Social Justice and Human Rights
Chooper's Guide Takes a Stand on Addiction Treatment Policy Reform
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the Prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this.” ~ Albert Einstein - My First Impression of the USA, 1921
Over the last century, society has realigned its moral compass to address social justice issues such as suffrage, civil rights, labor, the environment and homosexuality. Each movement has brought us closer to a more inclusive democracy where individual rights are recognized and accepted.
Once again, we stand at the crossroads of transformation and apathy. Transformation requires vision, passion, courage, commitment and endurance to succeed. The first step is to elevate awareness of the issue by providing the public and policy makers with a clear definition of the issue supported by empirical data. Recent research in Neuroscience has proven that Addiction is a chronic brain disease which should logically preclude the moralization and criminalization of addiction in the future. We at Chooper's believe that the perception of addiction and the treatment of those afflicted has evolved into a critical human rights issue in many countries including the United States. The current archaic, prohibitionistic policies rooted in moralism must be replaced with policies and practices that reflect humanistic values.
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