A little over a year ago I was busted with 100 Etizolam tablets in my pocket. I was placed on probation, during which time I presented my PO with a UA positive for cannabis. For this I am to serve 10 days on work crew, after which I am done with probation. I start today.

Oh man, I had to do 18 weekends of work crew during my 19th summer for 2 DUIIs in Eugene. Cutting blackberry bushes from highway overpasses. Man, that was not fun and blackberries suck. Just moved there and still drove like I was in Atlanta- 40 in residentials instead of 15 miles an hour like they do everywhere in Oregon.

You have my sympathies but what did you expect for messing with etizolam, that it would end well somehow?

That sucks but look at it as a workout.

Hey I'll count my blessings, it was this or ten days jail.

I prolly wouldve taken the ten days lol, if they'd let me do weekends...

If I was in Portland I wouldn't mind serving a couple weeks, since they have protocol in place for dispensing methadone to inmates. Here it is not so. Here if you become jailed you receive the cold turkey cure. Horrifying. Seattle has methadone in their jails, and bupe. So it's not a state thing.

That blows, Tony. Nothing like being forcibly put to work for free labor...

I remember the communist police department in my college town had such a bizarre obsession with busting kids for underage drinking or possession of alcohol. I think I ended up working court ordered service for a total of 70 hours through college and paying like 3-4k in fines.

My only real problem with having to do any of this was the ethical narrative: You messed up so now you need to serve your community. My question is how did my actions actually affect ANYBODY such that I should have to not only pay a fine, but perform manual labor for free???

Anyways, good luck.

They do? That is new, I have horrror stories about kicking in MCDC. Even if you were on a clinic they didn't do it. I know they used to, but accidentally OD'ed a woman there in the early 00's.
That is great Seattle does.

In the UK people get sentenced to do community service, which is essentially the same thing as Tony describes here. I was once volunteering (largely in order to keep the employment service off my back) for an organisation many of our UK-based members might know of (and love?) called BTCV - the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers. My time there mostly consisted of poking a bonfire while smoking pot with petty criminals. I hazily recall having learnt a bit about the technique of hedge laying as well. Maybe it sounds a bit soft but on the other hand, blackthorn spines are dangerously vicious.

Good luck Tony!