Drug Abuse In Prison Essay

The legalization of drugs has been at the center of interminable debate. Drugs have widely been perceived as a dominant threat to the moral fabric of society. Drug use has been attributed as the source responsible for a myriad of key issues. For instance, it is believed that drugs have exacerbated the already weak status of mental health in the United States in which some individuals suffering from mental illness administer illicit substances such as heroin or cocaine in an attempt to self-medicate. Moreover, drugs are blamed for turning auspicious members of the community into worthless degenerates. Thus, vast efforts have been made to regulate the alleged drug problem through various avenues. For example, programs have been created to steer

America's prisons are overpopulated and the population is growing each year with increased drug activities. Low level drug offenders, comprised of 39 percent of the overall prison population. In the article " Department of Justice low-level drug offenders: a defense perspective" defines low-level drug offender as one who has been convicted drug trafficking offense but has no prior commitment, history of violence, known involvement of sophisticated criminal activity, significant "public risk factor," and pending detainer (Katz 28) . This group isn't hardened criminals and don't live a life of crime; rather they are motivated by profit. They are less likely to return to prison when compared to hardened criminals. The length of drug sentences

Drug courts, initially propelled in Florida in 1989, are an arrangement of escalated treatment and supervision. The thought is to treat the instances of peaceful substance-mishandling guilty parties uniquely in contrast to other criminal cases in light of the fact that the dependence is at the base of the criminal action. Accentuation is on recovery instead of discipline.

The purpose of this literature review is to prove that drug court programs are an effective alternative to incarceration for people struggling with substance abuse issues. According to the Bureau of Justice statistics seventeen percent of prisoners at the state level were incarcerated due to drug related crimes. Eighteen percent of federal cases were related to drugs (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2004). According to Lutze and Van Wormer the drug court model was formulated in response to the revolving cycle involved with substance addiction and crime. This model incorporated many different aspects of the judicial system such as judges, lawyers, probation officers, and social workers as well as traditional substance abuse treatment concepts.

America is a nation freeing its self from the shackles of the past . This is evident during the mid 19th century with reform movements happening in the Temperance, Education, Prison, women’s rights, and anti-slavery.

The prison system itself is corrupted and unfair to those individuals in it. Even though there are reform programs within the prisons, many prisoners return to prison due to inconsistent follow ups and the absence of these programs outside of prison. This creates high recidivism rates because they have a place to sleep and guaranteed meals and outside of prison it’s harder from them to have access to all of that. Elliot Currie states, “As we have crammed more and more offenders into prison, we have simultaneously retreated from the already minimal commitment to help them reenter productive society.” When the Eastern State Penitentiary was first opened in 1829, its main focus was to rehabilitate prisoners so they could reenter society (Eastern State Penitentiary). Now, overcrowding is a major issue in the United States prison system. According to the FBI Releases Preliminary Semiannual Crime Statistics for 2015, the most common crime was possession drug crimes, followed by property crimes. This shows that majority of those incarcerated in prison are there for nonviolent crimes. The government should change their drug law policies and instead of doing prison time, be forced to pay a hefty fine. This way, it can reduce jail and prison populations and thereby reducing recidivism

As a nation proud of the philosophies revolving around freedom, equality, etc. it is far-fetched and unseemingly to good to be true. In the “Deaf in Prison” documentary, “there are more than two people incarcerated” (Deaf in Prison, 2013). We shift our attention to issues that should not be started as an issue, mass incarceration for little crimes such as an individual sentenced ten years for holding very little marijuana, primarily targeting those who are a person of color, screams a lot about the system as a whole. There is a whole lot of fragments that need fixing within our unjust judicial system, and that is why we need to curb the efforts of providing the best resources possible for those convicted wrongfully and those who want a second

Is the policy of giving methadone to drug addicts a good one? There are many conflicting opinions about this topic. Methadone Maintenance Treatment is a very controversial topic that arises many different attitudes toward the program. Some people believe that Methadone maintenance treatment is a good thing and that it does truly help addicts get over their addictions. Others are against Methadone Maintenance treatment because they believe it is an unnecessary and a waste of money. I personally am against the use of methadone because it does not stop addicts from continuing to do drugs while going through methadone treatment and it lacks the evidence of it actually working. Firstly, I am going to explain what methadone treatment is. Secondly,

Society most of time tends to be keen on helping each other. One way we help each other is by allowing inmates, no matter the crime, to join rehab. Steve Earle the author of ‘A Death in Texas’ was in drug rehab at one-point, finished rehab, and got clean of drugs. Earle then wrote about Jonathan Wayne Nobles a man on death row for killing two people. While Nobles was on death row he took drug rehab and got clean of his drug addiction. Allowing Nobles to clear his mind and get better. Earle thought Nobles was rehabilitated and so did a lot of prison workers who knew Nobles his whole prison life. Nobles had a positive impact on a lot of inmates and workers. He also found religion and did some amazing deeds. I think rehab and having positive actions can really change

2: However, government are trying to reduce, but it is helpless and a lot of reasons behind this poverty, poor, education, and unemployment.

Addiction is the reliance on a routine. There are many addictive stages. Addiction, as it comes along, becomes a way of life. The persistent use of the substance causes to the user serious physical or psychological problems and dysfunctions in major areas of his or her life. The drug user continues to use substances and the compulsive behavior despite the harmful consequences, and tries to systematically avoid responsibility and reality, while he or she tends to isolate himself/herself from others because of guilt and pain (Angres, & Bettinardi-Angres, 2008). All these characteristics led to the conclusion that drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use. It is considered as a brain disease because drugs change the structure of the brain, and how it works. Every drug affects different systems of the brain. For example, in the case of cocaine, as the brain is adapted in the presence of the specific drug, brain regions responsible for judgment, decision-making, learning, and memory begin to physically change, making certain behaviors “hard-wired.” In some brain regions, connections between neurons are pruned back. In others, neurons form more connections. (Martin, 2000) These brain changes can be long-lasting and can lead to the harmful behaviors seen in people who abuse drugs.

According to Timothy Wilens MD, there is “data indicating that 1 in 10 adolescents has a SUD [substance use disorder] . . . Roughly 80% experienced onset before age 25 years” (Wilens). With this large number of teens abusing drugs, the question of what the effects and consequences of drug abuse as a teen are becomes relevant. Specifically, identifying what the effects and consequences of teen drug abuse are through a scientific lense is important because drugs affect the body, brain, and its chemical balances.

Substance abuse, also known as Drug abuse, is very prevalent in many countries. A drug is any substance that modifies the body’s normal functioning. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines a drug as any substance or product that modifies the behavior of a person for the benefit of the recipient. Substance abuse, on the other hand, is the drug use other than for the intended purpose in a manner that damages the physical functioning of the body. Substance abuse is a rampant problem in the United States. Drugs can be abused in a variety of different ways by people from every walk of life. Most of us have been affected by substance abuse either directly or indirectly. Substance abusers harm themselves, as well as their families and communities.

When a person takes a drug the chemicals affect the brain by interfering with how the neurons send messages. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the structure of Marijuana and Heroin mimic a natural neurotransmitter which tricks the receptors into allowing the drug to activate neurons inside the brain which interferes with messages and leads to abnormalities of behavior. With other drugs such as cocaine there is an abnormally large amount of neurotransmitters released which disrupts communication channels. Drug abuse can rewire brain connections, decrease synapse activity and cause addiction. The American Psychiatric Association says that addiction is a complex condition, and a brain disease that is manifested by compulsive substance use despite harmful consequence. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found that 21.5 million American adults (aged 12 and older) battled a substance use disorder in 2014. Addiction to drugs has been a growing issue in America, and is causing jails to become overcrowded. The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that more than half of federal prisoners were incarcerated for drug crimes in 2010. This leads to the question of whether the justice system is doing an adequate job of dealing with drug addiction. Instead of incarcerating people for drug abuse, an alternative is treating victims by rehab and treatment. This paper will exam why treatment is the superior option for

Every day on the news there are all kinds of reports. Crime reports are a major part of today's events. Almost every day there are posts about crimes. The level of crime has risen immensely in every corner of the world. People have tried to understand the causes of crime, but if we look around the world we can see that many of the crimes are caused by people who abuse drugs and alcohol, people who think negatively towards others, and poverty.