Ask Layzie about Heroin Addiction/Doing Time In Prison

[Layzie]

"You are awesome for answering every question so far. Dont feel obliged, but here are my questions:

(I read through 90% of this thread, but if one of these questions is a reprint just ignore it)

-Did the thought of trying to escape ever cross your mind?"


It crossed my mind in the respect of thinking about how someone would do it, and if it'd even be possible, but I never ever considered doing it. You think about alot of stuff when you're bored.



"-What should the laws regarding heroin use be reformed to? (Completely legal? completely illegal? somewhere in between?)"

I really don't know how I would change the law, but I think they should stop trying to solve the problem with methadone. Basically all the methadone does is get you addicted to a pill, which is manufactured by the drug/medicine industry, instead of you being addicted to a street drug. It seems like it's all about money, really. To be fair, methadone is safer because you don't inject it, but it in no way solves the addiction problem.



"-Why drug do you consider more serious/dangerous: heroin or cocaine? heroine or crack?"

I consider heroin to be more dangerous than crack/cocaine, because heroin addiction and withdrawl is worse. I would say that if you're shooting cocaine, you probably have a similar chance of dying, but cocaine withdrawl isn't (to my knowledge) as painful. I really don't know much about crack, because that's probably the only thing i've never done. An interesting note though; you can shoot crack also, and it's different than shooting cocaine.


"-Can you elaborate on how you got caught w/ 2 oz of weed and 20 pills of x? Did someone rat you out, or did a cop find them in your car during a routine stop, or what?"

A former friend came to make a buy off of me while wearing a wire.



"-How can they prove you had the intent to distribute?"

Well, I was caught in the act of distrubting, but also there are laws that govern this. If you are caught with a certain amount of a given drug, they classify it w/ the intent to distribute.



"-Was Requiem for a Dream at all a realistic depiction of heroin addiction?"

Yes. One scene in particular is when Connely/Leto are in bed and she kind of convinces him to do the heroin that night because they were going to score in the morning. Heroin users are constantly rationalizing in that way. I think it had some really accurate scenes in it.


"If one day you have a son, and at age 17 your son decides he wants to try weed, would you let him?"

Well, I doubt it would ever go down like that. I would hope that in 17 years that weed would've been legalized by then. If that was the case, I would probably not object, but I would give him a thorough talk about drugs.

[Layzie]

[ QUOTE ]
-Do some prisoners "go into a shell" when they get to prison and refuse to interact or talk to anyone? Are these the people who have it the hardest socially?

-Is the movie cliche that if you shoot someone up with heroin, even involuntarily, that there is a good chance that the person will become addicted to heroin true?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes some people really keep to themseleves and don't speak to anyone. Generally people leave them alone, but sometimes people become suspicious that they may have something to hide (being a snitch, rapist, molestor). In general though, they weren't that bad off.

That's a pretty inaccurate cliche. Usually you get addicted to the high, and then you can't stop because your body becomes dependent. By the time you're dependent, you aren't really even getting high, just feeling better. I doubt someone who unwillingly took heroin would begin fiending it the next day. It is possible that they will enjoy it, but they won't be dependent on it from one use.

[SmileyEH]

One of my personal soap boxes is ending the war on drugs - through legalization of weed and at least decriminalizing other drugs. What percentage of the inmates in your prison were incarcerated directly because of drug trafficking and how many were involved indirectly (gang related stuff, weapons charges etc.)?

-SmileyEH

[Blarg]

That's kind of interesting to me, because I think I could deal with 20 years in the hole, not missing people so much as sunlight and fresh air. But that seems like the route to a pounding, if not an ass-pounding. Social obligations seem necessary in life, even under the most degrading circumstances.

Perhaps especially under the most degrading circumstances? Is being sociable one of the main things that keeps people from going out of their minds?

I realize that as a basically short-timer, you may not even be equipped to answer that question, but what do you think?

[Blarg]

Intent to distribute -- I think it has already been covered in this thread, but I know someone who got pinned with intent to distribute, and it was because he had his drugs distributed into multiple bags instead of all together.

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
-Do some prisoners "go into a shell" when they get to prison and refuse to interact or talk to anyone? Are these the people who have it the hardest socially?

-Is the movie cliche that if you shoot someone up with heroin, even involuntarily, that there is a good chance that the person will become addicted to heroin true?

[/ QUOTE ]

For me, the first question here was an awesome question. I could see trying to withdraw, or simply being uninterested in talking to the 6th grade level of education of the average guy in jail, tending to lead toward a withdrawal from the social life of the place.

Jail socialization sounds to me like the rampant idiocy of the politics forum combined with the inability to prevent people from punching your face, knifing you, and pounding your ass with hepatitis-filled c*ck.

[Karakaz]

Is it possible to get big fat cheeseburgers?

[Layzie]

[ QUOTE ]
One of my personal soap boxes is ending the war on drugs - through legalization of weed and at least decriminalizing other drugs. What percentage of the inmates in your prison were incarcerated directly because of drug trafficking and how many were involved indirectly (gang related stuff, weapons charges etc.)?

-SmileyEH

[/ QUOTE ]

It's hard to say really, because alot of people didn't share what they were charged with, and I didn't talk to everyone. There were a good amount of drug charges, but I think there were probably more people with weapons and gang related charges.

[Layzie]

[ QUOTE ]
That's kind of interesting to me, because I think I could deal with 20 years in the hole, not missing people so much as sunlight and fresh air. But that seems like the route to a pounding, if not an ass-pounding. Social obligations seem necessary in life, even under the most degrading circumstances.

Perhaps especially under the most degrading circumstances? Is being sociable one of the main things that keeps people from going out of their minds?


I realize that as a basically short-timer, you may not even be equipped to answer that question, but what do you think?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, definitely. Things like playing cards and just shooting she shitt definitely help you keep your sanity. Note that if you were put in the hole, you wouldn't be allowed to have a TV. I think all that you are allowed to have is a walkman (not a CD player), and also your privledge to buy food is also taken away. This is if you're put in the hole as punishment. I think if you were to be moved to solitary for protection reasons you might be able to have these things, but i'm really not sure.

[Layzie]

[ QUOTE ]
Intent to distribute -- I think it has already been covered in this thread, but I know someone who got pinned with intent to distribute, and it was because he had his drugs distributed into multiple bags instead of all together.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, this happens alot.