Public Defense

The Anesthetic Effect of Drug Addiction

In this job, as in any, it is possible to fall into a comfortable routine. Occasionally, a client comes along and shocks me out of that routine. I recently had one of these shocks.

My new client was inconsolable about losing custody of her children temporarily. She was absolutely miserable about the situation she was in and she was hell-bent determined on doing whatever it took to get her children back. I understand her emotional reaction. It is exactly this type of reaction that I would have in her situation and it is the type of reaction I expected to see from every one of my clients when I started this job.

It may surprise you to hear this, but clients like this are the exception.

Most of our clients are addicted to drugs. My new client illustrated for me very well the distinction between our clients who are on drugs and those who are not. The ones who have drug addictions are usually very different from the woman I described above.

Despite the heartbreaking situation they are in, most of them are calm and emotionally neutral. They don't even show the slightest bit of emotion about being separated from their children. They often admit that they, in fact, are not able to care for their children and that it is good that the state took custody. The drugs are at once the source of their troubles and their relief from the stress and adversity. Their calm and acceptance is was eerie to me at first, but over time I've become accustomed to it. I don't mean this as an indictment on them, but rather as an indictment on the destructive nature of the drugs they use.

The emotionally-detached, drug addicted clients suffer less through the process, but also gain less through the process. The same condition that prevents them from suffering more, also prevents them from learning the lessons they need to learn to succeed in the process.

It is different for people who do not have drugs numbing their brains. They understand more and consequently they feel more. There is no buffer between their situation and their emotional being. For them, the things that are happening are tangible and devastating. Their emotions are raw. These are my clients who cry, beg, plead, yell, say inappropriate things to the judge, and sometimes take their frustrations out on their attorneys.

Because they face their circumstances head-on, they suffer more. However, through this suffering and brutally honest confrontation with their demons, they gain wisdom and insight that helps them turn their lives around and get their children back.

I have a lot of hope for my new client. She has what it takes to succeed.

posted by Public Defense @ 12/20/2005