At a hearing on July 6th, 2010, Lindsay Lohan’s judge ordered her to complete 90 days in jail after violating probation for her 2007 DUI charge by not attending the required alcohol education classes. Lohan’s jail sentence was ordered to begin by no later than July 20th, 2010. Lohan has also been mandated to check into a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center for a minimum of three consecutive months upon release from jail.
Lohan has struggled publicly with cocaine addiction, alcoholism, and the resulting legal consequences of both for several years now. In 2007, Lindsay was given three years of probation when she plead guilty to two counts of being under the influence of cocaine and no contest to two counts of drunk driving. Another year was added to her probation sentence in 2009 when she missed some of her required alcohol education classes. In the past the judges have been fairly lenient with the star, giving her multiple chances to try to turn things around. Unfortunately, this leniency most likely enabled her to continue her destructive downward spiral for a longer period of time.
Sometimes the legal issues of addiction can benefit the addict or alcoholic. The threat of a permanent record or long-term jail or prison sentences resulting from drug-related criminal activity can scare someone into cleaning up their act. Consequences, however, do not equal recovery or sobriety. Long-term recovery must be worked at everyday and usually begins with detox and a treatment center. Hopefully Lindsay’s present sentence: 90 days in jail followed by a minimum of three months in treatment, will be a good start. If the young star begins to closely examine her addiction and alcoholism and take recovery from them both seriously, she can avoid the worst consequence of all: death.
