Curing Addiction: India and Canada

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses a program of meditation introduced in Indian prisons, Vipassana, that enables inmates to overcome addiction and problems of mental health while gaining a new orientation of themselves and their situations. The paper examines the Vipassana experiment in New Delhi's Tihar Jail and discusses the benefits of implementing this program into Canadian prisons.

Outline:
Introduction
Addictions and Canadian Offenders
Recognizing Addiction in India
What is Vipassana?
Closing Gaps in Practice and Planning
Concluding Discussion

From the Paper:

"Terry explained that Canadian recidivism often revolves around an offender's ability to cope with addiction, the ex-offender a person having overcome addiction, and the repeat offender a person not having achieved this. (2002) Canadian officials and institutions need to look further afield for programming, bearing in mind how Third World settings are keenly hampered by fiscal concerns. In short, a program affordable and effective in India is apt to prove effective given the extra supports available in the West. Moreover, what has been offered to Canadian federal offenders has not always served addicted offenders well -- the addict is frequently the 'repeat offender' with whom Federal prisons often deal."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bedi, K. It's Always Possible - Transforming One of the Largest Prisons in the World. New Delhi: Sterling, 1998.
• Boles, S. and K. Miotto. "Substance Abuse and Violence - a Review of the Literature." Aggression and Violence. 8. (2003): 155-174.
• Brands, B. Et Al. Best Practices - Methadone Maintenance Treatment. Ottawa: Health Canada, 2002.
• Correctional Service of Canada. Addictions and the Offender Population. Ottawa: CSC, 2005.
• Correctional Service of Canada. Summary R-151: Altering Antisocial Attitudes among Federal Male Offenders on Release - a Preliminary Analysis of the Counter-Point Community Program. Ottawa: CSC, 2004.

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