Treating drug abuse and addiction in the criminal justice system: improving public health and safety.
Despite increasing evidence that addiction is a treatable disease of the brain, most individuals do not receive treatment. Involvement in the criminal justice system often results from illegal drug-seeking behavior and participation in illegal activities that reflect, in part, disrupted behavior ensuing from brain changes triggered by repeated drug use. Treating drug-involved offenders provides a unique opportunity to decrease substance abuse and reduce associated criminal behavior. Emerging neuroscience has the potential to transform traditional sanction-oriented public safety approaches by providing new therapeutic strategies against addiction that could be used in the criminal justice system. We summarize relevant neuroscientific findings and evidence-based principles of addiction treatment that, if implemented in the criminal justice system, could help improve public heath and reduce criminal behavior.
Chandler
Redonna K
RK
Services Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Fletcher
Bennett W
BW
Volkow
Nora D
ND
D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D003415:Crime; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008605:Mental Health Services; D011330:Prisons / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011634:Public Health; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology