and alcohol, and they are terrified living a life with drugs and alcohol. Deep down every addict and alcoholic knows that jail or death is the only outcome.
Yet lawyers, judges, probation officers, and other legal individuals turn their backs on addiction, which ultimately is turning their backs on a solution. Government, elected officials (some of them admitted past drug and alcohol abuse issues), and lawmakers seem to think that this problem will go away by sentencing more people to jails, building more jails, and finding the latest pill that may or may not keep people away from drugs and alcohol. More often than not, they count the days till that person either dies or comes back through the system.
Burning Tree Programs has been helping the hopeless and the helpless since 1999. It is the best solution for those that have continued run-ins with law, financial, job, health, and relationship issues. When you’ve given up all hope, allow Burning Tree to share some of theirs. Call 866-287-2877 or visit www.burningtree.com for more information.
