Drug Abuse Is A Worldwide Problem Essay

Another prevention program is the school-based Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program (D.A.R.E). D.A.R.E. is a non-profit tax-exempt organization that oversees the training law enforcement receives in order to provide education in the schools on drug use. D.A.R.E also markets for the program, licenses merchandise, and conducts assessment and research. D.A.R.E has 4 regional training centers that are funded annually by the U.S. Department of Justice grant. In addition, states receive individual funding from different sources (Cost of D.A.R.E, 2014).

America is wasting money on campaigns that don’t work. D.A.R.E, a program that goes to schools in America, hasn’t made any more progress than giving five dollars to a psychopath murderer. (Vance 1) D.A.R.E. is a program that schools use to explain what drugs do to you, and how they affect your life. A national survey on Drug Use and Health led made by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services says; “Drug

In the United States, the rise in both illicit drug and alcohol abuse is continuing at an alarming rate. In 2009 alone, the United States saw 23.5 million people over the age of 12 needing treatment for drug or alcohol abuse (National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2011). Per the Drug Enforcement Administration, in the same year (2009), almost 32,000 arrests on drug related charges were carried out (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2015). Even with the threat of prison time, and most federal prisons being filled with inmates on drug and alcohol related charges, 46.4% in 2016 the use and abuse of these substances is still on the rise (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2016). Because of this, and the seemingly ineffective incarceration system, the call for

The social problem of addiction is quite prevalent in our society. Many individuals from all different ethnic problems have turned to drugs at some point in their life. Substance use disorder can have compelling ramifications on the health of the abuser, their family and even the communities they live in. In 2012, around 23.1 million Americans aged 12 and older needed treatment for substance use (SAMHSA, 2014). The rate of people that have abused substances ranging from alcohol, pills, Marijuana, Heroin and cocaine etc. has escalated greatly over the years.Many teenagers or even adults aren 't aware of the treatment options and/or they don 't have the necessary funding to receive it. This problem can continue to grow and cause a huge strain on the countries economy

According to Mathea Falco, “Many schools rely on programs which have not been evaluated, or worse yet, have been found to have no impact. In 1988, a review of 350 different school programs found that only 33 had any valid evaluation data, while just three programs reported reductions in tobacco, alcohol or drug use” (qtd. in Rosenbaum). One of the most prolific abstinence based education programs is DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). The program, founded in 1983, places police officers in classrooms to provide training to help youth recognize the dangers of drug use, resist peer pressure to try drugs, and focuses on the importance of avoiding drug use of any kind. In 2002, a study funded by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America found that 48% of the teen population has tried illegal drugs (United States). Abstinence based education programs ultimately imply and teach false information: that a single use of any number of drugs can kill a child or leave them addicted. Once these children enter their teen years, the numbers presented by the Partnership imply that it is likely they are going to be exposed to drugs. Once they try drugs or see others try them, if they do not see the outcomes taught to them as immediately evident, they become mistrustful of all the other information that was taught to them. This renders the entire

Policy should not be focused on trying to combat the drug cartels but rather at fixing drug dependency. Since the 1971 War on Drugs declaration, the U.S. government has thrown money in attempt to combat the supply side of the drug issue. President Reagan increased funding for drug interdiction from $437 million to $1.4 billion but decreased drug awareness and treatment programs from $386million to $362 million. President Clinton allocated $7.8 billion to combat supply and only $5.4 billion for the demand side. Money needs to be allocated in the right place which means investing in the demand side through “education, prevention, and rehabilitation.” Funds need to be allocated to restructure educational programs, such as DARE, in order to deeply impact the minds of America’s youth. Like alcoholism, drug dependency needs to be viewed as a disease which requires a rehabilitation process. The focus needs to be shifted from imprisoning drug users that are in desperate need of help to keeping society healthy. This can be achieved by decriminalizing (not legalizing) drug use. A great example is Holland’s decriminalization of drugs which has led to a significant decline in hard drugs. Additionally, by building up rehabilitation programs, past drug users will be able to enter the workforce and become productive members of society as well as capable and attentive parents. The National Institute on Drug Abuse

In recent years, the United States has seen an enormous spike in drug abuse causing many to start calling it an epidemic, making many question to the way in which the government handles this issue. As many Americans already know the current policy in which the government deals with this situation is known as the war on drugs, which calls for the eradication or prohibition of illegal drug use. This policy enforces stricter punishments, including mandatory sentencing that has maxed out the prison population, and has caused an influx of money to go to drug related agencies to combat the issue. Thus, in theory creating a nation free of all drugs deemed harmful and keeping them away from society along with teaching those who break these laws a lesson in order to deter more drug crime. However, according to many this policy has dramatically failed, this so called “war” has cost tax payers billions, is unfairly implemented, and has put thousands of nonviolent people in prison for years. This issue is in desperate need of reform, instead we need to look at it as a public health issue. In order to deal with all these underlining issues and better support those dealing with addiction the United States government must reform this policy and consider a public health approach instead that could potentially save thousands. We should be helping those suffering from drug addiction not punishing then further by locking them up and throwing away the key.

Drug addiction in this country takes a toll on every single aspect of productivity, healthcare costs and on the criminal justice system. The addict themselves suffer from impaired judgment, poor anger management and violent behavior which could all lead to crimes committed and being locked up (Drugabuse.org,2017). Treatment for the users offers an alternative to imprisonment. Drugabuse.org insists that treatment offers the best alternative for interrupting the drug use and criminal behavior patterns of the offenders (2014). Additionally, untreated drug offenders “are more likely to relapse into drug use and criminal behavior, jeopardizing public health and safety and taxing the criminal justice system.”

D.A.R.E programs are intended to help deter school aged children from using and abusing drugs. When D.A.R.E programs are introduced to schools several steps are involved. The first step is finding

In the United States of America, we, the people value several things, some of which

If the United States is serious about winning the war on drugs, it will have to face some hard facts about the failure of its drug policy to date. Since Reagan introduced the war on drugs in the early 1980s, the focus of anti-drug legislation has been on incarceration and eradication, not on drug education and treatment. Drug use is viewed as a crimethe same way that burglary and murder are viewed as crimeswithout examining the social and economic causes behind drug use. This categorization of drug use as criminal misrepresents the nature of addiction. Drug addicts do not abuse drugs because they are deviant or even because they consciously desire to cause harm to themselves or to those around them, they abuse drugs because they are

During the year 1960, only four million Americans had ever tried illegal narcotics; today that number has risen to 74 million (DEAMuseum). The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) concluded that over the past thirty days, more than 20 million Americans over the age of twelve have used illegal drugs (NCADD). As one of the top health-related problems facing the nation today, the prevalence of drug abuse in society strains the economy, health care system, criminal justice system, and poses a major threat to public safety. This is because once they are hooked on a particular drug; addicts will do whatever it takes to come into possession of more of it. To illustrate that point, a 2004 study conducted by the Department of Justice (DoJ)

Executive Summary America’s most popular anti-drug program D.A.R.E. has created an uproar. The D.A.R.E. program had many issues the main one being its ineffectiveness. How could the most widely used drug prevention program in the United States be deemed ineffective? What went wrong? “The prevention of drug abuse is an especially salient topic for school psychologists and other educational professionals. Schools are the primary setting for providing education and information aimed at the prevention of drug abuse. Previous meta-analyses” (Ennett, et al., 1994; West & O 'Neal, 2004) indicate that one of the nation 's most popular drug prevention programs, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program (D.A.R.E.), was not effective in reducing illicit drug use among youths. Current evaluations have produced an array of evidence showing the effectiveness of the new D.A.R.E. curriculum. Future studies must be conducted to determine if this new curriculum is effective. This analysis will show how this once prosperous program has proven to be so ineffective the D.A.R.E. program ranges from $1 billion to more than $2 billion annually. Despite questions about whether DARE works, it appears the cost will go up by millions even as the program is retooled. the following analysis would include a meta-analysis on why the program was so ineffective what could have been done.

A drug is a chemical substance applied into treating, diagnosing and preventing one from disease infections or a substance that is used by a person to enhance his or her physical and mental state in the perceived effect. Drugs used for different purposes and their effect depend on which cause for usage. It causes both positive and negative consequences directly to the user and in the long-run it affects the whole society or community. Drug addiction is the activity of uncontrollable dependence on a substance by the user no matter the harm caused by its usage. It is a habit that has been in many years hard to curb especially among the youths. “We must recognize that substance abuse and addiction is a disease, not a moral failing or easily abandoned self-indulgence,” (Califano, 2008).The cases of drug abuse have been on the rise over the recent years and resulted in crimes. The cases have a great effect affected the society in general since the reliable energetic youths have turned to drug abuse. However, some measures have been initiated to mitigate, curb and treat drug addiction in the society as outlined in the essay.

Drug abuse is a major public health issue that impacts society both directly and indirectly; every person, every community is somehow affected by drug abuse and addiction and this economic burden is not exclusive to those who use substance, it inevitably impacts those who don 't. Drugs impact our society in various ways including but not limited to lost earnings, health care expenditures, costs associated with crime, accidents, and deaths. The use of licit or illicit drugs long term, causes millions of deaths and costs billions for medical care and substance abuse rehabilitation and the effects of drug abuse extend beyond users, spilling over into the society at large, imposing increasing