Persuasive Essay On Drug Abuse

Many different states have begun sending nonviolent drug offenders to various kinds of drug treatment program the state offers. By doing this, it has significantly reduced the problems with overcrowding. If an individual is arrested and charged with simple possession of a drug and no other crime is being commented, then this person is doing no harm to anyone else. They should be given the opportunity to try and make a change in their life and beat the addiction. Instead, if this person is thrown into jail, they are still going to be an addict with a criminal record now and will not be able to be a contributing member of society. (Everett 1 ).

With California jails and prisons still struggling with finding a reform for non-violent drug offenders the states recidivism rates continue to reach unprecedented numbers. Between 1983 and 1998, drug admissions to state and federal prisons increased sixteen-fold, from over 10,000 drug admissions in 1983 to almost 167,000 new prison entries for drug offenses in 1998 (Worrall et al, 2009). This has been a direct result of our legal system incarcerating offenders who have substance abuse related issues instead of providing a way for treatment or rehabilitation outside of incarceration. Through public policies regarding criminal justice interventions that address drug use and crime, an initiative was created to provide treatment services

This report starts off with an overview of drug courts are, then moves into the overall problem with drug control in the United States. They talk about the history and the rise in drug offenses during the 1980’s causing the prison populations to rise. When comparing the rise of drug offenses, they found it was both state and federal level. The growth of drug offenses became approximately one in every 198 persons was incarcerated. About nine years later, the first drug court was established. Courts, jails, and prisons were seeing a pattern with the number of low level repeat drug offenders and street dealers starting to cause problems with overcrowding . The drug court movement was a shift from law enforcement’s emphasis on reducing drug use.

Currently, America incarcerate a higher percentage of its citizens than any other industrialized nation in the world. The negative impact of addiction to alcohol and drugs on American culture and society is inescapable. Although various treatment models have been developed and implemented over the years, a monumental number of people struggling with substance dependence continue to be under treated. Whereas, many people are questioning the criminalization people face because they ingest or consume drugs, for the most part, the criminal justice system focus more on incarceration instead of rehabilitation for the offenders and addicts.

Between 1990 and 1999, individuals who were convicted of a drug crime rose past 100,000, which accounted for 20 percent of our nation’s increased prison population (Lurigio, 2008). Between 1995 and 2003, the number of drug-related offenders constituted the largest increase of criminals in our nation’s prison population (Lurigio, 2008). In 2004, approximately 50 percent of state prisoners were known to be substance abusers or have drug dependency (King & Pasquarella, 2009). During these years, drug offenders were crowding dockets, prisons, and nearly the entire criminal justice system (Lurigio, 2008). Due to the expensive cost of handling such cases and the difficulty of changing the habits of drug abusers, community based programs were introduced to slow the drastic increase of drug-related incarcerations (Lurigio, 2008). According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Americans owed nearly 32 billion dollars toward criminal justice expenses, 31 billion dollars toward lost productivity, and three billion towards property damage in 1998 (King & Pasquarella, 2009). These chain of events built the foundation for Drug Treatment Courts (DTC) here in the United States. The origin of the first-ever drug court was located in the 11th Judicial Circuit in Miami-Dade County, Florida in 1989 (King & Pasquarella, 2009). DTC programs maintain

The use of illegal drugs is most often perceived by society as purely negative. As in, individuals who partake in the illegal activity and are caught deserve to be punished and serve their time in jail. Now, this solution may aid in keeping criminals away from society for the time they are serving but it does not help dramatically reduce the likelihood that these individuals will relapse into their drug addiction once they are out. Drug and substance abuse should be perceived as public health and safety crisis rather than a moral dilemma. Therefore, the criminal justice system needs to implement a treatment program that goes along with a drug user’s jail time to increase the chances that they will become actual functioning and contributing members of society.

Punishment is not the only way that we currently deal with criminals. Rehabilitation is another form of justice used , although it is not used as much as it should be. It seems like most people believe incarceration is a form of rehabilitation, when in-fact it isn’t and more and more criminals are no longer scared of prison. There are many forms of rehabilitation such as drug treatment, community service and mental institutions. The most common of these rehabilitation’s is Drug Treatment. In 2013 there were 210,200 inmates serving on drug related crimes (BJS, 2014, p.16) By helping these offenders to quit doing drugs, we can reduce the number of drug related crimes in the future.

Currently, drug courts have been proven to be successful at reducing recidivism of offenders. In the United States there are about 120,000 people receiving help in order to rehabilitate them and to try to reduce the chances of recidivism (Office of National Drug Control Policy, 2011). These programs require individuals to participate in the programs for a minimum of one year. During this year the individuals are required to appear in court and be drug tested at

In the United States of America, there is prescription drug abuse epidemic that continues to be a growing concern. Prescription drugs cause a large amount of overdoses and result in an abundant amount of deaths each year. A government study conducted shows this epidemic is scarily on the rise, “A recent government study found a 400% increase in prescription drug abuse between 1998 and 2008” (Schreiner 531). The excessive use of prescription drug abuse is leading to nonmedical use of the drugs, and creating addiction. Furthermore society is paying an extreme amount of money in this battle. With this drug abuse on the rise, legislators must create a law preventing doctors and pharmacists from over prescribing prescription medications as well a law to require they both participate in drug monitoring programs to prevent drug abuse. Now is the time that doctors and the pharmaceutical industry must be held accountable for their role in causing one of America’s worst addictions. The over medication of prescription drugs in the United States must be brought to an end by legislators creating laws to stop

It seems like that drug related crimes are becoming more and more popular in America. In the land of the brave and the free, there is a stagnating statistic of 1 in 100 U.S. citizens are confined in jail or prison due to a drug related crime. (Drugs and Crime in America. (n.d.). Retrieved December 15, 2015). Since this is such a big deal in America these days, it is important for the justice system to take the right approach in preventing or even decreasing the amount of drug related crime in the U.S. There is a range of options that that the justice system can do in the fight against drugs. For starters, harsher punishments can be a step in the right direction. Other than being more strict on offenders, education is also a great way to fight

Incarcerating non-violent criminals with a substance use disorder does not address the issue of safety in the community. It continues the cycle of poverty, weakens employment opportunities, damages relationships, worsens psychological and mental illnesses and is also responsible for continued or increased drug use. Alternatives to prison, specifically restorative justice, does not alleviate overcrowding but changes the focus from isolation and punishment to reintegration. Implementing corrective sanctions within a community instead of a process of isolation from it, offers a better long-term protection for society.

The American criminal justice system is far from perfect and recently there has been an outcry from many in the nation demanding that the system receive an overhaul to increase efficiency, remove prejudicial practices, and adopt a more rehabilitative stance. One area in which I believe the criminal justice system has failed is in the treatment of those addicted to illegal substances. I propose that offenses related to the recreational use of illegal drugs be handled by the public health system and not the criminal justice system.

20 million is half the population of the state of California. 20 million people currently work and live in Tokyo. 20 million viewers stream into the National Dog Show every year (“Our Drug Culture”). When the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health was distributed, 20 million Americans over the age of 12 admitted to using illegal drugs in the month preceding the survey. With this astonishingly high number, it can be inferred that the current punishment in place for recreational drug users - jail time - does not fix the issue of drug addiction that the United States currently faces. Although advocates for sentencing non-violent recreational drug users to jail claim that imprisonment will lower both crime and overdose death rates, the United States government should instead sentence drug offenders to time in rehabilitation facilities.This would guide users towards a sober lifestyle and end the ongoing cycle between drug use and imprisonment.

Over ten thousand people were arrested for drugs in Washington, and many of those people were arrested several times. Starting in 2012, Seattle started a new program called LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion). The program connects people struggling with addiction with an officer who directly helps them get the treatment and service that they need to become sober. The LEAD program is beneficial because it doesn’t waste time and money on court hearings and jail time. People who choose to participate in the program are not threatened with jail time. For years now, the United States has been in a war against drugs and drug use has not seen a significant decrease. Drugs are just as easily obtained and our society has decided to punish and reject millions of people with a real problem. A solution that has been offered is to stop viewing addiction as a crime. Putting people in jail may be ineffective and more expensive than the services and treatments that can help them. Treating people with drug

A time I caught someone deceiving me would be quite recently when I caught my best friend lying about a substance abuse she has battled for over a year now. I have had many friends whom have dealt with a substance abuse issue during the epidemic our country has battled with, as well as before it begun. With this experience, it isn't difficult for me to pick up when she lies to me about her abuse. She is not a person in authority, the deception has been an encounter with my best friend since it had begun. Deception is defined in Floyd's Interpersonal Communications Textbook as, "According to communication researchers, deception occurs when a speaker transmits information knowingly and intentionally for the purpose of creating a false belief in the receiver," (Floyd, page 384). It is difficult to understand why a user lies about their use, as well as feeling the need to find reasoning behind using to make it seem as if they just mislead the receiver. As stated in Floyd's Interpersonal Communications Textbook, a couple relatable reasons to this situation that a person would deceive is, "Some lies make you look better," or "Some lies help you avoid punishment," (Floyd, page 389). Victims of substance abuse a lot of the time are torn between wanting to get better and refusing to, which can lead them to lie about using to make themselves look better, or to avoid punishment whether it be criticism, verbal punishment, etc. When the sender sends this type of message to the