IL Meth Users Can Take Treatment Instead of Prison

WKMS | By WPSD

Published January 3, 2013 at 8:42 AM CST

A new Illinois law is allowing some methamphetamine addicts to try treatment instead of serving prison time. Lawmakers say the new option could rehabilitate addicts and ease jail overcrowding. The law allows first-time offenders in possession of less than 15 grams of meth to take treatment. Massac County Sheriff Ted Holder tells WPSD the county’s jail is 30 percent overcrowded and that many inmates are there for minor drug offenses. Massac County Mental Health counselor Saundra McCurdy says she secured a state grant for a drug court rehab program months before the law took place because meth addicts are so prevalent in the area. The treatment program’s first group starts Jan. 7.

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Whitney Jones

Whitney grew up listening to Car Talk to and from her family’s beach vacation each year, but it wasn’t until a friend introduced her to This American Life that radio really grabbed her attention. She is a recent graduate from Union University in Jackson, Tenn., where she studied journalism. When she’s not at WKMS, you can find her working on her backyard compost pile and garden, getting lost on her bicycle or crocheting one massive blanket.

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