Drug Abuse And Its Effects On The Criminal Justice System

Research has found that teenagers who used cigarettes were twelve times more likely to graduate to marijuana use. A similar study conducted by Denise Kandel (1992) revealed that use of marijuana affects dopamine levels in the brain in a similar way to nicotine. Cigarette smoking facilitates consumption of other substances. Smoking cigarettes initiate juveniles into the sensation of drug inhalation, which desensitizes them from the feeling of smoke clouding their lungs. This paper finds that marijuana pervades the life of a juvenile tobacco smoker. Teenagers who smoke cigarettes

Three decades from now, T.L.O., a student at a New Jersey High School was caught smoking in a school restroom, and was brought to the assistant principal’s office. The 14-years-old teenager denied smoking, so the assistant principal persisted in searching her purse and found cigarettes, and rolling paper which is associated with marijuana (T.L.O. vs. New Jersey). Nothing has changed since then. If you look a little closer, you can see teenagers lying around doing drugs here and there. They are no longer determined to succeed in life; instead all they can think about is where the next supply of cocaine will come from. What has our future come to? Research done by scientists and other professionals provide evidence that substance abuse by teenagers is an ever-growing problem due to teen’s poor judgement, it’s irreparable damage, and inability to compete with drug addiction.

In order to pay for drug use, teens engage in criminal behavior, motor vehicle theft, and breaking-and-entering offenses (University of Washington ADAI). Teen Marijuana users need money to pay for drug use, and in order to obtain money, teens engage in problematic behaviors. There are also legal aspects when selling, using, or possessing marijuana, involving fines, jail time, and possibly a criminal record (Teens Health 2). Teen marijuana users’ problematic behaviors involving the law can lead to consequences, sometimes with the potential to damage the teen’s future. Laws against growing, possessing, and selling marijuana exist in all states but Washington and Colorado (2). Over 7.2 million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges since 1990, many of which were teenagers (NORML). Marijuana association damages the lives of many teens who get caught engaging in marijuana associated problematic behaviors. The problematic behaviors associated with teen marijuana use can potentially damage not only a teen’s future, but also society.

Does only the juvenile drinking or drugging up suffer, or do others get involved? The answer is, not only do the users suffer, but so do their family, friends, and the community. However, due to the rise of juvenile's becoming involved in substance abuse, the juvenile justice system has resulted in an increased burden. Over the past fifteen years, the fad of drug use among kids has steadily been increasing.

if you had to look at all the juvenile delinquents in our society and guess what the most common crime is what would your guess be; theft, vandalism, assault, battery, murder? These would all be good guesses but are in fact incorrect. Drum roll please, and the correct answer is substance abuse, also known as drug use. The biggest issue that our communities are facing is our juveniles using drugs and this leading into the more severe violent crimes. “In 1997, courts with juvenile jurisdiction disposed of nearly 1.8 million cases nationwide for delinquency alone representing over one million individual juveniles who came into contact with the court that year. Many of these youth have alcohol, drug, or mental health (ADM) problems” (Breda, August 14, 2004, p. 3). 1.8 million Cases of drug related cases are a clear indicator of where our juvenile’s problems begin. The biggest issue that this creates is that the alcohol and substance abuse that surrounds our youth has been proven to be a gateway into more serious crimes. “

Research shows that as many as three-fourths of all Georgia inmates have drug or alcohol addiction. Should we continue to incarcerate these non-violent offenders or divert them away from the prison system and into special courts. I believe the drug courts will be a good addition to our sentencing system because it will free up law enforcement resources to fight violent crime. Georgia has been treating the symptoms of addicted and mentally ill prisoners, criminal behavior, rather than treating the root cause of those symptoms. As a result, spending on corrections has skyrocketed, with corrections becoming the biggest driver in state budgets.

In my opinion both issues are problematic for juvenile justice, however the most pressing problem for the juvenile justice system would have to be drugs rather than gangs. Although drugs and gangs are very common and available in various neighborhoods and environments, drugs cause more of a problem for juvenile justice because an individual will more than likely try a drug at a young age, before joining a gang. Drugs are also over-all no matter what city or state. Gangs are everywhere as well, however they are more prominent in large cities like Los Angeles and Chicago. Drugs are also the main contributors to delinquency or committing a crime.

In today’s society there is an enormous amount of research being conducted throughout the world. A great many of those studies are occurring on Universities and campuses, in this paper, analysis of one such study will be reviewed. The article is an evaluation of a Juvenile Drug Court Program in Lexington, Kentucky. The data that is coming from the Bureau of Justice suggests that juvenile courts process a higher volume of cases today than at any time in the past (Hayden, 2012) These statistics represent the trend in persistently high rates in use of illegal substances among adolescents in the United States and subsequent juvenile court involvement.

The effects of marijuana on the undeveloped minds of teenagers include an impairment in concentration and the ability to retain information. This poses an extreme hindrance to learning and can potentially tarnish the intellectual ability of a promising young man or woman. This has been depicted in studies as students with an average grade of D or below were four times more likely to have used marijuana compared to students with an average grade of A. Another fallacy about marijuana and its perceived “harmlessness” is that it is a non addictive drug. This again, could not be farther from reality. “Of the 7.1 million Americans suffering from illegal drug dependence or abuse, 60 percent abuse or are dependent on marijuana” (The impacts of marijuana use). Although we are led to believe this drug can be used once and forgotten, it is a concrete fact that more than half of all americans addicted to an illegal drug are dependent on marijuana. On top of this “more young people are now in treatment for marijuana dependence than for alcohol or for all other illegal drugs combined” (The impacts of marijuana use). At this point the question shouldn’t be whether or not marijuana is an addictive drug, but rather is there anything more addictive than marijuana. Finally, an old theory that the new pro marijuana culture is trying to dispel is that marijuana is not a gateway drug, or a drug that leads to usage of other drugs. According to a study done by the Journal of the American

With the legal age to use marijuana being 21 now, we see a push to lower it because it is “just a plant” and a “harmless high” with many people saying “there are worse things I could be doing.” We know there are accurate studies showing what can happen to a juvenile brain when exposed to marijuana, and we need to be able to teach youth about the risks. We should also focus on parents using marijuana legally and how that can impact the juvenile. Juveniles are more likely to do something if it is available and their parents are doing it. The best example of this is with alcohol because if it is available, a child can take it. With marijuana, it can be in many forms, you can smoke it or eat it as candy or in something like brownies or cookies. This can be dangerous because if a child sees a brownie on the counter, they may or may not know what is in it, and take

Among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, 9.8 % are estimated to be current users of illicit drugs, with 4.9 % using drugs other than marijuana. Nearly three quarters of students have started to drink alcohol and nearly half (47%) have tried using an illicit drug (not including alcohol or tobacco) by the senior year of high school.” (Hassan, Harris, Sherritt, Van Hook, & Brooks, 2009)

More specifically, marijuana is the most frequently reported illicit drug used by adolescents in the United States (King, K.A., Vidourek, R.A., Meriano, A.L., 2015).” Marijuana can be used in different forms such as: cigarette forms, pipes, hookahs and edibles. Edibles can come in fruit bites, cereal bars, candy, cookies, and brownies. These typically catch children’s eyes, and you can’t tell the difference. So we have to take the parents actions into consideration and think of the child’s overall welfare.

Even though it is illegal if the drug abusers have not been caught they will continue to use the drug and use others. Many adolescences experiment with marijuana due to curiosity and peer pressure studies have shown that the use of marijuana at a young age causes the adolescences to want to try more dangerous narcotics such as cocaine and heroin. An article titled “Evidence That Marijuana Is a Gateway to other Illicit Drug Use” by Joseph Gfoerer, Li-Tzy Wu, and Michael Penne states that, “the highest prevalence of use of heroin, cocaine, and psychotherapeutics in the lifetime was noted among those who initiated marijuana before they were 15 years old. With many young people trying strong narcotics illegally it is no surprise that other young people will also become more apt to try these heavier drugs. The article, “Marijuana is a Dangerous Drug for Teens” by Joseph Calfifano discuses why marijuana is so dangerous for teens and how the gateway effect plays part in this problem. The article states that marijuana use is a “signal of trouble”, the troubles include lack of growth, focus, and motor skills. He also brings up the gateway effect in the article the statistics he uses include, “Twelve to seventeen year olds who smoke marijuana are eighty five times more likely to use cocaine than those who would not.” These statists are very strong in

Teenagers who are involved with peer pressure face many challenges with his or her own decision-making. Teens may be going through a phase of peer pressure and not even notice that they are being pressured (Peer Pressure 1). The peers who

With current drug policies and regulations affecting the whole community; it is leaving a devastating impact on teenagers and children. Unfortunately, the “Just Say No” method is not working for the teenagers of today. The defenders of this failed attacked on the war on drugs say, “We cannot discuss alternatives to prohibition because it would send the wrong message to the kids” (Cummings). Despite decades of DARE programs with the simplistic "Just Say No" message, “50% of teenagers will try marijuana before they graduate” (Miles). Young people also feel the brunt of marijuana enforcement, and make up the majority of arrests. Many of the youth see little danger in the use of marijuana. Suprisingly, it has been easier to find and purchase than