Treatment vs. Incarceration for Opioid Abuse There are more than 15 million Americans that suffer from opioid abuse disorder (WHO,2014). This paper looks at treatment options verses incarceration. Out of the 2 million people in federal and state prison more than one-quarter of them suffer from drug abuse (Common Sense for Drug Policy, 2016). What is more astonishing is that most of them do not receive the treatment they need to recover from their opiate addiction.…
As of 2016, there are 7.4 billion people on the planet. Of that 7.4 billion, the United States accounts for roughly 321 million people. Would it surprise you, that although the U.S is home to less than 5% of the world’s population, we have 25% of the world’s overall incarcerated population? Our country has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Michelle Alexander writes in her book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, that the impact of the drug war has been astounding.…
“The nation has bigger problems to face; a war on drugs should be the least of the government’s worries” (Ferrari). There are actual wars, poverty, and much more for the nation to be concerned about. While the abuse of drugs is a problem, it has been a problem for a long time and the nation has been trying to fight it. However, as of right now the fight is accomplishing incredibly little in the attempt to rid the nation of drugs. Perhaps the nation should focus more on the bigger issues and step back from the fight that has been going on for far too…
America has had an ongoing problem with drug epidemics, we are currently in the middle of a country-wide heroin epidemic. To slow or stop the epidemic we need to look back on our past drug epidemics, specifically the cocaine epidemic, for it is relatively modern. During the cocaine epidemic, America and the people in it did some things well, but also a lot of things bad. The only way for us to move forward is to look back and learn. We need to check ourselves right now for what we have already done in the epidemic and make sure we are not making the same mistakes.…
The United States government has been campaigning on the prohibition of drugs for nearly a century. President Richard Nixon declared the “War on Drugs” in the 1970s. It was evident his administration wanted to shift the public perception of drugs by demonizing all drugs and campaigning on the dangers of drug use, which later lead to major anti-drug bills during the 19080s and 1990s. For years, our society has been taught that drugs have negative consequences that causes drug users to commit crimes. As a result of the stigmatization of drugs, we are faced with the challenges of changing the mindset that drug addicts are not criminals, but instead their addiction is a disease that requires medical attention, not criminalization.…
As of the 21st century, regulatory laws have impacted our daily activities and lives. Regulatory laws are regulations that set out certain requirements on what is legal or illegal. The Impact of Regulatory Law on American Criminal Justice- Are there too many laws? by Vincent Del Castillo provides an overview of the results of having regulatory laws. While the book talks about a variety of topics, we will mainly focus on illegal drugs, guns, the police, and also the societal consequences.…
According to Al-Khatib, a writer for Discovery News, the United States has just five percent of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s prisoners. While prisons did not gain popularity until America was established as a country, the mass incarceration most see today is a relatively recent phenomenon. (Al-Khatib). Mass incarceration is defined as the imprisonment of a large number of people. Although this may seem beneficial, the prison system is very heinous.…
When it comes to mental illnesses, it is expected that the afflicted person receive help in order to combat their illness. You might expect the same for drug addiction but in cases including illegal substances, the “treatment” is anything but helpful. In the many readings we have had, it was brought up frequently that drug usage was a symptom of the current lifestyle separated from nature most of the human population lives. This lifestyle was described multiple times as being one that is confining or captivity we forced on ourselves. So it really doesn’t make much sense to be responding to the problem of drug offenses in America with prison sentences and few ways to treat the addiction that got the offenders there in the first place.…
In April 2011, President Obama addressed the issue in the White House position paper, Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis. The Obama administration announced it would seek legislation-requiring doctors to undergo training before being permitted to prescribe potent narcotics (Smith 68). The current most popular solutions at any level have included solutions such as requiring physicians to gain certification of training in addictive mediation and applying a system of monitoring for those who are prescribing and being prescribed these medications. There have been more spins offs of these two ideas as well, such as harsh punishment for diving under the influence of these drugs. The FDA is currently undergoing investigations of how they can productively address the opioid abuse in America, “taking action to protect patients from serious harm due to these drugs, [finding a] careful balance between continued access to these necessary medications and stronger measures to reduce their risks.”…
It is clear to everyone that the prison system is broken, yet most people choose to ignore this by just overlooking what is happening in prisons around the nation. It is known that the United States has the most prisoners of any developed country in the world. According to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) about 25% of the US population is in prison, jail, or under parole or probation. (“Criminal Justice Fact Sheet”). Because of these high numbers we can certainly say that the prison system is ineffective.…
Drug use and abuse has been a major concern to the society for a long a time. There are myths and facts about drug abuse. Many people have been having misconception on the truth about drug abuse. This has led to many people, both old and young, to continue abusing drugs and substances. With drug abuse becoming more common in our society, many scholars have been trying to explain reasons that make people, especially young people abuse drugs.…
You are able to name more than fifty different types of drugs that are being used illegally or even legal. Drugs may not only have effects on the body but will also have a big effect towards the brain in so many different ways. The abuse is able to get fixed by just doing treatment or even going to a rehab center. However, while doing this many will feel horrible withdrawals. Nobody should be in the position in which they are using drugs to ease their pains away.…
All throughout the country, there has been a controversial discussion on the subject of how prisons should be used. People are arguing if prisons should be used for punishment or should prisons be utilized to rehabilitate the inmates? There are many people that think that punishment is the best answer because these criminals need to be taught a lesson for what they have done; although I would argue that this is not completely true. When criminals are punished it only makes them more hostile and anxious, which does not lead to any improvements for these inmates (Day).…
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an estimated 20 million Americans aged 12 and older have used an illegal drug in the past 30 days. The fact that drugs are illegal does not stop people from doing them or purchasing them. People also abuse alcohol and get addicted to it knowing the risk. People are fully away of both risk of these two and how addictive, but do care. Drugs are worse than alcohol the consequence of drugs are severe depending on what drug it is and if the person uses it often.…
Due to this, America has been losing in the drug war, unable to stop people from using, while incarcerating these individuals giving them a record and minimal chances to find work…