Persuasive Essay On Drug Abuse

Meet Aaron Short. A 26 year old average male who lives with his beloved mother, father and little sister in Hoppers Crossing. Young and in love. Making plans for the future. As perfect as this life sounds, Aaron’s happiness is not so clear cut. In August 2015, Aaron experienced a tragic relapse in his addiction to heroin. It was this drug that took Aaron’s life in a fatal overdose later that month. What is even more heartbreaking is that Aaron is not alone. Aaron joins thousands of other Melbournians who are stuck in hopeless drug addictions, with limited resources available to save their lives. So what can be done even begin to tackle such a problematic and sensitive issue? It starts with a trial. A trial for a supervised drug injecting room in Melbourne. As concerning as this may sound, if we want to save the lives of helpless victims, reduce criminal activity and protect our community, we must keep an open mind and unite as a community to urge the government to introduce a trial.

The way the criminal justice system should handle crimes has always been a debated subject. For over the last forty years, ever since the war on drugs, there are more policies made to be “tough on crime”. From then, correctional systems have grown and as people are doing more crimes, there are plenty of punishments for them. In the mid 1970’s, rehabilitation was the main concern for the criminal justice system. It was common that when someone was convicted of a crime, they would be sentenced to prison but there would also be diagnosed treatments to help them as well. Most likely, they would have committed a crime due to psychological problems. When they receive treatment in prison, they can be healed and would not go back to their wrong lifestyle they had lived before. As years have gone by, people thought that it was better to take a more punitive stance in the criminal justice system. As a result of the turnaround of this more punitive criminal justice system, the United States now has more than 2 million people in prisons or jails--the equivalent of one in every 142 U.S. residents--and another four to five million people on probation or parole. The U.S. has a higher percentage of the

The primary goal of the Proposition 36 program is to divert substance using offenders from likely incarceration into the community where they can access and benefit from substance abuse treatment (Evans et al, 2011). With this goal in mind thousands of offenders who were destined for a jail cell could receive the proper treatment needed and our states recidivism rate would go down. This was not only a goal of Proposition 36 but a great success. SACPA is considered a successful program with tens of thousands of offenders enrolling each year, resulting in outcomes comparable to those commonly observed in residential treatment facilities.

Due to mandatory sentencing for minor drug offences, the American prison system is overflowing with inmates. According to E. Ann Carson, a Statistician for the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Fifty percent (95,800) of sentenced inmates in federal prison on September 30, 2014 (the most recent date for which federal offense data are available) were serving time for drug offenses. In comparison to the 53% in state prisons, violent offenders represented 7% of the federal prison population (14,000 prisoners)” (Carson 17). Half of the United States’ prison population in both state and federal is incarcerated for drug related crimes. This is huge compared to the seven percent of the population in federal prisons for violent crimes. The United States Federal Registrar says “The average annual cost to confine an inmate in a Community Corrections Center for Fiscal Year 2011 was $26,163” (Prisons Bureau). This cost falls to the tax payers. It would cost taxpayers over two and a half billion dollars to house all the people guilty of minor drug offences in federal prison

As the number of adults incarcerated in the United States climbs, issues regarding drug abuse treatments for prisoners needs to be addressed. In particular, prisoners with histories of heroin addiction are neglected and upon release return to their old habits. Thus, it is vital that effective treatment programs are implemented for inmates during and after they incarceration.

Today in the United States a land that claims to be the freest nation on the face of the Earth more people will wake up inside of a federal/state prison or a county jail cell than in any other country on the planet. As of 2012 this figure was a staggering 2,228,400 (jail 744,500; prison 1,483,900) add in to this the additional sum of just over 5 million people on parole (851,200) and probation (3,942,800) giving us a grand total of over 7 million citizens under some level of Federal or State supervision (Glaze and Herberman). This is up from only 1,840,421 in 1980 a percentage increase of 281.56% (Glaze and Herberman). As of 2012 over half of the inmates in the federal prison system (50.6%) were incarcerated for drug charges (Caron and Golinelli) while according to 2011 statistics just under 17% of state prisoners were locked away for offenses related to illegal substances (Carson and Sabol). The cost of maintaining this level of incarceration is in all honesty a tremendous burden upon both our justice system and our tax base. If you were to go to the website www.drugsense.org you would see their drug war clock which increases by $500 every second based upon the National Drug Control Policy’s 2010 statistics (Drugsense.org). The country needs to make serious changes in order to alleviate this Promethean like burden that has been placed on our tax payers and our infrastructure. Our system desperately needs reform in order to rescue society from these metaphorical

In 2010, state and federal prisons spent 80 million dollars collectively on incarceration. (Office of the Attorney General, 2014). Mandatory minimum sentencing generally doesn’t target the money spent on mandatory minimum sentencing would be better spent directed towards more serious criminal offenses or towards rehabilitative programs to prevent recidivism. The U.S. accounts for only 5% of the world’s population, yet it has 25% of the world’s prison population, making it the world’s largest jailer (American Civil Liberties Union). Extending the length of prison stays doesn’t necessarily mean lower crime rates. Prisoners are expensive. In 2005, the average operating cost per prisoner was $23,876 (PEW Charitable Trusts, 2008). Prisoners require beds, food, medical and dental care, and mental health services which all come out of taxpayer dollars. It is much cheaper to provide rehabilitative services to prevent recidivism to nonviolent drug offenders than to incarcerate them for extended periods of time. Overpopulation in prisons also leads to overtime costs for officers to fulfill staff vacancies. In 2006, at least $25,000 was made by 15% of the corrections workforce in California (PEW Charitable Trusts, 2008). Some states have cut spending on higher education and funneled more money towards fighting the War on Drugs. In 2007, five states spent more money on corrections

The material that discusses the therapeutic community and intensive after-care provided the most hope that a program has been developed and shows positive results. This article provided negative results for the inmates that did not continue after-care treatment, along with the positive results of the inmates that did continue after-care treatment. This article had statistics that backed up either route the inmate decided to take. This article would help further research by providing a specific topic to research. It was clear that the inmates were showing a reduction in recidivism when completing treatment within the therapeutic community and following up with intensive after-care treatment. This provides a guide in which topics to further explore in order to further research what treatment methods are working for the inmates who struggle with drug

In the United States and around the world there is an epidemic involving drug addiction. Also, we are facing a growing problem revolving around prison overcrowding, due to inmates that have committed drug related crimes, or offences while under the influence. There’s a solution that would help society and lessen overcrowding, and that’s to help those that are committing crimes due to an addiction disorder. In this paper, I will explore option’s that will help the growing population, reduce recidivism, provide treatment for offenders, and assist with re-entry.

While the choices of rehab and detox programs are many, it is important for you to find the right treatment plan for your addiction treatment. A short-term and full day treatment program is offered at New Creation Addiction Center to help individuals who are independent in making their living arrangements but looking for a program to participate, learn and enjoy the benefits of a detox treatment. The schedule of such a program is from 9 AM in the morning to 6 PM in the evening. The program covers a set of medically proven detox programs that can help a person to live a sober life. This program is offered on weekdays only. A full day detox treatment plan also includes lunch and dinner for the

The need for prison-based addiction treatment is intense. In the most recent data from the Department of Justice in 2002, it was found that 68 percent of offenders reported symptoms of addiction in the year before their admission to jail that met addiction criteria. 16 percent of convicted offenders report they have committed their offense in order to get money for drugs. 63 percent of offenders who met addiction criteria had participated in some form of treatment in the past (James & Karberg, 2005).

With such a high cost to the nation, and so many people left untreated, there remains a large gap that needs to be addressed. Because substance abuse disrupts so many aspects of life, treatment is very complex. An effective program requires cessation of the drugs, maintaining a drug-free lifestyle, and being a productive, functioning member of society, as well as close follow up (NIDA, 2009).

Those incarcerated today are not given the chance to change their behavior patterns, especially when it is in regard to drug addiction. The criminal justice system in general does not consider drug abuse as anything but a crime and does not think about treating the disease of addiction in order to reduce or eliminate the crimes that come as a

Drug addiction is a complex problem in society today. Addiction is a condition that extremely affects the person’s mind and body. Addiction also has wide sweeping effects on that person’s social connection and functioning. Unfortunately, many addicts don’t realize the social influence of their addiction until much of their functioning has greatly deteriorated.

The use of criminal restrictions for drug related crimes is not always an entirely punitive tool, and that penalties, or even the threat of them, often urge individuals struggling with addiction or substance abuse to get the treatment they might never seek or receive on their own, therefore increasing their opportunities to become productive members of society. In fact, more than one-third of all treatment referrals in the U.S.