Addicted in Sarasota? Help is on the way

20150617-042-Edit(1)It breaks my heart to see so many people here in Sarasota addicted to heroin and pills. The Florida legislature has opted to spend some money here in Sarasota to help solve the problem. The Legislature has also has passed some legislation to increase the alternatives to prison for some drug addicts as well as the mentally ill. The public really needs to be informed about the tragedy of drug addiction. Bernie Sanders has made it the focus of his campaign and even Hillary Clinton is jumping on the band wagon. It is more than a political issue. It is a crisis all across this great Country.
Why are so many people on heroin here in Sarasota? The crackdown on opiates like Oxycontin, Percocet and Oxycodone pushed people to the cheaper alternative, heroin. Law enforcement simply did not understand the problem. There were housewives, mothers, teachers and accident victims that had become addicted to the opiates. The pain management clinics pumped out millions of pills. When the crackdown came, the Florida drug database, many of the clinics were shut down or went out of business. That left the addicts with a terrible addiction and no supply. It is no surprise that heroin quickly filled the gap.
I have been defending drug crimes all my professional life. I have first hand experience in dealing with addicts. It is a problem that strikes almost every American family in one form or another. Treatment, not jail, is the answer. Help, not prosecution or persecution, is the answer. Education, not incarceration, is the answer. Tampa is decriminalizing possession of small quantities of marijuana this week. That is a good start. As a Sarasota criminal lawyer, but more importantly as a father, a grandfather and man who has been touched by a family member being addicted, I can tell you, jail does no good at all. We have to have sensible intervention to solve the problem. People are dying daily all over Florida from Heroin.
If you are an addict and have been arrested call today at 941 366 3506