People in today’s society have problems and criticize things that they don’t comprehend such as someone with a mental disease or disorder. They have a difficult time understanding what’s going on in someone’s mind which has been proven throughout the history of people suffering from mental illness. For example, the Christian church use to “…believe that those who display these symptoms are demon possessed” and the symptoms corresponded to someone suffering from schizophrenia ("Messiah's House of Yahvah"). Fast forwarding to modern society there are still some psychiatric conditions that till this day that receive negative judgment. One social psychotic condition that has been receiving negative criticism is people that have drug addictions. The term drug addiction can be defined as a “…chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences” (National Institute on Drug …show more content…
A professor from Brown University, Rich, said that “…by refusing or neglecting to provide treatment to these addicts, many U.S. prisons are missing the best chance to cure them…” (Carmichael) and that if we invest in treatments it would likely decrease future crimes. Therefore, clinical treatment would be more proactive in treating the psychiatric conditions of a drug addict than if they were to be punished. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime held a session discussing the problems of drug addiction and how society should “[shift] the problem of drug abuse and addiction from the legal (or moral) sphere to that of science and medicine…” (National Institute on Drug Abuse). This also proves that the society should realize drug addiction as a disease and that we should provide clinical treatments because drug addiction is a compulsive disorder that the patient has trouble
There is no doubt that crimes committed by these addicts are harmful to our society, but there is certain validation to course of their actions. So if people that have this addiction illness are ultimately incarcerated, it is the responsibility of our government to provide them with holistic treatment. This will provide purpose for the convicts that truly want to overcome their addiction and become contributing members of society once they are released. Our health and public polices can have positive change in the future if leaders followed the belief of New Jersey’s state Governor Christie, who fully supported drug and alcohol treatment because making this treatment “more available for everybody” was “part of government’s job”.
20. The following are trends in substance abuse treatment today except for A. chain smoking regarded as an addiction B.human rights seen as a practical philosophy C.counseling of clients in moderate drinking D.public opinion favoring more imprisonment of drug users ANS:D PG42 21. The drug court movement promotes what action with individuals whose legal problems are related to their addiction? A. decarceration – treatment in the community B. incarceration – treatment in the prison system C. requirement to serve out the remainder of prison term, in case of relapse D. moving clients into “wet house”. ANS:A PG46
The drug treatments programs that prisons offer is beneficial in several different aspects. Although, inmates are viewed in a bad appearance in the community. However, the victim is the direct costumer and the
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.
This book covers one of the most destructible problems to society which is drug abuse followed by crime and violence. Many people don't know and underestimate how others become addicted to drugs. They think that people who use drugs do not have moral principles and that they could stop drug use simply by just choosing and saying so. In reality, drug addiction is a complicated disease, and quitting takes more than good intentions or a strong will. Drugs change the brain function and how it works that makes quitting hard, even for those who really want to. Fortunately, after many researches and experiences with others scientists know more about how drugs can affect the brain and found treatments that can assist people to heal and recover from
In the past, law enforcement was taught to arrest anyone distributing or using opioids. The state believed that jail was the best method to get addicts off the streets and to stop using drugs. The issue with this method was when these addicts were released from jail, they went right back to using. United States President Barack Obama, has been working on a plan to reform the nation’s criminal justice program. He proposed that drug courts, which are fundamentally substance-abuse boot camps, are the best way to help treat addiction (Redmond A3+). Obama’s plan involved getting rid of mandatory minimum sentences, which he believed would also be a very cost saving solution. Obama stated, “We should invest in alternatives to prison, like drug courts and treatment and probation programs which ultimately can save tax payers thousands of dollars each year” (Redmond A3+). The problem with Obama’s method is that he does not seem to be concerned about the mental health of these
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.
There is an epidemic of almost epic proportions in this wonderful nation called the United States. However, this epidemic is not only national; it is worldwide. And because of this epidemic there are other problems in society such as an increase in crime and prison overcrowding. The epidemic is that of Substance Abuse and Addiction. The penal systems of each state house more prisoners due to drug related crimes than any other. The statistics do not lie; they only tell the truth. Treatment instead of incarceration would be beneficial to the addict himself and to society as a whole. Evidence shows treatment would lower the amount of criminal activity due to substance abuse and addiction. Logic shows that if a problem is cured then the
We have recently seen a change in the way that drug abuse and addiction are viewed. Considering addiction to be a chronic and relapsing disease is a new concept for the public, policymakers, and even health care professionals (Leshner 46). With this in mind, we can recognize that corrections without the benefit of treatment will fall short in correcting drug-seeking and addictive behaviors (Leshner 46). These, of course, are also the behaviors that most often cause an individual to return to crimes that promote their drug use upon leaving jail or prison (Leshner
The United States is desperately in need of prison and criminal justice reform. The current system miserably fails at lowering recidivism rates, limiting prison populations and rehabilitating drug and alcohol addicts. This is because very few prisoners receive drug treatment in prison, and those who do receive inadequate treatment. Fortunately, there are a multitude of upcoming drug treatment techniques that have proven effective in treating addiction. As a result of refining drug treatment in American prisons, not only will more drug addicts overcome their addiction, but the prison population will be reduced and the United States improve financially.
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.”
Drug abuse and crime is not a new concept and the statistics around the problem have continued to rise. According to (Office of Justice Programs, 2011), there were an estimated 1,846,400 state and local arrests for drug abuse in the United States. Additionally, 17 percent of state prisoners and 18 percent of federal inmates said they committed their current offense to obtain money for drugs (Office of Justice Programs, 2011). Based on this information, we can conclude that our criminal justice systems are saturated with drug abusers. The United States has the highest imprisonment rate and about 83 percent of arrests are for possession of illegal drugs (Prisons & Drug Offenders, 2011). Based on these figures, I can conclude that we should be more concerned about solving the drug abusers problems and showing them an alternative lifestyle rather than strict penalty of long term incarceration which will inevitably challenge their ability to be fully functioning citizens after release.
Drug and alcohol addiction is a very serious and widespread problem in America, and across the globe. Drug addiction is a constant craving, seeking, and using of a substance, despite the negative consequences it may have on the addict or those around them. When drug use becomes more frequent, it is considered drug abuse. Once an individual’s drug abuse is can no longer be controlled, and they are using the drug to get through everyday life, it beomes an addiction. A person on drugs has an altered way of thinking, behaving, and perceiving. There are treatment facilities all over the world dedicated to help those suffering with drug addictions. All
It is common knowledge that America has the world’s largest population of prisoners, and in 2008, a study was completed by the Pew Charitable Trusts which indicated that half of the inmates in jail and prison are serving time for nonviolent drug charges (http://www.pewstates.org/news-room/press-releases/new-pew-study-finds-36-percent-increase-in-prison-time-served-85899394970). Since the “War on Drugs” approach about forty years ago, the criminalization of the addict has done very little to address the problem of substance abuse in society. While there is no one clear cause of substance abuse, there have been patterns identified in substance abusers, that may be the underlying factors that lead to the addiction. Some of these factors include mental health and biology.
Deviance is the aspects considered not acceptable to the norms of society. Deviants of society are those individuals who partake in going against the norms. Drug addiction is a negative form of deviance to society; drug addicts partake in deviant behavior. They are labeled “bad” people because of society and what society teaches people is normal behavior. Having a drug addiction is not a normal behavior, but it doesn’t consider the addict bad or immoral. Drug addiction is a disease, not a crime. Because of drug addictions, many individuals are arrested and sent to jail or local prisons. In 2015, the “number of arrests in the U.S. for drug law violations: 1,488,707”. (McVay 2017)