My brother is a crack addict, and an alcoholic. He prefers not to tell people these two little facts, and usually also neglects to inform them of his criminal record. He's been arrested multiple times in Florida, and now resides in jail yet again in another state. His crime? Well, they are almost too multiple to mention but I will try. He is being charged with theft, breaking and entering, having cocaine in his possession, having stolen goods in his possession, check fraud, check theft, fencing stolen goods, and those are only the crimes that I am aware of.
He has no conscience, and no remorse for any of the things he has ever done, and he did it all for drugs. He stole money from our parents, and our grandmother. He stole items from both of the bosses he has worked for in the past three months, he stole items from our parents. He broke into his boss's cabin with intent to steal stuff, and attempted to break into our grandmother's home as well. To make this matter even stranger, every person my brother meets would willingly and happily give him the shirt off his or her back, because he's that good a con man.
He came to this state from Florida with absolutely nothing but the clothes on his back, and he left here with three garbage bags full of clothing, shoes, jackets, and a variety of other possessions. He also left in a car that was given to him completely free of charge by his grandmother. I realize that makes us sound very stupid, and believe me, we feel that way, but it doesn't matter who you are, or how smart you are, if you looked my brother in the eye, and talked to him face to face, you would also want to do anything to help him. I do mean anything.
People loan him things, which they will never see again, and they know they will never see those items again, yet they loan him more the next time they see him and he doesn't even have to ask for it. Now that takes talent and skill. He's a perfect con artist, and even when you know that, you still want to offer him stuff because he will play you like a harp and there is not a thing you can do to prevent it. He's good, he's clever, but he does make one mistake that sticks out like a sore thumb....he forgets to destroy the evidence of his crimes.
This time, when he was arrested, he left in his car the paper receipts from the pawn shops that he sold the stolen goods to, complete with his signature on them. Those were given to the police who, oddly enough, did not find them themselves when they searched the vehicle. But then again, they weren't looking for paper, they were looking for drugs, which they found. My brother is now sitting behind bars awaiting arraignments for each separate charge.
Why do I tell you this personal story? Because recently I spoke to a young woman who is a former Crystal Meth user, and she told me that when addicts commit crimes in order to support their habits, they do not know what they are doing. She stated that it's the drug talking, and acting, not the addict, and they can't help what they do. I know that she is speaking from personal experience, but she is also a recovered addict who is now living a normal life. That alone makes it a different story altogether.
Even the most devoted drug abuser has moments of complete lucidity, times when the drug has worn off, the tremors are gone, the cravings are fading a little bit. What I am saying here is that there are times in the drug abuser's life, when he or she is back in control again, they may be temporary at best, but those moments do occur. When that moment came for the young woman I spoke to, she chose to turn her life around. She went into re-hab, came out clean and stayed that way. That means that it can be done, you just have to want it enough. She was speaking, not the Meth.
I don't believe that a drug addict cannot in any way help the way he or she is behaving, because they do have those little moments of lucidity in which they can make logical choices. Some choose to change, others, like my brother, choose to stay the same until it kills them or they get life imprisonment, whichever comes first. It is those people who cannot be rescued because they have chosen not to be. Certainly I believe that the drug cravings are a large part of it, and perhaps it is even the biggest part, but it is not all there is to that individual.
