Update on Gabriella

Just an update on Gabriella, my friend's daughter who is in jail on possession of heroin charges. She is in the Orange County Jail. It appears the prosecutors are going to also charge her with Driving under the influence.

I have been a little bit out of the legal loop in California due to living in Oregon for 12 years. The laws have changed since I was using drugs in the 60's or 70's. Most notably proposition 36 which gives addicts chances at treatment.

Anyway, Driving under the influence apparently does not qualify for proposition 36 so Gabriella will not be getting out of jail soon.

Frankly, I believe that is a good thing for her. She is 35 years old and been doing drugs since she was 17 and has not suffered a lot of legal consequences. She has not done much more than 90 days in jail or so. So in her case, I think jail is a very good thing.

I often say the worst thing anybody can do for an addict is to take their suffering away. It is the suffering of the addict life style that can cause a drug addict to want a new way of life and to cry out to God.

So, Grabriella, I hope your suffering does its job and that God watches over you to see no permanent harm comes to you.