Laws are created by parliament which is made up by the MP’S society votes for during the election process. The Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) was introduced to prevent the misuse of controlled drugs such as cannabis, amphetamine and other drugs stated in the Act. The Act attempts to prevent the misuse of drugs by making it a criminal offence to be in possession or supply, manufacture, import and export drugs (Drugscope, 2015). The Act also gives the Home secretary authority to ban new drugs and increase the penalties associated with them. Sometimes the government will set out a proposal for a new law in a document known as a green paper which then faces scrutiny and discussion this could be by experts in the area that the proposed Law intends to change/ affect or a select committee within parliament. The proposal can then be changed and made into a white paper. This then forms the Bill which gets introduced into Parliament (Making laws: How a law is made part 2 of 2, 2009). There are 2 different types of Bills a private and a public Bill. The Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) was a public Bill as it affects the public. These also have 2 categories, government Bills and Private member bills. The Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) was a government Bill. A bill goes through a consultation stage where the opinion of others is noted on what the proposed Law should say. This usually takes place before the Bill is introduced to Parliament. A Bill can either go through the House of Commons or Lords
A great deal of harm is caused by illicit drugs, particularly to dependant users. Drug use damages the user and diminishes an individual’s social cohesion. An individual’s dependency on illicit drugs places a heavy burden on the Australian legal system, welfare(Centrelink), the justice system(lawyers) and the medical system. The many burdens caused by the manufacture, supply and use of illicit drugs effect the efficiency of Australia. The Drugs misuse and trafficking Act 1985 (NSW) applies to over 240 drugs, including
In 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act was passed in effort to stop the drug crisis. The Act was aimed towards accountability and zero-tolerance towards addicts.. Critics accused the government of spending too much on enforcing rather than educating and treatment. Its effects were similar to those of Prohibition so in 1988 the act was redone (Bondi 395).
Drug classification is put into 1 of 3 groups’ A, B and C. Class A drugs are the most harmful. New psychoactive substances is a new drugs early warning system. There are many new drugs being discovered which cannot be classed as safe or legal, the new psychoactive substances service bans newly identified harmful drugs within days. The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is the main law/legislation to control and classify drugs that are ‘dangerous or otherwise harmful’ when misused. The act makes it illegal for people to:
A Bill has a number of stages that it goes through before it is presented to the Queen to be signed. It starts off as a discussion in the House of Commons, and if decided to be an effective new policy idea then it is sent off
On June 17th 1971, President Richard Nixon stood in front of congress and announced his widely criticized War on Drugs. The President claimed that drugs were the “Public Enemy Number One” among Americans. Fast-forward to 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. This act placed mandatory minimum sentences on minor drug infractions. The war on drugs not only incarcerated a very high number of Blacks, but also tore families apart in an effort to clean up neighborhoods which still affect many African American families almost a half-century later.
Prior to the passage of this legislation, many people convicted with possession of drugs were given significantly long sentences under state laws; often this included individuals receiving life sentences for what is now known as simple possess (Courtwright, 2004). In this regard the Controlled substance act could be viewed as a liberalization of drugs policy by breaking up all drugs into schedules with differencing penalties. This does not mean that the legislation is not without
There are many types of bills, which are legislation which the legislature makes laws.. Most laws are lined up into codes, codes are collections of laws that are organized by topic to make them easier for the
·The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971: this Act is designed to control the use of dangerous or potentially harmful drugs such as opiates (drugs which are derived from opium plants). This Act also is designed to prevent the misuse of controlled drugs.
In the UK, we do not have a legal system which is codified. Our laws are set out in a few sources, which consists of common law, legislation and EU laws and conventions. This means that there is not a document which sets out the laws which we must abide by. Alternatively, cases in legal history set a precedent for future cases indication the sentence or decision to give. In order for a bill to become a law it goes through a procedure called consideration. The bill is passed
In 1970, the controlled substances act was passed to regulate the manufacture and distribution of drugs whose use may result in dependency or abuse. Since the Act was passed anyone who has access to Controlled substance is watch and monitored very carefully by the Drug Enforcement Administration which is a branch of the department of justice, to regulate the use of these drugs. This includes to prescribing, refilling, and storing the controlled substances. This law is in place to control the distribution of these drugs legally and illegally. Doctors and medical assistants are responsible for maintaining the controlled substances in the office, with that when a drug is leaving an office it is critical to log the patients name, drug name, dose, date, ordering physician, and employee who handled the procedure. With having this law in place the bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Established a Schedule to categorize these Controlled substances. Schedule I, The high category of high risk drugs are not approved for medical use. These include heroin, Marijuana, opium, peyote, mescaline, etc.. Schedule II, are the drugs with a high instance of abuse or addiction and no refills are allowed. A new prescription is always
Until the early 20th century, Americans were legally able to obtain drugs such as cocaine, cannabis, and heroin. In fact, these types of drugs were found in medicines and drinks such as Coca-Cola. By the early 1900s, between 250,000-500,000 Americans were addicted to drugs. This rise of addiction in the United States created a growing public concern that addiction would become a more widespread issue, and they felt this problem needed a government solution. For example, in 1875, the first restrictive legislation concerning drugs began in San Francisco when a law was passed to limit the use of opium dens in public indoor establishments. Almost 100 years later, the Controlled Substance Act was passed in 1970. Shortly after, Richard Nixon declared
The history of drug use dates back for thousands of years with diverse purposes throughout humanity. According to Levinthal (2012), the drug-taking behavior gained federal awareness in the early 1900s, due to the lack of drug control regulations. Moreover, Levinthal (2012) mentions four major drug control laws which were established, including: (1) The Harrison Narcotic Act 1914, (2) The Marijuana Tax Act 1937, (3) The Boggs Act 1951, and (4) The Controlled Substance Act 1970. The drug control laws formed help regulate importation, manufacture, selling, or distribution of drugs within the United States (Levinthal, 2012).
However, before the specific outcomes of Congressional influence and policy impact can be evaluated it becomes important to first review the general history and current situation of drugs today. Our present drug laws were first enacted at the beginning of the century. At the time, recreational use of narcotics was not a major social issue. The first regulatory legislation was for the purpose of standardizing the manufacturing and purity of pharmaceutical products. Shortly after, the first criminal laws were enacted which addressed opium products and cocaine. Although some states had prohibited the recreational use of marijuana, there was no federal criminal legislation until 1937. By
There is a process that the Legislative Branch goes through which starts off introduction of the a bill to congress. Anyone can write it but Congressman members can only legislate it. After a bill is introduced, it is transferred to the suitable committee for evaluation. The bill is first examined in a subcommittee, where it can be either accepted, amended, or declined. If agreed to move the bill forward, it is viewed by the Committee
Drugs have been a problem in society for a very long time and it is still an ongoing subject of debate. Different organisations work hard to keep people from using drugs, though a new issue has arisen. During the last few years there have been discussions in some countries to decriminalize soft drugs, including cannabis and ecstasy.