Essay on DrugEd5 Fall 2012

The United States has the world's highest incarceration rate. With five percent of the world's population, our country houses nearly twenty-five percent of the world's reported prisoners. Currently there are approximately two million people in American prisons or jails. Since 1984 the prison population for drug offenders has risen from ten percent to now over thirty percent of the total prison population. Federal prisons were estimated to hold 179,204 sentenced inmates in 2007; 95,446 for drug offenses. State prisons held a total of 1,296,700 inmates in 2005; 253,300 for drug offenses. Sixty percent of the drug offenders in prisons are nonviolent and were purely in prison because of drug offenses (Drug War Facts). The question then arises,

According to the text, what factorshave been major contributors to the demise of the two-parent household?

Use of illegal drugs is harmful to the user and all those with whom the user comes in contact. There are over 40 million illegal drug users in the world today and America is the biggest market for drugs. (Castro 45) There are more drug dealers in this country, than there are dentists. (Wakefield 112) Illegal drug abuse must be stopped; it

Furthermore, Drug control is relevant to disease control. By this, I mean, since the usage of illegal drugs could bring an addict one step closer to an incurable disease, it has been brought to my attention that drug control and disease control have similarities of preventing one another. As you can see, Global War on Drugs may be far from winning to become executed. It’s hard to say that the population of the Earth would agree to such action, but the fact that it saves lives may help them reconsider. After all, drug addicts have brains; therefore, if they want to live life to the fullest, first step they should take would be to refute the continued criminalization of hard drugs.

Drugs are more prevalent today than in any other time in history and proves that other means of

Children, starting as early as elementary school, are being educated on substance abuse. As of 2013, Drug Abuse Resistance Education, D.A.R.E., administers a school-based substance abuse, gang, and violence prevention program in 75 percent of the United States school districts. Since 1983, 70,000 police officers have taught the D.A.R.E. program to approximately 114 million elementary through high school students in the United States alone ("Is the D.A.R.E. Program Good for America's Kids K-12?"). This program is aimed at preventing drug use in elementary, middle, and high school students. A needle-exchange program implicitly encourages the exact opposite message, condoning immoral and illicit behavior. Governments should focus on discouraging drug use, providing more productive treatment for recovery, and punishing drug users instead of supplying the materials to continue their addiction. Young children have the potential to take more risks and must receive a clear message on drugs, which should coincide with the no tolerance policy they are being taught in school with implementation of the D.A.R.E. program. A needle-exchange program is more of a hopeful harm reduction campaign that sends the wrong message to young children and society as a whole. If there is to be a positive change in America regarding intravenous drug use, then the government and school programs all need to be on the same page; we

Policies: “Reducing drugs misuse and dependence” and “Giving all children a healthy start in life”

In October 1982, President Ronald Reagan addressed the nation and promised a “planned, concerted campaign against all drugs, hard soft or otherwise.” The President had two ways he to

Programs that talk about drug and alcohol prevent such as D.A.R.E is funded by this committee. This committee is also responsible for the educational needed of students in the juvenile justice

“In Leading Change 2.0: Advancing the Behavioral Health of the Nation 2015-2018, SAMHSA has identified six Strategic Initiatives on which it will focus to guide the behavioral health system, reduce barriers to employment, education and life goals, social support changes, and promote individual, programs and system level approaches to improve health for substance abuse.” (SAMHSA, 2014). “SAMHSA is committed to addressing the nation’s health disparities by improving cultural and linguistic competence and access to prevention programs that serve diverse groups and communities. Many prevention approaches, such as selective prevention strategies, focus on helping individuals develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills they need to make good choices

Marek Kohn states scientists analyzed study drugs "‘can affect memory with pharmacological agents, but the problem is keeping them safe' Robbins observes, 'because this Inverted-U-shape issue does give you the problem of possible epilepsy, convulsions and so forth'"(Kohn 13) Kohn states this fact to inform students that taking prescription drugs that are not meant for their bodies can lead to mental sickness.  This is a good piece of information because students will understand the effects and hazards they will encounter. Students will hear the legitimate health hazards rather than just being told that the drug is bad for them. If students are warned like this in public safety announcements more students will be less willing to take the drug. Although this statement will not stop students from taking the drug but statements like this can prevent more students from harming themselves. Knowing reasons and logic to an unanswered question is more reasonable because people then do not wonder about the possibilities. Another statement Kohn analyzes is the drug increases focus yet this reduces the ability to control your brain and does not help you do the work on your own in the long run. (Kohn 14) He show’s this fact so show that people get addicted and depend on the drug just like drugs like cocaine. This is very important because then students will understand that this prescription drug

The best way to convey the truth about drugs is to provide evidence based facts that unequivocally support the information deposited into the public arena. The slogan, “Relying on science, research, and evidence to improve public health

Because the authors of the first article bombard the reader with word usage designed as a scare tactic, it ultimately has little effect. This rhetoric could end up backfiring on those who use the article in a drug awareness effort due to blatant lies and half-truths. Not to mention, the authors of the first article are researchers, therefore, the only responsibility is gathering the information without taking a direct stance on the issue. This limits the credibility of the authors, who work for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The author of the second article uses data from the same source as the previous, without the feeling of information shoved down the readers throat. The article has a more realistic approach because every reader can identify with the content. Although there may be some exaggerated points, the article speaks to what people know, therefore, more creditable. To the author’s credit, a recipient of nine teaching awards for drugs and human behavior, leading researcher in psychology and addictions, the Associate Professor of Clinical Science and Director of

These messages can effectively deter first-time drug use and form a vital component of the Truth About Drugs program.

Past History: Smokes ½ a pack of cigarettes per day (since she was a teenager)