Substance Abuse Analysis

Practice models used in treatment of substance abuse have up until recently only been recommended for the intervention of younger addicts. As a result, treatment approaches for older adults are lacking in evidence. However, screening for substance abuse is the first step towards determining if a more thorough assessment is needed. Cook et al. (1998) reported that it is necessary to take a holistic approach to treatment, and take a broader focus than just the chemical abuse because as people age their psychological and health problems become more complex (p. 146). Older adults face life changes and lack of poor support networks are more deeply felt. Bogunovic (2012) answered that, “A comprehensive evaluation should include a thorough physical examination and laboratory analysis and psychiatric, neurological, and social evaluation.” Such measures are effective when paired with screening

Reduced health care coverage for substance abuse treatment has resulted in a diminished number of these programs, and the average length of stay under managed care review is much shorter than in early programs. Often, drug/alcohol abusers come into contact with the criminal justice system earlier than other health or social systems, and intervention by the criminal justice system to engage the individual in treatment may help interrupt and shorten a career of drug use. Treatment for the criminal justice-involved drug abuser or drug addict may be delivered prior to, during, after, or in lieu of incarceration.

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

In addition to stop drug abuse, the goal of the treatment is to return individuals to productive and functioning at anywhere, anytime and any places. According to a research that leads individuals in treatment over lengthy periods, it happens that most people who get into and remain in the treatment stop using drugs, it decreases the criminal activity and does really improve individuals occupational, social and psychological functioning. For instance, the increase participation in behavioral therapy and decrease both drug use and criminal behavior has been shown in the methadone treatment. But, individual treatment outcomes still depends on the appropriateness of treatment and related services used to overcome those problems, the quality of

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”.

“Nearly ninety percent of substance abusers”, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health”, do not believe that they need treatment (Gogek). If they are offered treatment instead of jail, “they’ll relapse back to drugs and alcohol, commit other crimes, and end up back in prison” (Gogek). Jail, as a threat, is needed in order to keep “addicted criminals” in “long-term recovery”(Gogek). Involuntary treatment, has been shown to be more successful those who chose to get treatment voluntarily. Furthermore, drug offenders that are told that failure of their recovery could mean a return back to prison “are twice as likely to complete

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).

A hard line stance by law enforcement to treat addiction with a criminal justice approach rather than with a public health approach has resulted in over-crowded prisons and offenders in need of treatment. The rise of the prison population began with enactment of the federal Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 and The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (Olson & Lurigio, 2014). Highlighting the escalating prison population, Olson and Lurigio (2014) noted from 1990-2000 the state prison population had almost doubled. Additionally, Taxman, Perdoni, and Caudy (2013) indicated of the approximate 7 million adults being supervised by the United States correctional system, almost 70% have been diagnosed with a substance use

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

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.”

The United States leads the world in incarceration with more than 2.2 million people in jails or prisons. Over the past thirty years, the population in jails and prisons has increased by 500%.(cite) Much of the increase of population is drug offenders. The main question is; should drug offenders be sent to jail or treatment programs? The cost of housing an inmate is very expensive compared to what it costs for and individual to receive treatment, and attend programs. It is very important to determine what would be best for the individuals with drug charges, because it needs to benefit the cost, and also actually aid the person. People who have drug addictions and commit a crime while under the influence should be trialed differently than those who commit the crime sober. Millions of dollars are spent a year housing inmates, and the prison population is becoming over populated. It is important to save tax payers from spending money on people who do not really belong those prisons but rather could be benefited with treatment and care. Money can be better spent on rehab programs to help individuals of their drug problems, where as if they are incarcerated they are more likely to continue using drugs, and to re-offend. It is contradicting to say that someone committed a crime under the influence, but then put them in jail while they are sober and in theory a different person. The Nation could profit from this study to help improve the economic spending on jails, and to

My field of interest is drug and alcohol addictions. More specifically I am interested in what knowing exactly what can increase someone’s odds of becoming and addict and what different levels of addictions means in terms of the treatment that they may require. An assessment that I found that seems to be able to establish good data as it relates to drug and alcohol abuse is The Substance Abuse/Life Circumstance Evaluation or SALCE. SALCE was developed by ADE Incorporated in 1988 as a means to assess ten areas of substance abuse.

In this paper I will be addressing the correlation that is between substance abuse and domestic violence. There are many factors that play a role in why domestic violence occurs in a home; this paper will be focusing on the factor of drug abuse in particularly. Early on in the course we learned that domestic violence does not only pertain to intimate partner violence but also to child abuse, elder abuse, and any other abuse of a person that occurs with inside the home. I will be providing research from scholarly journals that support the findings that substance abuse is related to domestic violence on all levels (intimate partner violence, child abuse, and elderly abuse).

Drug and alcohol abuse and addiction contribute to the largest portion of all crime, and this correlation is the leading culprit to induce crime. (Goode, 2012) Although there is a common knowledge of drug and alcohol abuse, drug and alcohol abuse or addiction contributes to the largest portion of all crime, and this correlation is the foremost culprit to induce crime. Across the United States and throughout the world there is an epidemic of epic proportion involving drug and alcohol addiction. Addiction is defined as a psychological illness characterized by intense craving for a particular substance (Corrections pg 652). Substance abuse problems are extremely difficult to treat because individuals most at risk for becoming addicted share many of the same traits associated with chronic criminal behavior, with many of the traits being genetic (Corrections, pg 434). Each year, nearly 700,000 men and women are released from prison into communities across the United States (Sabol, Minton, and Harrison 2007). Many do not make a successful transition: two-thirds are arrested within three years and one-half are returned to prison, either for parole violation or new crimes (Langan and Levin 2002). This revolving door phenomenon is costly in terms of criminal justice system costs, not only the human and social costs suffered by crime victims, returning prisoners, their families, and the communities in which they reside.

According to The Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights, in 2005 21% of inmates in the United States suffered from serious mental illness. (Incarceration and Mental Health, n.d.) From 1980 to 2013, the number of people incarcerated for drug offenses grew from 41,000 to nearly 500,000; most of the arrests were for possession. This leaves the criminal justice system to deal with substance abuse and addiction. (Incarceration, Substance Abuse, and Addiction, n.d.) Additionally, The Center for Prisoner Health and Human rights states “The War on Drugs may account for up to two-thirds of the increase in the federal prison population and one-half of the increase in the state prison populations between 1985 and 2000.” (Incarceration and Mental Health, n.d.) This means that despite the decrease in violent crime, prison populations continue to grow. Prisons are not the best solution to deal with the United States growing drug abuse and addiction problem. When the mental health system is unable to provide care in an appropriate setting to combat addiction, the rates for recidivism are high and do nothing to affect the War on Drugs. In an effort to end The War on Drugs the United States should refocus its $40 billion annual cost of enforcement and imprisonment towards mental health and rehabilitation.