Failing a drug or alcohol test is the number-one reason parolees are sent back to jail or prison. That’s why no reentry program is complete without addressing the issue of drug and alcohol addictions.
According to the Center for Alcohol and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University (www.casacolumbia.org), 80 percent of inmates were involved with drugs or alcohol before entering prison – and a majority of these were drunk or high when they committed their crimes.
Many ex-prisoners think they have conquered their addictions because of the months/years they have been sober while in prison. But it’s pretty easy to stay sober when you’re locked up and have no access to drugs or alcohol. The real test of sobriety begins the moment the ex-prisoner walks back into the free world where bars and drug dealers are as near as the next street corner.