Within today's criminal justice system, we find that a lot of crimes are usually committed for one reason: to finance or enable the purchase of illegal substances that will enable someone who is addicted to alcohol or drugs to continue their expensive habits and llifestyle. I know personally from my experience working as a house supervisor to a facility housing adult male substance-abuse clients how truly devastating these addictions can be and the consequences these addictions leave behing in their wake.
But it isn't just the addict who suffers. Families also pay the price in terms of the threat of increased probability of domestic violence and/or sexual assault as well as financial ruin and emotional pain. Reputations are shattered; lives are forever changed. And even we as taxpayers have to pay the price for the addict's mistakes through the increased taxes needed to pay for treatment programs, medical costs, incarceration, law enforcement services, etc. And society suffers because of the overall destruction of the moral fabric, loss of job productivity in the workplace, and a less secure living environment for all. The costs of addiction are so high that all are left with a bad deal all the way around.
It is my feeling that any discussion about the criminal justice system would not be complete without a proper exploration of the effects of drug and alcohol abuse upon it. It is with that in mind that I took the opportunity to interview Sam Parker to get his thoughts and insights about how criminal justice is impacted when an addict turns into a criminal.
Mr. Parker is a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC) with the State of Texas and the Executive Director of the Floyd-Hale-Lamb Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. He was also recently elected as a councilman for Precinct 1 to serve on the Plainview City Council. He obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of the Baha'i Faith and, along with his wife, Barbara, is the father of five children. Councilman Parker, you will find, has some unique insights to share - both as a clinician and also as a government official about the effects of substance abuse addictions on both individuals and society as a whole. Those insights are gratefully welcomed by myself and, hopefully, you the reader as we welcome Mr. Parker to the Suite for the next couple of weeks.
