Like many who suffer from addiction, Cameron Douglas’ path to recovery has not been without setbacks. Currently incarcerated in federal prison on a five-year sentence for drug distribution and heroin possession, the 33-year-old son of actor Michael Douglas has struggled with substance abuse since his twenties. In December, Douglas made headlines when a federal judge sentenced him to an additional four and a half years after he was caught with drugs in prison. This harsh punishment has attracted the attention of a team of doctors and advocacy groups , who have come together to file a legal brief addressing both the severity of his sentence, as well as the court’s failure to recognize what Douglas and other individuals battling addiction really need: treatment.

Douglas’ case has attracted attention because of his celebrity, but it is emblematic of a much larger problem across this country: we approach drug addiction and abuse as a law enforcement issue rather than a public health problem. Consequently, although medical professionals recognize that drug addiction is a chronic disease , the first stop for the addicted is often the criminal justice system. Because our drug policies emphasize a punitive rather than rehabilitative response to substance abuse and addiction, they fail to address the actual cause of the illness, which only exacerbates the disease and results in relapse and recidivism. Research indicates, for example, that cravings for heroin and subsequent relapse can occur weeks and months after initial withdrawal symptoms subside, indicating that detoxification is useful only when paired with a long-term treatment plan. Douglas’ repeated relapse is not an indication that he is simply “reckless and destructive” as Judge Richard Berman suggested at his sentencing, but rather that he is fighting a losing battle with a fierce addiction in an environment that only impedes his recovery.