Drugs And Drug Addictions

To illustrate the magnitude of the research problem and provide a frame of reference, this section begins with a brief overview of the increased use of pharmaceuticals and prescription drug abuse in the US. The section continues with the relationship between illicit drugs and prescriptions, adolescents’ abuse, personal and social factors; then concludes with the theoretical approach. The Social-Ecological Theory, will be applied in researching prescription drug abuse, possible influences and protective factors in adolescents in relation to prescription drug abuse, to develop focused intervention strategies and educational programs for this population, similar to other substances such as tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana.

I believe the War on Drugs continues to be a major issue for this country for a while, but that doesn’t mean we should be seeing the same people in and out of prison. I believe we need to create programs within the criminal justice system to help individuals become successful and get drugs far away from them. Group therapy may be a start for some of these individuals. They can talk about why they became

Their are so many people who use drugs that are sent to jail, in which they do not get any help, they will come out and still have an addiction. Once they get out of jail they will repeat the same offenses over and over. Also, the people being sent to jail for drug use is highly racist. If you look at the numbers between people of darker color being sent to jail for drug use and the percentage of white people who are being sent to jail for drug use, people of color are sent to jail more than whites, and that is not right everyone with a drug addiction should be sent to rehab and not jail or prison.

No one chooses to lose their freedom and self-control, and life to drugs. People who get stuck in that cycle need help more than anything, not to be persecuted, arrested, and forced to hide their actions because it’s criminal. Those people you walk by on the streets and can just tell that they’re high out of their mind, and peg them as just a drug addict, they could be anyone of us. All it takes is to get into a bad place, such as being born into an abusive family, having a misfortune occur in your life that you emotionally cannot withstand, be witness to a traumatic event, or have mental illness go untreated. All these things are entirely out of people’s personal control. The blame the victim attitude of holding addicted people criminally responsible doesn’t do them any good, or act as a deterrent. If you treat people that have drug addictions as someone with an illness, and respond with treatment rather than incarceration, there would be a much higher chance of rehabilitation.

With substance abusers, they require different needs than the non abusers in prison or jails. Some may require some medical help. The medical help could help with withdraws that abusers will face while in jail or prison. They also need to see if there is any underlying mental illness. They also require more time with therapists, and others, since they should seek more time and help. They should also get group based programs, so that some can get the help and guidance they need from other inmates. Since others going through a program can relate more and share their story and how they have

Nonviolent drug abusers have no significantly beneficial rehabilitation programs to fix their addiction and must be placed or forced into programs that are created to repair the broken lives. Simply incarcerating drug abusers does not fix their problems. In most cases it makes their addiction worse. Prisons need to develop better and more extensive rehab programs and although rehab programs are beneficial “Some inmates will refuse to comply with rehab program. Along with not complying they are just

mothers suicide he states, “Eating oatmeal for breakfast, skipping lunch, smoking more and more dope, I’m determined to get her in the water before mid-December, the one-year anniversary of my mother’s death” (Flynn 138) These traumatic life events leave Nick wishing for a altered state of consciousness that is one of the many motives for drug use (Hart and Ksir 19). This motive is shown when he uses drugs after seeing his father sleeping on a bench. Flynn states, “I got high not long after seeing him on the Esplanade” (Flynn 176). This event is another example of Flynn using drugs in emotionally stressful times, which is an accurate portrayal of drug use and drug dependence. This need for a altered state of consciousness is extremely emotionally impactful. Due to this avoidance Nick never emotionally deals with traumatic life events, such as his mothers suicide. This emotional backup is shown when he becomes clean, “I went to meetings once or twice a week, feeling absolutely nothing on the wall over, only to leave feeling wretched. And I couldn’t stop crying. I cried every day for a year, and then the flow lessened” (Flynn 234). Nick’s outpouring of emotion after his sobriety is extremely indicative of the impact drugs were having on his mental state. This need for an altered state of consciousness is also shown when he was in high school, to illustrate, Flynn states, “Without hesitation I answered: I drink to get drunk, feel more myself when outside myself” (Flynn 99).

Many people question whether drug addicts should be sent for treatment in hospitals instead of prisons, Drug addiction is a very serious thing. I believe drug addicts should be treated in a rehabilitation hospital. However if they committed a crime I believe they should go to jail for it depending on the crime.

Prescription drug abuse is an ongoing problem in rural teens. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health suggests that 13% of teens between the ages of 12-17 have experimented with nonmedical prescription drugs at some point in their lives. Researchers have identified several factors linked with nonmedical prescription drug use such as their school enrollment status, history of depression, and a two parent household presence (Gever, 2010).

It’s pointless to criminalize someone who has been doing drugs when they have no record of being a criminal. Unless prisons begin to have programs to help them while they are in jail and when they aren't in jail. But, this isn't the case instead they suffer more and they don't receive help for the mental problem they have. When someone does drugs it alters their mind to the point where they can't even help themselves anymore. According to Dr. Nora Volkow from the film “Chasing Heroin”, “All of these drugs will with repeated administration erode the function of the frontal cortex. The easiest metaphor is driving a car without brakes. You may very well want to stop. If you don’t have brakes, you will not be able to do it.” You can try all you

Many people cope with drug use, abuse, and many inmates who have been convicted on drug offenses deal with addiction as well. The United States has the leading amount of people within the prison system and most are for drug offenses nevertheless, many of those people contend with drug addiction. Drug addiction is a disease that so many cope with; it is reliance on a substance and for whatever reason the addiction continues to take over one’s life and choices. Drug abusers can sometimes see a means to an end when it comes to their drug addiction, whether its alcohol, a hardcore drug like heroin or cocaine, or prescription medication the person will do what it takes to feed their addiction. People have their reasons for why they need to do drugs, it could be to escape their own reality, a coping mechanism, or it could be just because it makes them feel good. Sometimes that need can surpass a person’s better judgement leading to criminal acts being committed because they need to

drug addicts should not be sent to prison because prison gives them the wrong treatment and the system is flawed. See for ex:jersey has been to prison a lots of times for drug . her always come back out the same man a bad bad man.he has told me of the treatment it is basically nothing. There is some shock treatment.

One of the most profound problems that plagues our society is drug addiction. With drug addiction comes those who offend and have run-ins with the law. Our country deals with these drug-addicted offenders by placing them in jails for a year or longer, only to have them come back out to society when their sentence is over. They are still drug-addicts and so they return to the street only to commit yet another crime. From here the cycle of crime, arrest, jail, and return to society continues, solving absolutely nothing. Therefore, placing drug-addicted offenders in jails fails to confront the major problem at hand which is that of the drug abuse. If drug-addicted offenders were placed in drug treatment centers instead of being incarcerated,

Offenders that are frequently arrested for drugs and/ or alcohol should be obligated to participate in a treatment program. Individuals that have a dependency on drugs and or alcohol show a need for treatment programs. On the webpage, Enterhealth: Why Alcohol and Drug Addiction is Considered a Disease, the writers (2008 – 2010) said, addiction is considered a brain disease because alcohol and drugs literally change the brain chemically, structurally and functionally. Scientist have performed researches on rebuilding the brain after it has been abused by drugs and or alcohol. Since treatment programs are not a one size fits all, there is a need for different types of treatment program. Inside of these treatment programs the offender will learn the skills and gain tools they need to apply to everyday life.

Drugs are a huge problem in the US there are hundreds of people currently addicted to drugs in some states alone and we are trying to solve this problem and whenever a drug addict is caught they are usually sent to prison, tons of people sent to prison when it's not even the best option. Currently, people are completely unaware that rehab is a much better option than prison for drug offenders because it is both economically superior and helps addicts reintegrate into society.