Should Addicted Drug Users Be Forgiving by Society?

We are an incredibly forgiving society, but I ask are we forgiving people for too much? On one hand our society rails against people who are outside the norm and we work to bring them back into the group think. However, when it comes to someone who is addicted to drugs society wants to give these folks the maximum amount of empathy and help them back to normality. However are we rewarding bad behavior, and therefore causing more people to try drugs, become addicted to drugs, and then into rehabs?

Indeed, I believe so, and I also find it unfortunate that it is society that foots the bill much of the time. This is because many drug addicts have run through all their money, and they can’t afford to pay for their lawyers, court system, the police to arrest them, the investigators to make the case, or the rehabs they enter. It’s one thing to forgive someone for their behavior, it’s quite another to forgive them for their financial debt to society. Perhaps if they were made to pay, they might think twice, or other folks might think twice before experimenting with recreational drugs and then becoming addicted.

Worse, once someone is addicted they are much more likely to have a relapse, starting the process all over again, and costing society and the taxpayer even more in the future. Most people would say it’s not their fault, but I disagree. Personally, I’ve never done any illegal drugs, nor do I care to, and it takes quite a bit of strength of character to just say no all your life, and never even try it. Does that make me better than everyone else? Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but at the same time it is I who also foots the bill along with the rest of society for the cost of all the drug addicts in our society. I don’t find this to be fair.

As an employer, I have never found it unwise to hire someone who is an admitted drug addict, and yet, I realize the society wants me to forgive and forget, and give these individuals a second chance. However, as an employer I have to pay insurance, and each time there is an accident my insurance rates go up. If someone has a drug relapse – they may end up stealing from my company, costing me profits. They may also cause an incident or a disruption in my business, which could hurt my brand name, reputation, and cost me customers.

The way I see it, I think our society is just too much forgiving for those with addiction problems, and there is not enough tough love. Perhaps you see it differently, and that’s okay, nevertheless I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.