Staying ‘clean’ not an easy choice
By Bob Robinson

GREENVILLE – “They don’t ‘decide’ to make the wrong choice,” said Katy Linkous, Probation Officer with the Darke County Adult Probation Department. “They don’t have the decision making skills that you and I take for granted.”

One defendant had just been sentenced to 60 months of community control on Oct. 16. She would be reporting to Linkous. Regarding her chances for success, Linkous said chance had nothing to do with it. Luck wasn’t involved.

“It depends on what her choices are,” Linkous said. “Kicking an addiction like that is not easy.” The woman had been using one drug or another for well over 20 years; her latest being heroin. She would have to learn to make the right choices.

Linkous currently has over 90 cases she’s supervising. Approximately 70 percent are on drug-related charges. Another 10 percent are on charges (such as robbery or theft) related to drug abuse. The majority of drug or related offenses are due to drug addiction.

Linkous recalled a statement Darke County Sheriff Chief Deputy Mark Whittaker had made… “Asking a heroin user to stop using is like asking us to stop breathing.”

“That’s true,” Linkous said. “It is not an easy thing to do.”

A drug user spends 30 days in jail. While admitting no system is perfect and occasionally drugs might get in, Linkous said 30 days in jail would typically mean being clean for 30 days…

“The body may be clean but the mind isn’t clean. If you are addicted to heroin a part of your brain still says you want heroin.”

Some may simply acknowledge when they get out they plan to use again. Others might say 30 days isn’t long enough; they need more time.

She said however, you could talk to any heroin recovering addict, the need never really goes away.

“Looking at a spoon could be a trigger.”

A relapse is inevitable, Linkous added. It’s going to happen. It could be drinking. It could be marijuana. Ten percent of those under her supervision typically end up getting new charges while still on probation.

Linkous said she thought it important for the public to understand what is going on… especially with heroin. It’s cheap and it’s easily obtainable.

What does she hate the most about her job?

“I hate seeing young mothers addicted to heroin,” she said. Linkous added she wasn’t trying to lessen the challenges of addiction to anyone else, but with young mothers “it pains me to see it.”

Published courtesy of The Early Bird