If you've ever been on probation I truly sympathize with you. I'm currently on probation for three years under Proposition 200 for possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia. I'm scheduled to be off in February 2012. I was originally on probation for two years but because of violations(positive u.a.'s, non-payment, and missed classes) it was extended another year. You gotta love the criminal justice system in this country. I mean really, where else can you be incarcerated for essentially being poor?
If you're looking at felony charges and you don't have or can't afford an attorney, the very least you're looking at is probation. Even if the charges are classified misdemeanors, you are more than likely facing probation and or fines. Don't get me started on D.U.I.'s, because unless you're pulling in fifty thousand-plus a year, you cannot afford to drink and drive. Your initial fines for driving under the influence start at twenty five hundred dollars and quickly go up from there. Then there's court appearances, jail time, substance abuse classes, vehicle interlock devices, personal alcohol monitoring devices, impound fees, tow fees, missed worked and lost income. I digress.
Probation has been enlightening at the very least. It's also been helpful, believe it or not, in the course of my recovery from a twenty-three year addiction. My own probation consists of me seeing my probation officer once a month, seeing a judge(commissioner) once a month, dropping u.a.'s (urinary analysis) five times a week, community service, substance abuse counseling, twelve-step meetings, and the occasional weekend in jail. I'm a full-time student and husband and father on top of that, so my days are not empty. Even if I wanted to get high, which I don't, I don't have the time nor the resources to do so. I believe that was part of my addiction problems as I had a lot of extra time on my hands to do nothing but indulge my flesh with all types of ungodly acts.
When I first started my probation early in 2009, I wasn't cooperating with my probation officer. I felt she was asking me to do things I couldn't do in the amount of time she was asking me to do them. I was still getting high also, so I wasn't trying to follow the rules the system was putting on me. I danced around probation for about nine or ten months until my probation officer got tired of my lack of effort and sent the s.w.a.t. team to my house to collect me. That was fun. They came ten deep, with guns drawn and a key to my house. They knocked first and after I didn't respond, they opened my front door with a key and apprehended me like I just killed somebody. Anyways, I went to jail for forty-five days(the longest I've ever been incarcerated) which was an experience in itself. After that, I was assigned a new probation officer and put into a drug court program, which is essentially a form of intense probation. Fast forward to today and I'm enjoying the longest period of sobriety since I began using drugs in the eighties, nearly one year, of no substances deemed illegal and or harmful to the general population.
As always, I give all thanks and credit to The Father and The Son, Jesus Christ, who orchestrated all things in my life to work for the good(Romans 8:28).http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEayU5CsTjQ&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
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