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Mental illness and drug addiction
An essay on the effects of drug abuse
An essay on the effects of drug abuse
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Recommended: Mental illness and drug addiction
For several years, including today there have been many attempts to decrease drug use, which if it is not treated usually leads to a higher rate of crime, hence, “the war on drugs”. However, there are only small solutions that may get rid of some few problems temporarily rather than a long lasting solution. By creating harsh sentencing towards illegal drug use, it effects society in the long run. Consequences should be held for those accountable, however, a more realistic approach would be having more facilities not necessarily prison, but rehab homes and centers that are set for drug treatment, mental illness and rehabilitation. An issue that presents itself is combining those with these drug affiliated needs population, alongside convicted …show more content…
Addiction often time leads to an individual’s health declining, their financial security declines. Drug addicts have a hard time keeping a job, which leads to having trouble with the law, and sometimes even leads to being homeless. Drug addiction is a sickness, if it is not being taken serious, and without the right kind of treatment addicts will just find their way back to using, even after they have served their time in prison. The Administration’s National Drug Control Strategy recognizes that addiction is a disease, and that the criminal justice system can play a vital role in reducing the costs and consequences of crimes committed by drug-involved offenders. If drug addicts received proper treatment and proper help needed to overcome the addiction, which will give those individuals a new opportunity to live a clean healthy life, and will contribute to society in a positive …show more content…
About 80 percent of offenders abuse drugs or alcohol (Belenko & Peugh, 1998). Close to 50 percent of jail and prison inmates are clinically addicted to substance abuse (Karberg & James, 2005). The drug courts do their part to keep nonviolent drug offenders in treatments for long periods of time, and they are supervised closely. Rehab patients regularly and randomly tested for drug use, they are required to show up to court and discuss their progress with a judge. If the patients are reporting and doing well they receive some types of rewards. However if rehab patients are meeting their requirements they can also be penalized for not meeting their obligations. Drug courts have been put under a microscope and have been proven to work better than just sending an addict to jail or prison. Drug courts reduce the reported drug use, and they also do it in a cheaper way than any other justice strategy. Drug courts provide the proper balance between the need for treatment and the need for accountability. It is also proven that drug courts are six times more likely to keep drug offenders in treatment long enough for them to actually get better and make a full recovery (Marlowe, 2003). Other benefits from drug courts are that they save taxpayers money, being that they reduce prison costs and trials. The negative side to drug courts is that they are not reaching a large enough population of abusers
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.
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.”
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
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.
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.
In recent years, there has been controversy over mass incarceration rates within the United States. In the past, the imprisonment of criminals was seen as the most efficient way to protect citizens. However, as time has gone on, crime rates have continued to increase exponentially. Because of this, many people have begun to propose alternatives that will effectively prevent criminals from merely repeating their illegal actions. Some contend that diversion programs, such as rehabilitation treatment for drug offenders, is a more practical solution than placing mentally unstable individuals into prison. By helping unsteady criminals regain their health, society would see an exceptional reduction in the amount of crimes committed. Although some
While results from drug courts vary, many report a reduction in recidivism rates, drug abuse, judicial and probation caseloads as well as a reduction in cost (Turner et al., 2002; Goldkamp, White & Robinson, 2001). On the basis of the special- ized drug court model, specialized domestic violence courts builds from two legal philosophies of restorative justice and therapeutic jurispru- dence, assessing the positive and negative effects of the legal system on the social and psychological functioning of individuals and reflects a commitment to providing comprehensive services (Tsai,
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).
Each year the U.S spends billions of dollars to keep federal inmates behind bars. Nearly half of these federal inmates are convicted of drug abuse, and a vast majority of the ones convicted are low-level nonviolent criminals. Keeping these low-level criminals in jail is expensive, and it’s not very helpful because many of them end up going back to jail with higher drug charges. We as a society need to recognize that addiction is worthy of medical help and not just a crime that deserves punishment. Hey, I’m tori smith and today I 'm going to discuss the benefits of using a rehab facility instead of jail for these criminals.
Over the years, drug abuse has been a rising problem in almost every country in the world. Day by day more people are involved in this endless cycle of drug craving, money shortage, and drug related crimes. Congressmen and politicians of United States, seeing this unstoppable crime wave which is about to spread throughout the country, begin to address various kinds of possible solutions to end this crisis in the most efficient and effective way. As discussed in Alan M. Dershowitz's "The Case for Medicalizing Heroin" and Charles B. Rangel's "Legalize Drugs? Not on Your Life," the most popular proposition set forward by growing number of leaders now is to legalize the use of drugs; but will it help solving the problem or make it even worse? I agree with Rangel that in order to end drugs abuse completely, we have to find the root of the problem and use any forces necessary and retain the determination to keep on fighting because it will not be an easy battle.
A prison or jail is a facility in which individuals are forcibly confined and denied a variety of freedoms under the state’s form of discipline. The use of prisons is as part of a criminal justice system, that charge individuals of convicted of crimes and are confined to a jail or prison. “Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical treatment, for dependency on substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines” (Russel). . The reason for the rehab is to allow the patient to delete substance abuse out of their lives, so they can avoid the legal, physical consequences, social financial that can cause major problems. Treatment provides counseling by experts and sharing of experience with other addicts and, also, medication for depression or other disorders. There are also rehab centers that contain meditation and spiritual wisdom in the treatment process. “Drug possession is the crime of having one or more illegal drugs in one's possession, either for personal use, distribution, sale or otherwise” (Trejo). Illegal drugs break into brackets. A sentence varies; they can rely on the quantity, the kind of drug, the circumstances, and the jurisdiction. Those convicted on drug possession charges face a wide gamut of penalties at the sentencing, varying from state to state. Penalties for simple possession range from a fine of less than $100 and/or a few days in jail to thousands of dollars and several years in state prison for the same offense. Straightforward drug possession sentences tend be prone to have less harsh penalties, while if caught distributing drugs or the cultivation/manufacturing of drugs carry much heavier penalties. Prosec...
The felonies that were committed by these drug addicts are usually due to the fact that they want to help fill their cravings for the drug. These drug addicts will commit crimes in order to support their addiction for the present moment. ?An estimated 61,000 (16%) convicted jail inmates committed their offenses to get money for drugs? (?Drug?). This is why when they are caught for committing these felonies and arrested, throwing them in jail is completely pointless. For one, what exactly will a few months or years do to these offenders? The sentence will most certainly not cure them of their addiction. Drug users pose major crime threats by robbing and stealing to support their habits, but treatment provides a greater potential than incarceration for dealing with the underlying addiction that drives t...
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
The link between drug use and crime is not a new one. For more than twenty years, both the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute of Justice have funded many studies to try to better understand the connection. One such study was done in Baltimore on heroin users. This study found high rates of criminality among users during periods of active drug use, and much lower rates during periods of nonuse (Ball et al. 1983, pp.119-142). A large number of people who abuse drugs come into contact with the criminal justice system when they are sent to jail or to other correctional facilities. The criminal justice system is flooded with substance abusers. The need for expanding drug abuse treatment for this group of people was recognized in the Crime Act of 1994, which for the first time provided substantial resources for federal and state jurisdictions. In this paper, I will argue that using therapeutic communities in prisons will reduce the recidivism rates among people who have been released from prison. I am going to use the general theory of crime, which is based on self-control, to help rationalize using federal tax dollars to fund these therapeutic communities in prisons. I feel that if we teach these prisoners some self-control and alternative lifestyles that we can keep them from reentering the prisons once they get out. I am also going to describe some of today’s programs that have proven to be very effective. Gottfredson and Hirschi developed the general theory of crime.
The use of drugs is a controversial topic in society today. In general, addicts show a direct link between taking drugs and suffering from their effects. People abuse drugs for a wide variety of reasons. In most cases, the use of drugs will serve a type of purpose or will give some kind of reward. These reasons for use will differ with different kinds of drugs. Various reasons for using the substance can be pain relief, depression, anxiety and weariness, acceptance into a peer group, religion, and much more. Although reasons for using may vary for each individual, it is known by all that consequences of the abuse do exist. It is only further down the line when the effects of using can be seen.