Propostition 36 Essay Example
Where has our war on drugs gotten us thus far? Currently, nearly 500,000 Americans are incarcerated for drug law violations, a ten-fold increase in two decades. The overall inmate population has quadrupled to nearly 2 million arrests for drug law violations and continues to rise. The vast majority of these arrests are for simple possession. Personally, three convicted drug-users have shared their battle
Many Became Ill And Tired
At the turn of the millennium, around 100 drug users gathered every day at the Plata in central Oslo. Up to 1000 people would stop by to purchase drugs every day.
Public debate over the open use of drugs intensified. It wasnt just the Norwegian media that reported on what was happening in central Oslo.
Expensive Oslo is a cheap fix capital. In a country where drugs cost less than alcohol, heroin addiction is causing growing alarm to Norwegian authorities.
Drug users were sick and exhausted. Something had to be done.
Reducing damage has now become the new goal for drug treatment, Olsen believes.
At this point, medicating addicts took precedence over social work, Olsen said.
Drug Use And Its Effects On The United States
evident that drug use is increasingly prevalent and an ongoing issue in the United States. Drug use is on the rise in this country and 23.5 million Americans are addicted to alcohol and drugs. Thats approximately one in every 10 Americans over the age of 12 roughly equal to the entire population of Texas said Dr. Kima Joy Taylor, director of the CATG Initiative . Because of facts like these, the War on Drugs was created with the proposed mission to deplete the number of drugs being consumed
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From Punishment To Medicine
When drug use increased sharply in Norway and young people started using drugs, there was a strong belief that punishment could solve all problems.
From 1965 to 1984, the penalty for drug offenses in Norway increased from 6 months to 21 years in prison.
Nevertheless, drug use increased sharply.
Eventually, opinions changed, and optimism towards treatment took over. Several treatment institutions were established in the 1980s, Olsen says.
But few people were cured of their addiction.
After Decades Of Criminalisation And Incarceration Is It Time To Take A New Approach To Drug Use And Dependence
Rehabilitation may be beneficial to people who are experiencing drug dependence, but it doesnt mean that everyone who uses drugs requires intervention from the government. The UNODC reports that only 10% of all people who use drugs are drug dependent. As a result, only a minority of people who use drugs may need or benefit from drug treatment or rehabilitation.
It is the decision of people who use drugs whether they want to stop using or not, whether they need some type of drug rehabilitation or other service. For Maya, it was his own decision to resolve his drug dependence the decision to stop using drugs should be made by the user, not by anybody else.
The experiences of Leo and Kanin shows that forced rehabilitation is simply another form of incarceration, and ineffective in helping them address their drug dependence. As a matter of fact, they would have been better off without it as Kanin subsequently went further into his drug trade business from the connection he made inside, and Leo never had any issues with his drug use, he used it recreationally after a long day of programming and studying so it was a waste of our tax money and his time.
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Rehabilitation Over Punishment For Drug Addicts
The “Land of the Free” has the highest incarceration rate in the world. The US can become a much better place by rehabilitating drug addicts and potentially other nonviolent offenders.
Everyone can agree that having a criminal justice system is integral to our society. However, the United States has been locking away people who need support and help, and it is preventing America from making much progress towards equality and compassion. People are imprisoned for actions such as the consumption of illegal substances, like heroin, cocaine and even marijuana. In order to be more humanitarian, decrease the amount of prisoners, and create a better society, the U.S and other countries with similar policies should focus on rehabilitating people addicted to drugs over punishment.
Drug addicts should not be damned to a perpetually unpleasant life because of their mental illness. Through rehabilitation, they can overcome their problems and live in normal society. They need help, care and empathy, not the shunning of others. The United States and other countries can become much healthier and more productive environments by following the lead of Scandinavian countries in regards to their imprisonment policies.
Rehab Is Better Than Prison Essay
Drugs are a huge problem in the US there are hundreds of people currently addicted to drugs in some states alone and we are trying to solve this problem and whenever a drug addict is caught they are usually sent to prison, tons of people sent to prison when it’s not even the best option. Currently, people are completely unaware that rehab is a much better option than prison for drug offenders because it is both economically superior and helps addicts reintegrate into society.There are many reasons
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Breaking Addicts In Order To Fix Them
Far too many treatment programs still utilize harsh confrontation and shame-based approaches in the name of breaking addicts down in order to build them up again. Its sometimes labeled tough love, but often comes without the love.
Why its a bad idea:Treatment is more effective when it helps the addict understand what is behind their substance abuse and shows them strategies for dealing with it. Studies confirm that those battling an addiction are likely to have plenty of shame already. Adding to the guilt and blame is a way down, not up.
Why Jail Environments So Often Fail To Help Drug Addicts Gain Sobriety
Individuals who are battling substance abuse often feel guilty for their addiction and the pain it causes loved ones. They may already feel like a prisoner in their own mind, and putting them in a prison only reaffirms their negative mental state, which generally increases the likelihood of returning to substance use and abuse once they leave jail.
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Do I Have To Go To Prison Instead Of Rehab
Although most individuals qualify for drug rehabilitation instead of incarceration, you should be tested by a medical professional or consult a legal expert to determine if that is the case. The drug rehabilitation centre may not consider you for admission if you have not been physically dependent on the substance or have not followed up with caseworkers to determine that you have a problem.
It is acceptable to advocate imprisonment or incarceration for those with a history of violent crimes concerning drug rehabilitation preferences. Even if you are not experiencing a violent crime, bear in mind that you need to get counsel when faced with serious life events.
Fines And Serving Time
Today, drug users gather in Oslo, primarily in the street called Brugata, in front of the Gunerius shopping centre, a little east of central Oslo.
Many people would like to move them away from that area, Olsen says. She believes that a lot of resources are still used to prosecute them. No one wants a group like this hanging out outside their stores, their workplaces or in their immediate neighbourhood.
The police order drug addicts away from the city centre. If they dont comply with this requirement they are fined. When a drug addict accumulates enough unpaid fines, they have to serve time, generally for shorter sentences.
But the police have to make many decisions on their own. That means there will potentially be different approaches to the same situation.
Some people are allowed to get away with having a dose of heroin in their pocket, while others are charged for it, Olsen said.
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Prison Health Care For Serious Offenders
A person who avoids addiction would avoid jail most of the time, but criminal behavior can sometimes warrant jail time. Many people dont get motivated in these reform programs to serve a jail time. A recent effort to improve prison treatment for drug abuse led to a reduction in the time individuals spent behind bars. This was an effort geared towards reducing jail time. The in-prison treatment program users are tightly supervised since clients are not permitted to leave the facility. Is it possible that these criminals would cooperate with the authorities request if they knew that their cooperating with the police would lead to their imprisonment in the free world?
Persons in the program have experienced a reduced risk of arrest or drug usage six months after their release from prison. Studying prison-based programs, the deduction was derived from a study devoted to researching it. Many studies have concluded that drug education programs offered in prison affect the probability of people shunning drugs when they finish their jail time, at least marginally more so than drug education programs that do not exist in prison. If the offender has access to a recovery center outside prison walls and adequate medical attention, oral therapy might help those in prison stay off drugs.
Additionally, Programs Same as This May Provide Equal Types of Interventions Offered in For Profit Addiction Treatment Programs, Including:
Imposing Harsh Sentencing That Sidesteps The Real Problem
Stories abound of three-strikes and other mandatory sentencing provisions that lock up non-violent drug users. Of those incarcerated, only about 10 percent will receive treatment for their addiction.
Why its a bad idea: Jail time doesnt help drug users overcome their problem. Instead, it means taxpayers pay the price for the incarceration and the health costs related to the addiction as well as for the criminal activity they are likely to return to after release. A 2012 study noted that sending drug abusers to treatment in lieu of prison could cut crime and save the criminal justice system billions. It can also hold the addict accountable for completing treatment and help spur recovery.
Drug court, put into effect more than 20 years ago as a way of diverting non-violent offenders into treatment programs, is one model that is a documented success. The National Association of Drug Court Professionals notes that drug courts are 6 times more likely to keep offenders in treatment long enough for them to get better,” and 75 percent of drug court graduates remain arrest-free at least 2 years after leaving the program.
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Is Rehab Really Better
Offering addicts a chance to deal with their illness and heal makes more sense than packing them off to jail. If we accept the argument that addiction is a disease, it should be treated by society in that way. Why spend so much time and money punishing people who are sick after theyre arrested? We should treat them for their disease instead. We dont penalize people living with other medical conditions in the same way. Repeat offenders and people caught distributing and trafficking drugs should be punished accordingly. But, an offender caught with a small amount of the drug for personal use is probably a prime candidate for treatment rather than prison. Most current laws dont offer anyone that opportunity. An inpatient rehab facility is a far better environment for addicts in recovery. In rehab, clients will have a structured schedule, yet still have much more personal freedom than afforded inside jail. The day will be divided into slots for therapy, counseling sessions, 12-step program meetings, meals, recreation, and free time. There will be a set time when clients are expected to be in their rooms at night.
The Possibility Of Significant Change
Many people in this country know that prisons are a waste of money and inefficiently used accounts for substantial federal spending. Sixty-three per cent of respondents to a Pew survey said legalized marijuana would lower the mandatory jail time for drug offences. They felt restrictive regulations would reduce efficiency and costs, so they favored lowering the jail time. In my opinion, this type of content will likely gain more acceptance from the majority of people if the research is repeated further and widely. Half of the voters who supported this candidate in 2001 were incarcerated at jail time.
Studies published in peer-reviewed journals show most people recognize it is unfair to offer people jail time for artificially induced crimes, such as drug usage. At the Department of Justice, there has been an effort to reform the Criminal Sentencing Guidelines to reduce jail time. Attorney General Eric Holder, who enjoys a high level of respect in the United States, believes the same way. According to a report from The New York Times, the Department of Justice intends to turn its attention back to the strategic priorities after this is resolved.
Those who traffic drugs violently should have the most severe jail time. Consequently, it will enhance deterrence, rehabilitation, and public safety. At one time, legislators believed they appeared soft on crime if they reduced penalties for breaking the law, so they refused to support legislation to do just that.
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Principles Of Drug Abuse Treatment For Offenders
Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations, published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, synthesizes research on drug abuse treatment for drug abusers in the criminal justice system. It is intended as a resource for criminal justice professionals and the treatment community working with drug abusers involved with the system. The publication summarizes 20 years of research to provide guidance on evidence-based practices and identifies general principles on how to effectively address the drug abuse problems of populations involved with the criminal justice system .
The Health Sector Takes
If a political majority approves this approach in 2021, Norways approach to drug use and possession will be transferred from the justice sector to the health sector.
Norway will then take a completely different path than its neighbour Sweden, where punishment is still a strong component of that countrys drug policy.
It will also be an approach with its own past.
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Incarceration Vs Rehabilitation Essay
Rehabilitation Is The New IncarcerationPrison systems in the United States are full of nonviolent drug users that have been bombarded with extensive sentences for having an addiction. These inmates area mistreated and denied the help they not only need, but deserve. Hundreds of thousands of people struggle with addiction inside and outside the prison systems. Just because these people are incarcerated does not justify that we should deny them treatment. Nonviolent drug abusers need to go through mandatory
Should Drug Addicts Go To Jail This Study Says No
The United States makes up less than five percent of the worlds population, and yet, we house about 25 percent of the worlds prisoner population. Nearly 300,000 of the people currently incarcerated are being held for drug-law violations: drug dealing, drug possession, illicit drug use. In 1980, just thirty-seven years ago, there were less than 25,000 prisoners in for drug-related crimes.
The nations drug problem has consistently grown over the last few decades both in jails and on the streets. The question remains, how can we combat it? Many government officials and American citizens alike are asking: Should drug addicts go to jail? Will tougher penalties mean less drug crime? Will stiffer prison terms deter drug use, specifically amidst a growing opiate epidemic?
According to Pew Charitable Trusts, along with thousands of other Americans and addiction experts, the answer is no. And Pew has brought the data to back it. Just last month, in late June 2017, their analysts released a study on the effectiveness of imprisonment for drug offenders. They looked at state-by-state data of drug offender incarceration rates alongside illicit drug use, drug overdose deaths, and arrests only to find that no statistically significant relationship existed between them. Sending drug addicts to jail does not defeat the nations war against drugs integrated addiction treatment does.
So, if jail time isnt it, what is the solution to drug addiction?
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Americas War On Drugs And The Addicts That Use Them
The longest-running war in the United States, for almost fifty years, has been the ongoing War on Drugs. Costing the U.S. trillions of dollars, this war has been fought on American soil since 1971. Tens of thousands of men and women have lost their lives at the expense of this cause each year. Former President Richard Nixon deemed drugs public enemy number one. This is how the infamous War on Drugs began. Taking office in the 1980s, Ronald Regan implemented a strict drug policy that made incarceration mandatory in the case of illegal drug possession. These harsh penalties influx prisons with low-level drug offenders. This approach continues to be proven ineffective by not treating addiction as a disease.
This losing battle continues to propel the drug epidemic in America today. Throughout the last few decades, drug experimentation was on the rise and full-blown addiction continues to rise as well. U.S. citizens continue to be incarcerated for their disease, yet the number of Americans addicted to drugs and alcohol continues to rise. If incarcerating addicts were an effective treatment for the problem of addiction, prisons would be empty.
Persuasive Essay On Rehabs
The United States has a drug problem. Theres no denying it. We also send more people to jail for drug abuse than any other country. some say we should send drug addicts to jail because they have committed a crimes whereas others say they are also humans and they should be treated for this sickness. why don’t we have rehabs for every drug addict to go to?why do we need rehabs?how many people have gone to jail for committing drug crimes? People take rehab for granite, instead of using it
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