Compassion for addicts hard, but vital in Wisconsin opioid crisis

Casey Hoff | For USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Show Caption Hide Caption Special report: 10 Wisconsin heroin addicts fight to stay clean In this special project of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, 10 recovering heroin addicts describe their first time using the drug and the dramatic toll on their lives ever since.

Addiction experts frequently say relapse is a part of recovery from addiction to drugs or alcohol. That is very often an unfortunate truth. But in the criminal justice system, we often expect and demand perfection when it comes to abstinence from alcohol and drugs.

For example, when a person is charged with a crime that relates to drugs or alcohol, one of the conditions the person must often meet as a part of his or her release from jail while the case is pending is to maintain absolute sobriety from drugs or alcohol.

That seems quite reasonable and simple on its face. When you have been charged with a crime that involves alcohol or drugs, we expect you will remain drug- and alcohol-free while your case is pending in the court system.

HOOKED IN WISCONSIN: When heroin hits homes

CASEY HOFF: Police body cameras crucial in exposing truth

After all, if you have been charged with a crime and face the potential of being incarcerated, why would you not be on your very best behavior and refrain from all alcohol and drug use? Just quit drinking. Just quit using drugs. Do it, cold turkey.

As a criminal defense lawyer, I have wrestled with the same frustration when I see people who I am trying to help “fall off the wagon” and use.

But those who have known addicts as family or friends understand addiction is far from simple. If it were, we would not see the relapse rates we do. No reasonable person wants to be in jail or prison. Treatment dramatically improves an addict’s chance of sobriety. Yet, studies show that between 70 and 90 percent of people who complete an addiction rehabilitation program will relapse at least once before they maintain sobriety for a long period of time.

This is not to suggest relapse should be encouraged or that there ought not to be any consequence for making the choice to use. The decision to use in the first instance is ultimately that of the user, and we ought to celebrate and reward those who are able to quit “cold turkey” and never use again.

But scientists and medical experts recognize that addiction is a disease. The American Medical Association classifies addiction as a disease. The chemical structures of the brains of addicts literally change in significant ways. The brain is rewired. Many addicts also suffer from mental health issues.

In 2017, I had the pleasure of seeing former Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer Chester Marcol talk passionately about his heart-wrenching struggles with addiction at the Samaritan’s Hand yearly fundraising event. Marcol, who went in and out of rehab numerous times and spoke of using cocaine sometimes during halftimes of Packers games, said, “Recovery is the toughest thing I’ve done in my life.” Marcol used alcohol and drugs for more than 30 years and was so desperate that he attempted suicide. Marcol is now an alcohol and drug abuse counselor and inspirational speaker who helps addicts daily.

People like Kent “Kully” Kollath, the leader of the faith-based AODA treatment group Samaritan’s Hand, recognize recovery is often a bumpy road to sobriety. Kully once struggled with his own demons of addiction. Kully has said of people who need help at Samaritan’s Hand, “Any time or as many times as they need to come back, the door is not shut for any reason.”

Many people in our society understand the difficult reality of overcoming addiction, and many in our court system recognize the same. Sheboygan County, for example, has both a Veterans' Treatment Court and a Drug Treatment Court. Both courts are highly successful and extremely important courts that deal regularly with the complex endeavor of helping addicts on the road to recovery.

Addiction is a cruel disease that knows no boundaries. It affects people from all walks of life; rural and urban, rich and poor, young and old, Republican and Democrat.

It is too simplistic to just tell addicts they just need to have the “willpower” to overcome the brain disease of addiction. While “willpower” may well be a factor in the initial decision to use drugs, after a person becomes addicted to drugs, the chemical structure of the brain changes substantially and the situation is far more complicated.

We know most addicts will relapse at some point. While relapse should not be celebrated or encouraged, it should also not be viewed as a moral failure for which we, as a society, deem that person hopeless.

When dealing with a person struggling with addiction, we must encourage him or her during periods of sobriety and have the patience, understanding and compassion to not give up if he or she relapses and falls off the wagon.

Casey Hoff is a criminal defense attorney based in Sheboygan.