I am a ex-marijuana smoker and I quit because I had gotten busted growing for personal use. Now I am looking at some serious time if convicted.These drug laws in this country are bogus!Yes I quit because the law forced me to. But while I was smoking I held down a good job and paid my bills never asked for help from the government and didn't break any serious laws except growing for personal use as I see it. Its no worse than drinking.If you ask me drinking leads to more problems than marijuana.Now that I have quit I have no intentions of going back I do wish that I could find some good NA meetings to attend haven't found any yet.I do agree with Sen.Jim Webb Prison is not the answer.I don't see where it has helped any users.If anything it holds them down to where thay can't get into society.

Well said kenny g. I especially enjoyed the last line.

its not all about being locked up.The legal-industrial complex gets alot of money from onging fines,job infringements,extra hoops to jump though even with documented years of recovery. Addicts as a minority are being discriminated against and taken advantage of by hidden outdated and misinformed moralists. Its ok to be on the moral highground.....but stop kicking others back into the pit.

'intervention''treatment'etc. Involved in the recovery 'industry' for 28yrs & one thing i know for sure is an addict can't be eleveated by any other means than from within! the bottom line is an addict will not stop untill they are ready. for some this is a realisation found early in life, for others it is perhaps found later & yet for some it is never an issue, they are happy, or resigned, to die addictive. the amassed literature people! the proof is there, the numbers have been chrunched. the Q is, how can anyone affect this 'realisation'. A; steer them towards creating more appealing,ethical,meaningfull, life enhancing options for themselves. most addicts are high achieving, intelligent, creative people with an inordinate amount of resourcefullness, so help them exploit these gifts and generate a new life for themselves. you think this is easy, wrong, but it is do-able. think about how many addicts are involved in the recovery 'industry', in group service, participating in research etc. it is staggering. addicts in recovery want to help offers gain the knowledge, wisdom and insight garnered through education. when an addict owns their disease, they are their best doctors.

I am all for treatment for those who want it and for some who don't want it. For obvious reasons sometimes people who are seriously hooked cannot see they are in deep and need intervention. My main objective here is to see that all the hyped up numbers seen in treatment referals lately are being projected through a reality prism and not seen as millions of people suddenly woke up and realized they had a problem and volutarily sought out treatment. These numbers by and large reflect the numbers of peole opting for treatment in lieu of jail time and/or a criminal record. Thanks for responding Lucky, I just wanted to clarify where I stand and am all for treatment for those who seek it or need it (not coerced/manipulated into it) as I stated above. WELL SAID , S from Midwest, you sound like a true thinker, and yes we can be a lively bunch around here sometimes.

It's great to see such a vibrant community here on Join Together. I find myself in agreement with Carolyn Davis. I worked in drug policy reform for a few years, and there aren't enough people in recovery at the forefront of that movement. I believe people in recovery are the most credible authorities on drug policy reform because they've lived through the horrors of unhealthy relationships with drugs and they've come out knowing the Drug War is a failure. I never got caught up in the criminal justice system, but can only imagine the consequences: prison time, possible disenfranchisement, a felony record, no federal financial aid, the list goes on. We have to remember the Drug War isn't just about jails and prisons, but also all the barriers and obstacles that come with a drug conviction. Not everyone who tries drugs develops a problem - most don't - and not everyone in prison for drugs suffers from addiction. All the more reason NOT to lock people up for drugs, and people are being locked up. It's very inspiring to see Sen. Webb talk about these issues. I truly believe an Obama-Webb team would be a huge win for drug policy reform and the recovery community.

Hey, Donald I don't think anyone has said "everyone" has low self esteem issues if they use drugs or consider using. I think we are all well aware of the many roads leading to addiction. The goal is to work "together" to help those still suffering and find better options and treatment programs.

It would be great if Sen. Webb could get national support & power behind his words. I have seen treatment work many times. Unfortunately the cost of good treatment (long term, etc.) makes it unattainable for most. I will be keeping an eye on Sen. Webb. This country needs out of the box thinkers & hopefully doers like him.

WAY TO GO PAUL , CONGRATS.

I never found inpatient treatment to be such and awful place to be. But when i went the most I could stay was 3 days for a opioid withdrawel and I was always made to leave too early and I was still sick. Doctors always blamed insurance companies. I was never given the option for medication assisted treatment. Thats the treatment the got me into recovery. Methadone. I was not on this for life but a good 5 years, but that is what worked for me. My life is now full of happiness and I have a great job and meaning relationships with people that do not use drugs or are in recovery. I thank medication for getting me into recovery.

Lucky you sound more like a Republican sound bite than a RECOVERING ADDICT. As for Carolyn I am in total agreement with exception to ONE word "Unfortunetely". Shorty is sounding like anyone who has tried drugs in the past and anyone considering trying them in the future have serious self-esteem issues. This is not ALWAYS the case, How about the millions who just simply want the experience they see others enjoying. Like teens seeing adults and hearing the stories of older friends FUN times at gatherings and can't wait to experience these events for themselves. So don't make everyone who does drugs into low life druggies, MOST function quiet well out here in society just like our BILLIONS of Alcoholic friends do. I think John from Oceanside has a personal dislike of marijuana.

Sen. Weeb is using Drug Policy Alliance lies and propaganda. People arn't getting locked up for smoking weed, people are gettig locked up for committing a crime and they had some weed on them. DPA turns this around and says they are locked up for smoking a joint.

Just a small correction on some of the above information. Last year the U.S. gave Columbia $2 Billion to prevent coca production, and the crops actually increased 27%. The only good news is that the new crops are being planted in remote areas where conditions are not condusive to growing, so the product is not as good. One has to wonder what really happened to our $2 billion. Clearly it did not accomplish its purpose.

I am a PRO-ACT Mentor Plus Committee Member. I visit prisoners 90 days before release and work with them 90 days afterwards. My conversations with those with whom I work are enlightening. With less recovery support inside jails, most who go to prison are released with no support upon re-entry into the community. Without help, many return. With help, many become effective members of the community and remain so. Senator Webb is not only right on the mark, he is the sounding bell of recovery reform long overdue.

I to am a recovering heroin addict in recovery. The means I used to recover was methadone and as it did work eventually it took several attempts. What bothers me is that treatment is no longer defined by those who understand it or those who are experienced in the field. Too much weight is often given to letters behind ones name, political contacts, and those who control the money. Currently I am working with both the criminal justice and low-income medicaid population in 2 different venues. It is amazing to see that recovery is not as hopeless as we think it is when addicts truly believe they can return to a life that is not going to be almost impossible to endure sober. Rather than switching positions constantly as to which venue recieves funding, it would be interesting to see what would happen if we utilized the population that is affected by this disease to research, develop, and implement effective prevention and treatment measures rather than paying agencies hundred of thousands of dollars to skew false reports.

I think some of you people are drawing a line in the sand between incarceration and treatment. What you don't understand is that treatment is a negative consequence just like incarceration, especially if it's inpatient treatment. There's no place a person in active addiction would less rather be than in treatment, where they are forced to look at their personal issues and the wreckage of their pasts. I support Drug Courts, because they are effective and save the states a ton of money. After the latest war on growers of cocoa, which cost millions of dollars, the crop still was 6% larger. It's clear that keeping drugs out is not feasible. Loading the jails and prisons with nonviolent drug offenders is not feasible. They are already overcrowded and not cost effective. Treatment and prevention (education) is where we can make the biggest impact.

Porter93 has the most reasonable perspective here.

What we need is BALANCE is policy and funding. Addiction is a complex disease of the brain. When people do not have the disease in remission, they can become very dangerous. We need to utilize coerced treatment in the justice system as much as possible. (Such as drug courts) and we need to understand that any insult to the brain takes time to heal. If we funded treatment and research at 2 to 1 for interdiction, we would begin to see better outcomes. However, we MUST focus on prevention, intervention, suppression and treatment as a whole package.

Shorty, I agree with you 100%. We need to help all those suffering to realize they have a great purpose. Paul- I do not think possession constitutes 10 yrs , but I do think there needs to be consequences.

I am glad Join Together posted this article. I hope that FAVOR and other groups of people in the treatment and recovery communities turn their advocacy energies to supporting change in the War on Drugs, which is really a war on people, families, and communities. Unfortunately, the primary voices speaking out on this issue are the legalization advocates. If everyone in recovery stood up and supported moves to change or end the War on Drugs, policies would begin to change, and drug users would no longer be viewed as public enemies. I hope FAVOR and other leaders help the treatment and recovery constituencies understand that the inhumane drug war is our issue. We are the only ones who have the power to change attitudes on the disastrous war, but we too often accept and even identify with its purposes.

What is missing in these discussions is WHY people use drugs -- at the beginning. Alienation from others, sense of hopelessness, lack of a sense their lives matter....I could go on. But if we can help young people to see their lives as having a positive purpose, that takes away a lot of reason to use that first time. No first use, no chance to become addicted.

I can not disagree with you more Lucky.If most of us were caught for the stuff we did before we found treatment, most drug counselors may still be in prison. Remember that people do get better because they want treatment and spending 10 years in prison for possession of drugs because of multiple arrests never helped anyone.

I believe in disease concept as a recovering person and also a counselor who works with those addicted. I believe our federal and state money could be more wisely spent on funding treatment rather than jail. I would for Senator Webb as V.P.

As a past heroin and crack addict I disagree with the Senator. I was arrested once during my drug years and only ONCE. Finding myself locked up in a cell and realizing what I was doing to myself made me make the necessary changes. I do think we need better treatment programs with different approaches and a lot more of them. I feel we already live in a society that feels they don't have to be held accountable. Take away consequences and I think it would make it worse for drug addicts. Drug addiction is not a criminal act, but as current law stands drug possession is. The classification of drug addiction as a disease is also worrisome to me. I don't feel I found myself in crack houses because I had a disease, but because I chose to be there. I think rehabs and the 12 step system needs to be revamped. When I was in rehab there was only 2 of us that were there for the first time. This tells me that the programs we have are failing the addicts and it's not because they have a disease, but because we have failed to change our treatment approaches. It's been 8 yrs since I have done drugs and I have no desire to go back to the life I once lived.