From the Army Times:
"Treatment, not incarceration, should be the first option for veterans who commit nonviolent drug-related offenses, a group advocating alternatives to the nation’s “war on drugs” said Wednesday in a new report."
The Army Times editorial is a response to the recently released report "Healing a Broken System: Veterans Battling Addiction and Incarceration," by the Drug Policy Alliance. The full report offers these startling 2004 statistics from the Bureau of Justice:
- 140,000 veterans were incarcerated in state and federal prisons.
- 46 percent of veterans in federal prison were incarcerated for drug law violations.
- 15 percent of veterans in state prison were incarcerated for drug law violations, including 5.6 percent for simple possession.
- More than 25 percent of veterans in prison were intoxicated at the time of their arrest.
- 61 percent of incarcerated veterans met the DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence or abuse.
- More than half of veterans in federal (64percent) and state prisons (54 percent) served during wartime.
- 26 percent of veterans in federal prison and 20 percent in state prison served in combat.
- 38 percent of veterans in state prison received less than an honorable discharge, which may disqualify them for VA benefits.
Sobering statistics for us to consider this Veterans' Day.