Decriminalization vs. Prohibition
The idea of Drug Prohibition made sense: lower the availability of drugs by the use of law enforcement. Unfortunately, Drug Prohibition means heavy costs while proving to be ineffective and counterproductive.
I was thirteen when I saw drugs for the first time. I was with some of my friends that live down the road from me. They asked me if I wanted to get high with them. At the time, I didn't know what getting high meant, so I asked them. One of them pulled ut a long slender object, similar to a cigarette, but twisted on either end. They told me it was something special. I was still bewildered. They said "It's pot, you know, marijuana?" Immediately I said no.
I had seen several anti-dug commercials, all with the same motto, "Just Say No".
I felt so good about myself. I had done the right thing. I said no to my friends, which is a very hard decision to make at that age. I was not going to be one of those sad cases, where my life is wasted away. I was not going to be a crazed addict, who would stop at nothing to get a hit. I was not going to be dodging the law my whole life. I was going to be everything I wanted to be, and drugs were definitely not going to get in the way. I promised myself I would not end up like Jimi Hendrix, or Janis Joplin, both found dead after overdoses, because I had the power to say no. I had read stories and seen news flashes about the side effects of some drugs. I had read newspaper articles about people in Rome, which is just a few minutes away, dying of heroin overdoses. I had seen people on TV that were alive, but were not conscious of their surroundings, because of drug use. Their lives were basically over. I had listened to speakers preach that drugs were one of the Devil's tools. There was no way I would even consider ever trying them, because once a person starts, they can't stop.
It was a few years later that I heard the other side of the story. I learned that not only were we losing the war on drugs, but that the war had been corrupted. The government was wasting money on something without a cause, or hope. It wasn't long after that when I tried marijuana for the first time. I remember it well. I was with my sister, who was the only person that I couldn't
The documentary states that over 27,000 deaths a year are due to overdose from heroin and other opioids. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2015 prescription pain relievers account for 20,101 overdose deaths, and 12,990 overdose deaths are related to heroin (Rudd et al., 2010-2015). The documentary’s investigation gives the history of how the heroin epidemic started, with a great focus on the hospice movement. We are presented with the idea that once someone is addicted to painkillers, the difficulty in obtaining the drug over a long period of time becomes too expensive and too difficult. This often leads people to use heroin. This idea is true as a 2014 survey found that 94% of respondents who were being treated for opioid addiction said they chose to use heroin because prescription opioids were “more expensive and harder to obtain (Cicero et al., 2014).” Four in five heroin users actually started out using prescription painkillers (Johns, 2013). This correlation between heroin and prescription painkiller use supports the idea presented in the documentary that “prescription opiates are heroin prep school.”
Heroin is one of the most dangerous drugs in the world. When using heroin, people run the risk of developing serious “infectious diseases” such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis (The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 2014, para 10). Above all, heroin use often results in death. The DEA Strategic Intelligence Section (2016), who prepared the 2016 National Heroin Threat Assessment Summary claims that heroin is the most fatal drug compared to other drugs because heroin related deaths occur at a much higher rate. In 2014 cocaine users outnumbered heroin users by about three and a half to one, yet there were twice as many heroin related deaths compared to that of cocaine (p. 9). One of the main causes of the large amount of death is a result of what dealers are lacing their heroin with. Fentanyl, a drug that is considered “50” to “100” times stronger than morphine (NIDA, 2016, para 1), is being used by dealers to mix in with their heroin in order to increase its effects and the quantity of their product. Because of how strong fentanyl-laced heroin is, the possibility of overdosing rises, which is the effect that numerous addicts seek out to attain. In the article “Spiked”, written by Maggie Lee (2015), Lieutenant Rick Mason from the Atlanta Police Department emphasizes, “… if somebody OD’s, that’s who [heroin addicts] want to buy their heroin from because it’s the strongest and it must be the best” (para 22). Heroin addicts chase the powerful batches, often asking around for the dealer selling the batch that is causing mass overdoses. Their high tolerance for heroin lead them to believe that they will not fall victim to a deadly overdose until it is too late. When these users consume what they think is their normal dose, the fentanyl kills them. Those unable to receive prescription medication from a doctor will argue that heroin is a cheap way to relieve pain. While heroin may help to
Therefore, when I work with substance abusers I will show empathy, encourage and validate their successes and their feelings about any failures. In addiction, I will help the person learn from their failures and normalize the situation. Furthermore, I would attempt to ensure that the person had several coping strategies in place, to help when he or she finds themselves in a difficult situation. Moreover, I intend to ensure the client has all the tools he or she needs to succeed while getting to the root of their problem through counseling.
Prohibition of Alcohol in the 1920©ˆs. These two major issues of their time may not
Decriminalization is defined as: elimination of criminal penalties or removal of legal restrictions against. It is a topic in relation to drugs and Canada has still not come to a conclusion on the issue. As stated in the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) report from 2010, Canada is one of the world’s primary source countries for illicitly manufactured synthetic drugs, particularly MDMA (“ecstasy”). Certain individuals argue that if all drugs are legalized, our society will be safer and drugs will be clean which will reduce the number of overdoses and deaths due to laced drugs being consumed. In the article The Surprising Truth about Heroin and Addiction by Jacob Sullum, it is stated that “… drugs such as nicotine and cocaine [are] not truly addictive; they [are] merely habituating”. The question should not be “Should Canada Legalize all Drugs?” it should be “Which Drugs Should Canada Legalize?”
...tem and that you need to watch what you open yourself up to when it pertains to drugs.
After some thought, choosing the decriminalization model because this is a model compromised between legalization and prohibition. After many years of waging war on drugs, I do not see us really getting anywhere. By placing someone found in possession of more than a week’s supply of any type of drug such as marijuana to cocaine, the person would deal with an accelerated rehabilitative disposition as in a special intervention type program and calling it the mediation group comprised of a lawyer, a doctor and a social worker. This group could recommend treatment as well as present any minor fines. The main lesson to learn from decriminalizing drug doesn’t necessarily lead to disaster, and it does free up resources for more effective responses to drug related problems. Decriminalizing drug addiction would ensure those arrested for drug possession and use could go to rehab instead of a jail term. Rehab might help reduce the amount of jail time, as well as gaining custody or visitation rights to see their children by proving sacrifices are made in these life changes.
friends. . . . "But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to
A couple of good friends I met at school and I wanted to stop talking
and I vowed to myself that smoking would never become a part of my life. Not only was I
scale a ten foot wall, just to get inside. When all three of us were
Prostitution started centuries ago and it is still being done by many people today. However, it has not been accepted by society as a “real job.” Centuries ago prostitutes were branded as the devil’s children and they are still seen as outsiders in society. In fact, prostitutes are labeled today as criminals. Why are prostitutes considered as a criminal If their actions only affect mostly themselves? A person should be able do decide what they want to do with their body without any consequence attached such as incarceration. Criminalization of sex workers are dangerous because their human rights are not being protected by law enforcement, furthermore criminalizing of the buyers is also dangerous.
But, how will one call quits to a life, a life which in theory would seem
friends, and I could'nt even do anything on the weekends. I could not even go to
Certain drugs can be injected via a syringe or needle, smoked, ingested through the nasal cavity, and even laced into certain foods and eaten. Unfortunately, in certain areas, drugs can be very easily obtained in an unsafe environment. Usually, drugs affect teenagers the most who are in their high school and college years. It is reported that teenagers can get their hands on narcotics at a myriad of places in their daily lives. They can be found: In the medicine cabinet, at home, at a neighbor’s house, online, a friend, at schools, and at parties. Nowadays, with rapid advancement in drug development, kids as young as 16 can cook and grow their own drugs in their homes. Neglect of strict attention or drug awareness among parents can result in teenagers buying or selling drugs routinely in their