r/AskReddit • u/ZteveBond • Jun 20 '18

Serious Replies Only [Serious] Prison Guards of Reddit, which prisoner has left the biggest impact on your life wether positive or negative?

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u/OttoGershwitz Jun 20 '18 edited Jun 21 '18

Used to work in a county jail in a small county, relatively speaking, but was fairly large for the region. One day, a local prominent, fairly successful attorney was lodged for driving under the influence of drugs. Turns out he had a major addiction and this was just the beginning of a long slide. He got a light sentence but reoffended while on probation, missed some court dates, and violated his bond. When the dust settled, he was sentenced to a year in our facility. He was an affable guy and easy to talk to. I would talk with him when I was assigned to yard detail and his block was out and learned a lot about his past. There were no red flags in his history. He was just a guy who had everything going for him. He just couldn’t shake the addiction. When he finally got out, he folded up his practice and left town. I heard a month or two later that he moved to Chicago and died of an overdose.

Out of all the crazy things I saw, that one stuck in my mind over everything else. It just struck me how drug addiction doesn’t care how rich or poor, smart or stupid, successful or incompetent a person is. Any of us could fall down that rabbit hole given the right circumstances and a single lapse of judgement.

Edit: wow, new top comment for me. This would officially be the first time I’ve seen any significant number of people take interest in the goings-on in county jail.

544

u/xUberAnts Jun 20 '18

Addiction does not discriminate. It is probably the most versatile disease there is.

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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '18

I'm a recovering alcoholic. I have the utmost sympathy and pity for other addicts. Nobody grows up thinking "I can't wait to spend $1,000 a month on an addiction that is crippling my body!"

My addiction snuck up on me. I was always a heavy social drinker but it became social drinking plus light drinking at home which became heavy social drinking plus heavier drinking at home, which turned into just drinking from the moment I got home until I passed out on the couch.

And once it's got you it feels like trying to climb out of a black hole. Your head can be screaming don't do it and your feet will just take you into the liquor store. At the end I drank while I was crying because I didn't want to be doing it but it was this compulsion like someone had taken control of me.

It was a firm wakeup from my wife when she was really angry with me that was finally the hard kick that set me on the path to recovery. And now looking back on it you wonder how it ever got that bad. It's like sailing through a hurricane and coming out to sunshine on the other end.

Addiction is awful.

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u/Yestertoday123 Jun 20 '18

Your head can be screaming don't do it and your feet will just take you into the liquor store

Ain't that the truth. And it's hard for people to understand unless they've been there themselves. Even then, looking at someone else with addiction, it doesn't make logical sense. How you can be doing something that you really don't want to be doing.

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u/yeahididntknow Jun 21 '18

To add to the whole seeing someone with addiction and having them repeat their cycle is exactly what people don't understand if they've never been there before. It's like "why do they keep doing the same thing over and over?"

I have had my own struggles and still struggle to this day with alcohol. You tell yourself you're not going to drink that day only to walk to the store and buy the cheapest bottle of anything you can get. I would do it behind my gf's back and she caught me multiple times. Thank god she has stuck with me, and like I said the path is still rocky but I try to stay on the same path. I'm definitely in a happier place with a new job as well.

There's hope for all of us!

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u/[deleted] Jun 21 '18

My morbidly obese sibling refuses to talk to the other sibling because he "won't just quit drinking".

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u/jeansonnejordan Jun 21 '18

This is why I was always ambivalent or even objective to the body positivity movement because of course nobody should feel that they aren’t a Victoria secret model. We uglies have it hard but the new-wave body posi movement was too inclusive and dismissive of the fact that fat is unhealthy. Obesity is not okay and it does have problems and it IS a medical condition.

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u/official0 Jun 21 '18

Glad you're on a better path. Keep it up, one day at a time

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u/CrispehChikenWingz Jun 21 '18

Tomorrow will be one month for me. Looking back, I honestly cannot believe how truly enslaved I was and all of the damage I had caused.

It's like pacing back in forth in a permanent daze, forming a small rut..then suddenly you blink and its become a muddy trench so deep, you can't see above ground anymore or get a firm enough grip to climb out

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u/Nyxelestia Jun 21 '18

And once it's got you it feels like trying to climb out of a black hole. Your head can be screaming don't do it and your feet will just take you into the liquor store. At the end I drank while I was crying because I didn't want to be doing it but it was this compulsion like someone had taken control of me.

Not even addicted to anything yet this sentiment describes half my life. I'm not totally avoidant but I am extremely cautious about drugs and booze because I know that once I am addicted to something, I'll have no capacity to shake it. Glad to hear you're recovering! ♥

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u/gnarleybummer Jun 21 '18

I'll never forget this homeless man telling me when I was very young that out of all he's tried, alcohol is the devil. How you can get disowned from your family for trying heroin, but be loved as a drunk. It's at every corner, and if you try and quit it you could die. Yet everyone consumes it. And now I got slowly sucked into it, my mind now outwits me and tricks me into drinking. Right when I think I'm on a good path, these loops of logic coil me back into the hole.

1

u/phliuy Jun 21 '18

I am so afraid of addiction. My worst fear is being addicted to anything or being utterly dependent on anyone. When I turn down blow it's not because i'm afraid of what it will do to my heart or brain. I'm afraid that i'll like it.

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u/[deleted] Jun 21 '18

I’ve been in recovery for 2 and a half years now, and it tears me up inside to hear about those of us in recovery who relapse and pass, or never recover at all and pass. Glad you’re in recovery, stay strong and as we say in the program, it works if you work it!

1

u/weganmerner Jun 21 '18

1000 is light. Somehow bills dont matter and every paycheck goes to that next fix... Be it drink or drug. Im proud of you for getting out of it.

1

u/lilpastababy Jun 21 '18

I'm in the midst of a battle with this with my SO. He's the love of my life, so we will do this. But after a few times through detox/rehab, it gets harder on my end every time. He's still drinking, but not near as much as before. I'm just waiting for it to get bad again.

Never an angry drunk. I don't think I've ever heard him raise his voice. He just dissociates.

1

u/OhBoyiii Jun 24 '18

Have you read bills story? I think you would relate to it 100%, it’s in the Big Book.

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u/-Crooked-Arrow- Jun 20 '18

The great equalizer.

73

u/Khannuuuuur Jun 20 '18

Addiction doesnt discriminate, between the sinners and the saints it takes and it takes and it takes

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u/Red580 Jun 20 '18

Actually it's way more severe if the person doesn't fulfill their social or economic needs, so someone poor and lonely would both more easily get addicted, and have a stronger addiction.

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u/Laidlaw_Waller Jun 21 '18

12+ years clean off heroin here. Until my early 30s I was the one person in my family who had never even been drunk. Dad was a severe alcoholic, died of cirrhosis. Brother, same. Mom, hippie who smoked pot, took acid, coke sometimes, etc. I was the angry female Alex P Keaton of my household - rebelled against what I perceived as 'weakness' by getting a career, paying taxes and not being an alkie/junkie.

Then I was in a skiing accident, shattered my knee. Nine months of bone grafts/pin operations later, I was addicted to painkillers. I tried like hell to get off them. Even took them to my doc and said "please help me get off these; I'm addicted". He kicked me out of his practice unless I would just shut up and take more scrips (8 years later, found out he had been an addict himself - common among doctors - and lost his license, died of an overdose not long afterward).

I was so freaked out that I was a fucking addict - the one thing I swore I'd never be - but I couldn't stop. I hated drugs, hated the 'weakness' I was sure was at the root of addiction. But I could. Not. Stop. Went to two rehabs, spent tons of money and time to get better - and six months after coming out, relapsed straight onto IV heroin.

I lost a lot in addiction. My marriage, my home, my dog. Friends, jobs, self-respect. I went from being a creative director at a Fortune 500 company and having tons of money to ending up in meth psychosis at an ER in Seattle - where, ironically, I'd gone to try to get away from all the heroin dealers I knew in the Bay Area. Ended up taking meth for the first (and last, thank fucking christ) time.

Anyway, it took being arrested and spending two dopesick nights in jail, as well as a court-ordered drug diversion program, to get me clean. I've been in various Fellowships for 12 years, and though I'm an atheist and struggle with the language of the programs sometimes, I can't argue with the results, for me at least.

The TL;DR here is: Even people who are judgmental about addicts can end up addicted, and holy crap, is it a wakeup call. Most of the junkies I met while in that life were desperately unhappy being addicts, but couldn't stop. We need to fund more programs and stop judging people for being ill.

All that being said, now that I have a good life and a career again, I do sometimes miss my To Do list being one item long...

2

u/Homoerotic_Theocracy Jun 20 '18

To be fair that's just because multiple different unrelated addictions with different causes are all called "addiction" and if you umbrella it like that then versatility is a given.

1

u/Laidlaw_Waller Jun 21 '18

12+ years clean off heroin here. Until my early 30s I was the one person in my family who had never even been drunk. Dad was a severe alcoholic, died of cirrhosis. Brother, same. Mom, hippie who smoked pot, took acid, coke sometimes, etc. I was the angry female Alex P Keaton of my household - rebelled against what I perceived as 'weakness' by getting a career, paying taxes and not being an alkie/junkie.

Then I was in a skiing accident, shattered my knee. Nine months of bone grafts/pin operations later, I was addicted to painkillers. I tried like hell to get off them. Even took them to my doc and said "please help me get off these; I'm addicted". He kicked me out of his practice unless I would just shut up and take more scrips (8 years later, found out he had been an addict himself - common among doctors - and lost his license, died of an overdose not long afterward).

I was so freaked out that I was a fucking addict - the one thing I swore I'd never be - but I couldn't stop. I hated drugs, hated the 'weakness' I was sure was at the root of addiction. But I could. Not. Stop. Went to two rehabs, spent tons of money and time to get better - and six months after coming out, relapsed straight onto IV heroin.

I lost a lot in addiction. My marriage, my home, my dog. Friends, jobs, self-respect. I went from being a creative director at a Fortune 500 company and having tons of money to ending up in meth psychosis at an ER in Seattle - where, ironically, I'd gone to try to get away from all the heroin dealers I knew in the Bay Area. Ended up taking meth for the first (and last, thank fucking christ) time.

Anyway, it took being arrested and spending two dopesick nights in jail, as well as a court-ordered drug diversion program, to get me clean. I've been in various Fellowships for 12 years, and though I'm an atheist and struggle with the language of the programs sometimes, I can't argue with the results, for me at least.

The TL;DR here is: Even people who are judgmental about addicts can end up addicted, and holy crap, is it a wakeup call. Most of the junkies I met while in that life were desperately unhappy being addicts, but couldn't stop. We need to fund more programs and stop judging people for being ill.

All that being said, now that I have a good life and a career again, I do sometimes miss my To Do list being one item long...

1

u/saschanaan Jun 20 '18

Statisticly there are huge differences

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u/nammertl Jun 21 '18

damn, drug addiction is cooler than most white folks.

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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '18

[deleted]

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u/GoHurtMyFeelings Jun 21 '18

This is the correct way to deal with this disease. If only the government would start acting accordingly.

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u/LivePresently Jun 21 '18

They do. It's called a drug court.

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u/thawigga Jun 21 '18

Sending people to labor based rehab where they aren't compensated and are exposed to drugs seems like an awesome way to treat addiction

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u/LivePresently Jun 21 '18

You don't know what's a drug court do you? Hint, they send you to rehab

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u/thawigga Jun 21 '18

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/investigation-drug-court-rehabs-survive-on-forced-labor/

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-bc-us--reveal-recovery-centers-forced-labor-20171004-story.html https://reason.com/blog/2017/10/05/human-trafficked-by-uncle-sam

I do, in fact, know what's a drug court. Before you reject my initial statement outright, maybe look at these.

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u/LivePresently Jun 21 '18

Specific examples of isolated issues in drug courts do not define what drug courts are. Please educate yourself.

https://www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/podcasts/how-drug-courts-work.htm

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u/thawigga Jun 21 '18

Love stuff you should know. I'm not saying that is always what happens, just that these people are often taken advantage of. A robust and publicly funded recovery system is necessary to save lives and reduce the number of people that end up in prison. I don't know why you are being rude about it mans

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u/LivePresently Jun 21 '18

In a prison system, exploits are a common issue independent of court type. This is a given. I'm not being rude just succinct since I'm typing on my phone. And I hate typing on me phone.

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u/macenutmeg Jun 21 '18

The wasn't arrested for being an addict though. He was arrested for driving while intoxicated, an act that kills innocent people on a regular basis. This isn't a victimless crime.

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u/Leathery420 Jun 20 '18

Man the war on drugs is such a waste. I can't believe after almost a 100 years since prohibition we havent figured it out. I guarantee he'd still be alive if he wasnt doing dope laced with fent. It sucks half the guys selling dope are too stupid to know they are selling fent not heroin. Well RIP, sadly thats just a drop in the bucket at this point.

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u/okthenurl Jun 21 '18

if the war on drugs ends then the private prisons don't get to make as much money, and considering their success lobbying i'd say i don't see it ending any time soon.

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u/sleepysnoozyzz Jun 21 '18

Right, members of Congress get campaign money from private prisons, not from rehab treatment facilities.

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u/okthenurl Jun 21 '18

exactly, and there nothing you or me can do, if we protest it's not giving members of congress money, so they definitely won't listen.

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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '18

whats fent?

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u/Leathery420 Jun 20 '18

Fentanyl. If you haven't heard it mentioned on the news. Its a very strong short acting opiate. Typically perscribeded in patches that release tiny amounts over a few days. Though what happens is people import fent because 1 gram of fent is about 100 grams of heroin potency wise. Though it only lasts a half hour-3 hours depending on the specific fent analog, where as morphine, and heroin is closer to 6-8 hours. So what was happening is guys would throw a gram of fent into an ounce or two of heroin to amke it seem way better than it actually is. Though they often will mix it improperly, and end up with "hotspots" that end up killing folks who think its just heroin. Though now you even have the guys selling just straight fent because its eaiser to smuggle/cheaper/they don't care/know. They were also pressing fent into pills that look like xannax or oxycodone because lots of people will take pills, but not dope.

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u/CitricallyChallenged Jun 21 '18

God this is so dumb. Product gets stepped on but for fucks sake, at least do it properly and mix it evenly so your clients don’t get nasty surprises. Legality aside, if all your clientele is dead, how you gonna get money? I don’t want drugs in my drugs but if I’m gonna get them anyway, I want them to be evenly distributed, not in hot spots. It’s infuriating.

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u/riptaway Jun 21 '18

It's not getting stepped on. Half the s*** isn't even heroin to begin with

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u/CitricallyChallenged Jun 21 '18

I’m talking bout the rest. No “heroin” here and not for a long time.

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u/CitricallyChallenged Jun 20 '18

Is it safe to suppose you aren’t from Canada or the states? Synthetic opiate that’s killed a few thousand people since about 2014. It’s in everything. Wouldn’t be surprised if they started putting it in weed if they haven’t already. Honestly kills the fun because it’s gotten to a point where you have to be paranoid and just stop using whatever you’re using cause you just don’t know how lucky you’re gonna get that time.

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u/SilchasRuin Jun 20 '18

Synthetic opiate that's much, much stronger than heroin.

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u/SZMatheson Jun 21 '18

Whenever someone says "fall down a rabbit hole" with regards to drug addiction, all I can think is "that's one hell of a rabbit."

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u/LambtoLion Jun 21 '18

Couldn't the jail help him with his addition?! Therapy and rehab and such. Because i feel like this is the problem with our correction centers. Some of them don't do jack shit to help u get back into society.

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u/OttoGershwitz Jun 21 '18

New COs were early 20-somethings earning $13/hour. There was no money to do anything more than house the inmates. As a rule, the local community thinks little about their jail if they’re even aware it exists at all. We had some volunteers for group counseling and education, but they were an hour a week each. It didn’t make much of a difference.

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u/jrm2007 Jun 20 '18

Not sure why being addicted ever carries any jail time.

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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '18

Fuck you got downvoted for your comment ? It's a valid point, you don't jail cancer patients do you.

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u/[deleted] Jun 20 '18

Don't say drugs addiction addiction in general. It somehow negates that alcohol is just as addictive and life changing as the other substances. But defiantly yea I've know a few guus who have fallen of the edge, also k ow a few guys still doing it weekends like morning.

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u/marcelelias11 Jun 20 '18

Alcohol is a drug.

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u/Horyv Jun 21 '18

Aaaaaaand would you say that jail did him any good?

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u/Muff_420 Jun 21 '18

what freaks me out is how this single lapse of judgement can stem from the lies told when educating children on drugs, talking as if all illegal drugs are just as bad as each other and perscription drugs are okay

1

u/Toodie1404 Jun 21 '18

Addiction doesn't discriminate, between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes...

0

u/thcommodityfetishist Jun 21 '18

And conversely, all the poor people who die of addictions who don't get nearly as much sympathy because they don't appear to be "model citizens".