In 1971 President Richard Nixon declared an all out War on Drugs. Since this call to arms, the prison population in America has grown almost nine times greater (BOP), while the unintentional drug overdose rate in the United States has risen just as much (CDC). The methods being used in this fight against drugs is appallingly ineffective, and is wasting resources that could be used in more efficient ways. The drug issue has infected American communities like a cancer. It is causing poverty through unemployment; those who are current drug abusers lack the ability to quit their habit and maintain a job, and those who were previously addicted to drugs are often turned down for job opportunities because of a criminal record or a stigma applied …show more content…
It is evident that each of these issues relate to one another, and as long as they are present they will forever feed off each other and continue in this cycle that will only grow larger. In the middle of this cycle lies one manipulator: drug addiction. America is seeking relief from all of these issues by diminishing the very source of them; drug abuse. Therefore it would be sensible to apply this method when punishing those involved with illegal drugs; to cut out the major source of the problem. However, police forces continue to crack down on drug abusers that inhabit impoverished communities, while the big drug cartels remain for the most part unscathed. Currently, one out of 100 adults in the U.S. is in jail or prison, 13% of which are charged with a drug related crime, costing tax-paying Americans $6.8 billion per year (GCDP). The stress put on combating large drug trafficking organizations appears to be less strenuous, despite costing Americans almost just as much money. The DEA has seized a reported $1.4 billion in drug trade related assets and $477 million worth of drugs (ONDCP). According to the White House 's Office of Drug Control Policy the total value of …show more content…
The majority of drug abusers do not fit their villainous, despicable stereotype and do not deserve to be branded by the violent offenders that inhabit America 's prisons or to be denied later job opportunities because of poor judgment that plagued their life long before. Yet, we still need to recognize the abuse of drugs as a destructive behavior that needs to be addressed and fixed. Condemning a drug abuser to rot in a cell, only to start using again almost immediately after their release, is wasting the country 's tax money and wasting the valuable life of a citizen. Instead that money needs to be put toward rehabilitation programs and toward making those programs accessible to the addicts through transportation, temporary housing, and other financial and emotional support as it is necessary on an individual basis. However, if these arrangements are met and all the necessary tools for recovery are given and the individual does not comply, the possibility of jail time should still be present to deter the person from continuing down this destructive
It has been said that addiction is the plague of the 21st century. In an age of unprecedented life expectancy and medical breakthroughs, people are dying from both disease and overdose that are self inflicted and the cure is currently out of reach. Implementing progressive ideas such as safe injection sites have been a battle, both for caring social workers and front line emergency workers looking to minimize the health risks associated with risk taking behaviors that inevitably occur with intravenous drug use. While the addicted population currently uses considerable government funding by way of shelter services as well as prison and jail time, safe injection sites are a necessary step in the battle against drug abuse as is a major prevention
Throughout “Chasing the Scream” many intriguing stories are told from individuals involved in the drug war, those on the outside of the drug war, and stories about those who got abused by the drug war. Addiction has many social causes that address drug use and the different effects that it has on different people. In our previous history we would see a tremendous amount of individuals able to work and live satisfying lives after consuming a drug. After the Harrison Act, drugs were abolished all at once, but it lead to human desperation so instead of improving our society, we are often the reason to the problem. We constantly look at addicts as the bad guys when other individuals are often the reasons and influences to someone’s decision in
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.
Bush's “war on drugs”, an extension to Reagon's former battle, had “crowded the courts, filled the prisons, corrupted law officers, compromised ... civil liberties, and criminalized substantial sectors of American society.” 1 In comparison to the leniency experienced in the late 1960s under Nixon where a “specific sub-culture of some 68,088 identifiable heroin addicts” who, subject to arrest for the possession of the heroin, and successfully convicted, were “sentenced to treatment at the federal hospital in Lexington, Kentucy.”2
In 2008, federal, state, and local governments spent about $75 billion on corrections, with the large majority being spent on incarceration (Schmitt). A reduction by one-half in the incarceration rate of nonviolent offenders would lower correctional expenditures by nearly $17 billion per year (Schmitt). The large majority of these savings would benefit the financially squeezed state and local governments. Moreover, state governments contribute about 60 percent, local governments account for around 30 percent, and the federal government contributes the remaining 10 percent towards the national corrections expenses (Schmitt). These overwhelming costs beg the question: Are public funds best spent incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders, or would they be better spent on public safety priorities by incarcerating fewer nonviolent criminals and spending more on education and policing? (Kearney). Because our society is fixated on incarceration, the root of the problem is often ignored. Contrary, the root of the problem must be addressed through focusing on prevention and treatment methods; therefore, the financial burden on our society would diminish. Currently, the societal costs of incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders exceed the benefits. The per capita expenditures on corrections more than tripled between 1980 and 2010, going from an average of $77
This topic is very controversial topic because it deals with a growing body of citizens whose lives have greatly been affected by the United States government drug policies. In order to tackle the problem effectively, we need to look how it relates to economic problems, health issues, the criminal justice system and etc in our communities I look at bureau of justice statistics for statistics on National Drug Budget control, National household survey on drug abuse, prison statistics and book written by scholars on the issue.
The topic of alternate policies to the U.S. Drug War has always been an interesting and thought provoking topic for me. Over nearly the past four decades, the U.S. government, along with state and local agencies, have spent billions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of man hours, and many lives with little to show for stopping the flow of drugs into or the use of drugs in this country. The only true outcome from these expenditures and all of this enforcement are more robust resupply networks, more refined and potent drugs, deepening psychological issues, and alienating specific aspects of American society.
The harsh punishment for drug crimes in the United States of America is not working. “With roughly half a million people behind bars in the U.S. for nonviolent drug offenses, drugs are as plentiful and widely used as ever” (Grenier, 2013). Even with very harsh long sentences and many people imprisoned drug use is as common as ever in America. ‘We cannot close our eyes anymore’ to the cost in human lives destroyed and taxpayer dollars wasted” (Holcomb, 2015). Harsh drug penalties are destroying American citizens lives and is costing a lot of money from taxpayers. “Yet, people who want treatment can often expect to endure an obstacle course just to get help” (Grenier, 2013). The Unites States government is spending a large amount of money on arresting and imprisoning drug users, yet are putting little to no focus on funding drug medical help for
“[The war on drugs] has created a multibillion-dollar black market, enriched organized crime groups and promoted the corruption of government officials throughout the world,” noted Eric Schlosser in his essay, “A People’s Democratic Platform”, which presents a case for decriminalizing controlled substances. Government policies regarding drugs are more focused towards illegalization rather than revitalization. Schlosser identifies a few of the crippling side effects of the current drug policy put in place by the Richard Nixon administration in the 1970s to prohibit drug use and the violence and destruction that ensue from it (Schlosser 3). Ironically, not only is drug use as prevalent as ever, drug-related crime has also become a staple of our society. In fact, the policy of the criminalization of drugs has fostered a steady increase in crime over the past several decades. This research will aim to critically analyze the impact of government statutes regarding drugs on the society as a whole.
There is an epidemic of almost epic proportions in this wonderful nation called the United States. However, this epidemic is not only national; it is worldwide. And because of this epidemic there are other problems in society such as an increase in crime and prison overcrowding. The epidemic is that of Substance Abuse and Addiction. The penal systems of each state house more prisoners due to drug related crimes than any other. The statistics do not lie; they only tell the truth. Treatment instead of incarceration would be beneficial to the addict himself and to society as a whole. Evidence shows treatment would lower the amount of criminal activity due to substance abuse and addiction. Logic shows that if a problem is cured then the consequences of the problem disappear. There are different points of view on the subject of treatment or incarceration for those criminals who are substance abusers. And there are valid points in either argument.
Recently drug addiction in the United States is at an all-time high, especially among teens. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found that teens who abuse prescription drugs are twice as likely to use alcohol, five times more likely to use marijuana, and twelve to twenty times more likely to use illegal street drugs such as heroin, ecstasy and cocaine than teens who do not abuse prescription drugs. Forty five percent of drug overdose deaths, in teens are attributed to the abuse of prescription drugs. The illegal abuse of prescription drugs starts at home in a teen’s own bathroom. Most teens get the prescription drugs from their own medicine cabinet or their unknowing parents. With such alarming facts
Drug abuse is a plague that is taking over the United States; not just the possession of drugs, but also the sale and use of illegal drugs. People in America depend on the stock of drugs as a breakout for a number of reasons. For some, illegal drugs are the only concern they have through past experience. For others, it’s a way to make money and gain more power over their peers. In other words, it’s their way of climbing to the top of the socioeconomic pyramid. Illegal drugs lead to substantial problems such as health issues, death, and murders. Illegal drugs are also becoming an obstacle when coming in and out of the United States via the Mexico border. Anderson and Gardner states, “Illegal smuggling goes both ways on the United States-Mexico
Suffering from an addiction is punishment enough, sending drug addicts to jail is not the solution. Addicts are suffering already by not having a place to stay. Most of the time addicts do not remember where their family is located at and they need help to get better.That is why I am saying that addicts should go to rehab instead of prison.
For many years, people have suffered many devastations about addiction. It has become a common killer in the United States just like murder. Addiction has affected over 23 million people from the age 12 and older. These addictions are wide ranging, they can include alcohol, drugs, sex, video games, food, pornography, and gambling. People like to keep quite because they view this disease as morally wrong. Addicts sometimes shut out their family member because they are afraid of the reaction if anyone knew their problem. The Nation Institute of Drug Abuse states Addiction is as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences.Today in 2016 addiction is spreading across
Illegal drug use is one of the most common problems that affect Americans every day. Joyce B. Shannon (2010) found that, “More than 35 million individuals used illicit drugs or abused prescription drugs in 2007” (p. 11). The impact can be seen in communities of all types, and people with low and high income levels. Drug use is at the root of many problems with our society. Joyce B. Shannon (2010) referenced a survey from 2004 that states, “32% of state prisoners and 26% of federal prisoners” admitted that they were currently serving jail time for offences committed while they were, “under the influence of drugs” (p. 102). The reasoning behind this issue will be explained from a psychological, sociological, and an anthropological perspective including the benefit of an interdisciplinary perspective to grasp the cause of drug use and it’s affect on society.