December 03, 2014
Just a few days ago I made a conscious decision to change the time in which I take my medication every morning. Ever since the most recent urine screening, I realized that there’s a good chance the prison may be trying to jam me up for another bad drug test. Maybe it’s because I’ve written about so many delicate issues that expose the corrupt behaviors made by so many staff members, compromising this prison’s integrity, bringing out its true colors, or maybe I’m just another inmate chosen for yet another random drug test. Regardless of Madison’s motives to pick on me, I have to be smarter, always preparing for the unexpected, just as anyone striving for success in the real world should do. For the past eight or so years I’ve been taking the same medication, every morning when I wake up it’s the first thing I do, I’ve done it so efficiently for so long that I don’t even have to think about it or remind myself to take the pills, I just do it. Well now I have to change all that, after eight years I have to retrain my brain to take these pills sometime after breakfast, hours after I wake up. Madison seems to have a pattern of surprising inmates first thing in the morning, pulling us from our cells before the yard opens for breakfast in an attempt to catch us off guard. Normally I wake up at 5:30a.m. To get started on my day and my workout routine. The only thing that saved me this last time was staying up late the night before to watch the music awards with my celly, causing me to sleep in one hour later the following morning. The guards woke me from my sleep at about 6 the next morning, pulling me from my cell, giving me no chance to take my medication, if I had I surely would have tested positive for drugs again. So from now on and for the rest of my stay in prison I’ll be taking my pills after breakfast, decreasing my chances for getting jammed up in another messed up drug test. I was able to get another pass to stop in and see the doctor again yesterday to talk to him about the new information I have with my meds causing false positives for marijuana and to my surprise he had new information as well. I found out that five other inmates who take the same medication as me are also on cell isolation for testing positive for THC, claiming they also haven’t used any drugs in a long time. The doctor told me he’s aware that it’s our medication causing this, but unfortunately they have certain procedures to follow. The doctor said that the only time they’re able to add medications to their list of medications causing false positives is after an inmate tests positive, or the company that drug tests the inmates sends a confirmation list of meds. He said it’s an unfortunate problem, and they just don’t have the time or the recourses to follow up on such things. He did say that sooner or later, once this is all resolved down the road the prison is going to have to clear up my record, wiping this unfortunate incident from my file. At the end of the day this is what I want the most, the clean, untarnished prison record that I’ve worked so hard for, stabilizing my future and my relationships that are built on trust once I’m released from prison, affecting everyone from my probation officer, to my family, to my employers and everyone in between.
Steven Dybvad
