In Timothy Williams’ article, “Opioid Users are Filling Jails. Why Don’t Jails Treat Them?”, the methods through which the criminal justice system deals with drug addiction are discussed. By examining how a former drug addict, Dave Mason, dealt with his heroin detoxification process whilst incarcerated, it becomes quickly apparent how jails and prisons may end up encouraging many people to relapse. With the recent national emergency declaration on opioid abuse, there is no doubt any question on how opioid use is becoming a major issue in American society. Therefore, it is necessary to question why many jails and prisons have yet to implement or even allow drug treatment programs, such as the methadone treatment program Mr. Mason completed.…
A lot of people who become physically and mentally dependent on drugs commit statutory, inchoate, property or even personal crimes in order to obtain drugs. The article “Lindsay Lohan Biography” states, “On May 26, 2007, Lohan was arrested after crashing her Mercedes-Benz into a tree in Beverly Hills. She was arrested again July 24 in Santa Monica after she allegedly engaged in a car chase with the mother of her former personal assistant. In both cases, Lohan was found in possession of small amounts of cocaine.” In other words, this article is expressing how drug abusers commit more crimes than just the standard possession and sale of drugs.…
While reading Brave New World, I noticed that in order to achieve a hedonistic society like the one apparent in Brave New World, drug use has to play a big part in society. While drug use is embraced by Brave New World, it is a growing problem in today’s world. It is something that affects millions of lives daily and degrades mental health. Opioids, especially are a huge problem in today’s world. About 116 people die a day from opioid-related drug overdoses.…
Former president Barack Obama boldly mentioned that the issue of drug abuse was seen through the eyes of the criminal justice system. This prison industrial system’s drug issue causes a ripple effect of people not being able to function or take control of their lives once again. Americans victims with opioid abuse disorder need this label in lieu of being referred as heroin junkies or addicts in order to softer the language to decrease the shame and negative stigma these victims receive. Unfortunately, America is still the world’s top consumer of illicit drugs.…
Substance abuse is a very concerning area in the United States. Society does not understand why or how other people become addicted to drugs. In reality, drug addiction is a complex disease, and quitting takes more than good intentions or a strong will. Our group decided to do our project on substance abuse because drug use is on the rise in this country. There is approximately one in every 10 Americans over the age of 12 that are addicted to alcohol and drugs; almost equal the entire population of Texas (“Results from the,” 2014).…
`The Trauma, Mental Health and Offending Histories of Women in Jail: Results of a Multi-State U.S. Study was a study funded by the bureau of justice assistances conducted by Joanne Belknap and her research team which consisted of four Ph.D. psychologists from a wide range of institutions and a team of brilliant graduate and undergraduate students from various universities as well. In the study the main research questions were addressing the following concepts: current lifetime prevalence of serious mental illness(SMI), lifetime exposure to violence and adversity(trauma), to what extent does serious mental illness co-occur with PTSD and substance use disorder(SUD), the level of impairment associated with serious mental illness in women offenders,…
Within the walls of prison, most addicts or marketers will return to their same habits. If our Public Health system treated the matter of illegal drugs, they would evaluate the unique situation as it applies to the health of the communities and the health of the defendant. Although a select number of prison sites hold rehabilitation for addicts, the nurses and psychiatrists can not be judged as a proper fit for individuals. The APHA can diagnose patients and record the progress of individuals with alcohol addiction as well as the patients who suffer drug addiction. Addiction is a clouded judgement and the victim’s desire for such substance(s), because of the side effects.…
“Then the Feds made distinctions between people who sold powder cocaine and crack cocaine — even though they were the same drug. Only difference is how you take it,” Jay Z says. “And even though white people used and sold crack more than black people, somehow it was black people who went to prison. The media ignored actual data. To this day, crack is still talked about as a black problem.”…
Opioids and Incarceration Incarceration of individuals is rapidly rising and the “war on drugs” has targeted opioid addicted users with no other ways of treatment other than jail time. Opioids are widely used for people with legitimate problems and the easy accessibility is making it possible for people of all ages and race to get a hold of. The crisis of opioid epidemic is only getting bigger along with the jail population. Anything from Xanax to Codeine can be easily attainable for the purposes of getting high. Another that is illegal, is heroin.…
substances (Finkelstein, 1994). With regards to this policy, perhaps instead of looking at cause of substance abuse in general, it is more beneficial to look at the reasons why the substance abuse continues to happen during a woman’s pregnancy. There are many barriers one may face in deciding to fight addictions. However, women, particularly pregnant women, seem to face many more than their male counterparts. One such way in which pregnant women have a barrier to treatment is the limited number of facilities that serve pregnant women.…
Nevertheless, while drug offenses may be the largest offense women are incarcerated for and have substantially suffered distressing effects from, there too are other reasons that have an effect on their well-beings emotionally and physically while behind bars. Others issues stem from HIV and STD’s, to mental health issues, to physical or sexual abuse from previous and current occurrences, to family violence, separation from children and even pregnancies in prison. Mental health encompasses a majority of the issues women in prison experience. In fact, majority of the mental health problems are a result of trauma connected with previous involvements of physical and sexual abuse, thus likely resulting in these women developing multifarious…
Available Treatments for Substance Abuse One major problem plaguing women in prison is the use of illegal substances from alcohol all the way to hard drugs like heroin. Researchers Harrison and Beck in a 2001 study found that 20 percent of all incarcerated women had been imprisoned for illegal substance abuse (Treatment Improvement Protocol). In a related study researchers concluded that 75 percent of all women incarcerated had a history of lifetime substance abuse or dependence disorders (Treatment Improvement Protocol). This has caused prisons throughout the United States to incorporated programs that helps these women cope with the problem of substance abuse. Women that get incarcerated for substance abuse will sometimes be placed into programs towards the end of their sentence.…
Drug and alcohol abuse is one of the most important social issues in this novel. Drug abuse refers to the excessive or addictive use of drugs for nonmedical purposes (“Drug Abuse,” 2015). Drug use can become a social problem when an individual becomes impaired through drug-taking behavior (Busse & Riley, 2008, p. 21). Drug and alcohol abuse lead to many serious consequences. The emotional, physical, social, psychological, and intellectual health of many children and adults are impaired and damaged by drug abuse (“Drug and Alcohol Abuse,” 2014).…
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.…
One important problem that has been rapidly increasing among our society today is drug addiction. The earlier in an individual’s life that drug abuse begins, the more likely they will be to become addicted. Substance use in teens and young adults turns into a pattern of unsafe behaviors, including; unsafe sex, driving under the influence, etc. Taking drugs lessens the feeling of distress and most people abuse. Drug addiction can set back the user from achieving their goals, it’s important to make wise decisions to have a successful future.…