Drug Courts Argumentative Essay

1377 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Social factors contributing to criminal behavior

The drug use in America is a major topic in today’s society. Should drugs be legal? Is there quality education for adolescents to deter them from drug use? Should drug education continue on into adulthood? Should people who commit minor drug offenses be sentenced to prison or attend drug courts? The drug court debate can be very controversial also; however, this program seems to be a better alternative for individuals who are addicted to drugs. Rather than being locked up in prison where they receive minimal care, they are actually getting the education and treatment they need to have a better life. Drug courts are specialized court programs responsible in handling substance abuse offenders through complete supervision, drug testing, treatment services and immediate sanctions and incentives. Instead of going straight to prison or jail, drug courts allow individuals the opportunity to be a part of a substance abuse recovery program. During the 1980’s, there were a surplus of drug offenders that entered into the correctional systems and judges found that over time after the offenders were sentenced and released, they would often end up right back in the system for the same offense (Contrino, Nochaiski, Farrell, & Logsdon, 2016). After …show more content…

Though research studies have not been the most consistent, most studies have shown that drug courts help reduce recidivism and jail time drug addicted defendants have had on the court system (Contrino et al., 2016). Drug courts are successful in lowering drug addiction and recidivism in criminals all while being less expensive than normal case proceedings. Other studies suggest that factors such as education level, recent criminal activity, and peer deviance have an impact on success or failure in completing the program (Contrino et al.,

Show More
Related

  • Compare And Contrast Drug Courts Vs. Incarceration

    1406 Words  | 3 Pages

    Within our society, there is a gleaming stigma against the drug addicted. We have been taught to believe that if someone uses drugs and commits a crime they should be locked away and shunned for their lifetime. Their past continues to haunt them, even if they have changed their old addictive ways. Everyone deserves a second chance at life, so why do we outcast someone who struggles with this horrible disease? Drug addiction and crime can destroy lives and rip apart families. Drug courts give individuals an opportunity to repair the wreckage of their past and mend what was once lost. Throughout this paper, I will demonstrate why drug courts are more beneficial to an addict than lengthy prison sentences.

    Read More

  • Drug Court Essay

    1132 Words  | 3 Pages

    Do you remember the first time we met? I do as I cannot shake the memory. It was love at first sight. I’ll never forget the feeling I had. A warmth overcame my body as you stoked a fire in my heart. It was like I had spent my life drowning in the sea around me and you were that breath of fresh air as I pulled myself out. My cares and concerns melted away. I was complete. You were exactly what I had been missing in my life. My better half you completed me you made me whole. Your touch, your scent, your glistening radiance I took it all in. I felt its force enter my body working its way to the very center of my soul. It felt like a real living breathing thing coalescing within my life force touching parts of me I never knew existed. You awakened some innate primal desire and I needed you at all times.

    Read More

  • Prop. 36 The Real Truth

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    As you might already be aware there is a ballot initiative on this upcoming November’s election about drugs, and drug treatment. This measure is called Proposition 36. If this measure were to pass, state law would be changed, so that certain non-violent adult offenders who use or possess illegal drugs would receive drug treatment and supervision in the community, not prison. Right now California is ranked number one in the nation for its rate of imprisonment for drug offenders. If Proposition 36 passes, California could become number one for its treatment for drug offenders. The measure also provides state funds to counties to operate the drug treatment programs. Additionally, studies have shown that drug treatment is a far more effective than prison in reducing future criminal activity. Robert Roseman, a 51-year-old heroin addict from Sacramento says, “I was always able to get drugs in prison…all you’re going to learn in prison is to do crime better.”

    Read More

  • Addiction In Chasing The Scream

    1408 Words  | 3 Pages

    Once these individuals in rehab serve there sentence the majority of them, won’t look straight to the next opportunity to get high, but the next opportunity for a better future after being encouraged in rehab to accomplish something in life, compared to someone’s attitude coming out of prison. One story involved a man named Richard with his wife Marcia. She was an addict who was often jailed for it, but Anthony believed like many others that “addiction can be overcome with proper help. He believed that the solution was to get her into a mental hospital [and] get her whatever she needs – Xanax, morphine, to get her chemical imbalance right. Show her some respect. (114)” Give her some working skills, so once she gets out she is capable of being successful but instead she kept getting “kicked down the steps” by the criminal justice system. The jailing and torture of addicts is routine to people serving cases for drug related offenses, who are often not built to endure prison, let alone jail. “The Justice Department estimates that 216,000 people are raped in these prisons every year. (This is the number of rapes, not the number of rapes – that is much higher.) (109)” This is ultimately shows the simple fact that many people are not built to endure

    Read More

  • History and Function of Drug Courts

    2237 Words  | 5 Pages

    Drug courts were first established in Miami in 1989 and have continued to grow today. Over the past twenty-four years, drug courts have provided a treatment-orientated approach to help defendants with drug-related crimes. The constant interaction of the drug court provides the needed structure for participants to maintain their involvement in the program. Understanding the overall goals of the drug court and the outcomes of participants in the drug court program are the key factors in measuring the success of the drug courts.

    Read More

  • What is Drug Court?

    743 Words  | 2 Pages

    What is Drug Court? According to Siegel (2013), drug courts are courts designed for non-violent offenders with substance abuse problems who require integrated sanctions and services such as mandatory drug testing, substance abuse treatment, supervised release, and parole. These courts are designed to help reduce housing nonviolent offenders with violent inmates. Drug courts work on a non-adversarial, coact approach.

    Read More

  • Diversion Programs Vs Incarceration Essay

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the New York Times article, “Safety and Justice Complement Each Other,” by Glenn E. Martin, the author informs, “The Vera Institute for Justice found a 36 percent recidivism rate for individuals who had completed alternative drug programs in New York City, compared with 54 sentenced to prison, jail, probation or time served.” Alternative programs are more likely to inhibit future criminal acts, while incarceration seems to lack long-lasting effects on individuals. In continuance, the author adds that 3 percent of treatment participants were rearrested for violent crimes, while 6 percent of untreated criminals were rearrested for violent crimes. Diversion programs are able to treat one’s motivation for their criminal acts, rather than assuming that illegal habits will go away with time. Instead of sending nonviolent offenders to jail, legislators should consider introducing practical

    Read More

  • Specialized Courts

    903 Words  | 2 Pages

    Drug courts are, as the title states, for offenders with drug problems. The participants chosen for this method agree to terms of treatment, drug testing, and counseling. Their participation can lower their sentences and sanctions or even drop the charges against them completely. Supervision is used to monitor the offender’s participation in the various programs they are assigned, while also verifying their abstinence from drug use through testing (National Criminal Justice Reference Service, 2011). According to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service website, in 2009, there were about 2,400 drug courts in the U.S. These courts are separated into smaller categories based on the age or circumstances of the offenders, such as juveniles, adults, families, veterans, and even college students (OJP, 2010).

    Read More

  • Risk Assessments Within The Criminal Justice System

    1280 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first issue to be tackled for an offender is a drug referral if needed since other interventions and programs will not have much effect if the offender will not retain them due to drug use. These treatment facilities communicate with the probation officers. They keep them informed on the offender’s progress and/or issues the offender has. The lower risk offenders are eligible for treatment programs. (Loftus, lecture)

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Incarceration

    1478 Words  | 3 Pages

    Now is not the time for the United States federal government to decriminalize or legalize illegal drugs, including marijuana. However, nor can the government continue to do nothing about the financially, economically, and socially expensive domestic drug policy it currently follows. The United States Congress should pass legislation to remove mandatory minimum penalties from drug offenses, and the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons should add in-house rehabilitation programs for its incarcerated drug offenders. These policies would increase the cost-effectiveness of current drug policy and reduce crime and drug use, and do not face the political obstacles or have the uncertain consequences of decriminalizing or legalizing drugs.

    Read More

  • Benefits Of Drug Courts

    1441 Words  | 3 Pages

    Right now in the United States there are over 2 million people incarcerated in the country’s prisons and jails. Out of this population about one-quarter of these inmates have been convicted of a drug offense. With drug offense arrests increasing nationwide and the prison population increasing there is an alternative to incarceration has been used over the past two decades in many cities across the country. This alternative is in the form of local drug courts that are now found in most major cities in the United States. A drug court is a specialized court in which the judge, prosecutor, public defender or private attorney, probation officers, and treatment counselors work together to help chemically dependent offenders obtain needed treatment and rehabilitation in an attempt to break the cycle of addiction and further criminal offenses. Some argue that treatment rather than incarceration is a waste of time and valuable resources that could be used elsewhere. Research however has shown that court ordered treatment is the best option for drug offenders. Treatments through drug court has proven to be less expensive than incarceration and has also been shown to reduce crime and provide a lower relapse and re-arrest rate for offenders that are placed in drug courts as opposed to those that are not.

    Read More

  • Drug Use And Drug Addiction

    1486 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first step in ending the issue of drug use and abuse in our country is to cure the drug users from their addiction in a safe, controlled manner. As confirmed in an article from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Drug addiction is a chronic disease characterized by compulsive, or uncontrollable, drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences and changes in the brain, which can be long lasting.” (“Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction”) The addiction of drugs is an actual disease, and cannot be brushed off as something that can be stopped at any point in time. Drug addiction is just as serious as any other diagnosed disease and must be cured accordingly. Prison will not benefit those addicted to drugs because it is a disease that must be treated, just as any other illness is. In an attempt to end an addiction without help in a safe environment, dangerous consequences could result.

    Read More

  • Drug Treatment Courts

    1666 Words  | 4 Pages

    Alternative courts emerged to address a variety of criminal behaviors to both reduce the number of low-priority offenders entering the criminal justice system and produce recidivism rates among habitual offenders. These courts include drug courts, DUI courts, mental health courts and others to address specific crimes types. These courts were initially implemented in Miami, Florida, in 1989 to address the sheer volume of non-violent drug offenders entering the criminal justice system (see McColl, 1996). Drug treatment courts address alternative sanctioning needs and offer preventive efforts in a given community with alternative solutions to traditional incarceration. By the mid-1990s there had been little evaluative research or theoretical basis

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay: Suffering Drug Addictions To Prison?

    1635 Words  | 4 Pages

    And they rely on the discrimination and skill of a judge.The numerous studies indicate these courts significantly reduce crime and drug use. About half the participants in adult drug court finish the program, although the number varies widely from court to court, often depending on the skill of the judge. Federal judges are now beginning to create programs modeled on the state drug courts that allow for similar alternatives to incarceration for low level drug crimes, according to Dave

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Drug Abuse

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Drug abuse has been a hot topic for our society due to how stimulants interfere with health, prosperity, and the lives of others in all nations. All drugs have the potential to be misapplied, whether obtained by prescription, over the counter, or illegally. Drug abuse is a despicable disease that affects many helpless people. Majority of those who are beset with this disease go untreated due to health insurance companies who neglect and discriminate this issue. As an outcome of missed opportunities of treatments, abusers become homeless, very ill, or even worst, death.

    Read More

More about Drug Courts Argumentative Essay

Open Document