Drug policy

large reduction in drug related deaths in the following years, statistics show that use of controlled substances has increased in a number of areas. Health actors in this policy area are very strongly tied to each stage of the policy cycle, including evaluation, and despite some successes, this policy has been evaluated as both positive and negative by different groups of health professionals (Hughes & Stevens, 2010). The final key actor in the drug policy space is the legal group. Under current policies, just under 50% of the US prison population is incarcerated for…

In Elliott Currie’s article, “Toward a Policy on Drugs,” (1993) he expresses drug policy in the United States, and provides evidence to support his beliefs on the matter. Currie (1993) says that the police can only do so much to stop the problem, and that the people must speak up for how they want the problem solved (p. 571). In the first few paragraphs, he states that punishment of drug users is not an effective way to end the drug problem. He goes on to say that we must instead rehabilitate…

associated with implementing a revised Drug-Free Workplace Policy (DFWP). The six steps recommended for implementing the revised DFWP will be listed with the costs associated with each step. The original DFWP is listed in Addendum 1 and a revised DFWP is listed in Addendum 2. Gong and Janssen (2012) believe that organizations must use a business management process to adapt the implementation of policies to the many different stakeholders, the negotiations of options, the lack of overview of…

Drug policies have become somewhat of a hot topic of discussion in Europe and the United States and many other countries all over the world. In many countries, there have been debates about the legalization and control of previously or currently illegal substances, and this could change the dynamic of drug consumption and trafficking in the future. In the European Union specifically, there is no unified drug policy that all of the member states must follow. The law is designed so that individual…

The United States is facing a drug epidemic within its borders. According to the website drugabuse.gov (n.d.), abuse of tobacco, alcohol, and especially illegal drugs has cost $700 billion dollars annually. Illicit drugs in particular are responsible for $11 billion in health care costs annually, and $193 billion in total costs which includes law enforcement, lost productivity, and healthcare. These growing costs and the recent heroin epidemic is prompting lawmakers to look into policy…

agenda, the UK’s drug policy focussed upon the problems arising from drug use, targeting reduction of the harms from disease dissemination and drug related offences. As provision can be accessed through the NHS, treatment has often been provided in a clinical framework of assessments and interventions. However, planned exits from services have not been well managed or measured to prevent relapse. As engagement with recovery groups and the community have not been included in measurements of…

Is the war on drugs a complete failure of a policy that has not deterred drug use, has some racists roots, hurt innocents, ruined lives and is a waste of money? The policy has been in place for over forty years and we are no closer to ending it than we were forty years ago. Has the policy that has cost the United States over a trillion dollars yielded any results? According to an opt-ed by Buchanan, Julian “the war on drug is nothing but a war on drug users.” Even though it was in reference to…

Drug addictions and abuse are not solely an American problem. The drug problem is worldwide. Drug policies vary from country to country and are unique to their specific problems. Each country has developed its own policy in regards to illicit drug use, with varying degrees of tolerance and enforcement towards consumption-related behavior. (Gatto, 1999). Most drug policies across the world are based on a harm reduction, prevention, treatment, and an enforcement type of approach. (Valleriani and…

controlled substances, but each is different when it comes down to their exact definition and their penalties for the illegal substance. The state of Oregon classifies not only the most common drugs like, heroin, cocaine and marijuana as dangerous controlled substances but also the compounds used to create them. While most marijuana offenses are no longer against the law in the state of Oregon, there are plenty of other drug charges that are considered very serious and that are actively pursued.…

Throughout the past few decades, drug courts have emerged as a viable policy option to treat the dramatic increase of drug offenders in the United States (Johnson, Hubbard, & Latessa, 2000). The high prevalence of drug use among offender populations and the increase in the proportion of drug offenders have been well documented (Lindquist, Krebs, & Lattimore, 2006). According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 48.4% of sentenced inmates in federal prison are serving time for drug offenses, as of…