Drug Addiction Punishment

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.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a federally funded, executive agency consisting of 39,683 employees and housing 193,070 inmates via 122 different institutional locations currently maintaining a thirty-four percent rate of recidivism (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2016, About tab). The Bureau is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and performs duties of care and custody, rehabilitation program and services, and provides services for the prevention of future crimes. The Bureau is also responsible for carrying out all legally mandated federal executions, with Terre Haute, Indiana being home for the lethal injection center. Facilities are broken down into different classifications based on security concerns, and house inmates accordingly by

The United States has a larger percent of its population incarcerated than any other country. America is responsible for a quarter of the world’s inmates, and its incarceration rate is growing exponentially. The expense generated by these overcrowded prisons cost the country a substantial amount of money every year. While people are incarcerated for several reasons, the country’s prisons are focused on punishment rather than reform, and the result is a misguided system that fails to rehabilitate criminals or discourage crime. This literature review will discuss the ineffectiveness of the United States’ criminal justice system and how mass incarceration of non-violent offenders, racial profiling, and a high rate of recidivism has become a problem.

Beginning research looked at how many times an individual was arrested after completing the program, how much time passed before being arrested, and how much jail time an individual previously had as indicators of reoffending (Burns et al., 2013). Belenko (2001) is often credited as the pioneer for critically analyzing drug courts’ efficacy in which the author found that drug courts reduce recidivism and save money. However, DeMatteo et al. (2013) claims that because there are so many variations between specialty courts, obtaining accurate data is difficult.

This section’s goal is to show the effectiveness and efficiency of 4 studies on the previously outlined programs. To begin, Federal funds paid for a study named The Multi-Site Adult Drug Court Evaluation (MADCE), the study measures the effectiveness of adult drug courts. Since drug courts aim at keeping addicts away from drugs and out of jail, the purpose of the study was to “evaluate the effects of drug courts on substance use, crime, and other practices,” and to note when outcomes proved positive (Rossman, Rempel, Roman, Zweig, Lindquist, Green, Downey, Yahner, Bhati, Farole, Jr., 2011, p. 1). Authors of the report include Shelli B. Rossman, Michael Rempel, John K. Roman, Janine M. Zweig, Christine H.

Substance abuse and addiction is one of the nation’s fastest growing problems with traditional 12-step recovery being virtually the only treatment option utilized. AA: Not the Only Way: Your One Stop Resource Guide to 12-Step Alternatives, Capalo Press; 2nd Edition (November 28, 2008), is a book that was written by a woman, Melanie Solomon, who battled addiction for 12 years. Solomon begins this book with a testimony of her journey that started in a well-known rehab facility that introduced her to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and the 12-steps. Solomon explains in her story that she was addicted to pills, yet she ended up in the rooms of AA. After many unsuccessful attempts towards recovery in AA and near fatal relapses she began researching other

Within the jail and prison system there are many types of offenders living together. Some of these offenders require special attention and programs while incarcerated. These special requirements can be based on a mental or physical health issue, age, or type of offense; such as sex offenses or particularly violent offenses. For the purposes of this paper the focus will be on the special requirements of drug offenders, and more specifically drug abusers. On the surface it may not seem like these offenders need any special considerations while incarcerated. However, a deeper look will show that drug addicted offenders bring more than just an addiction with them, and if these things are not addressed they can pose additional problems for correctional

The two article I will be looking at in the paper are Steven Belenko and Jordon Peugh’s “Estimating Drug Treatment Needs Among State Prison Inmates” and James Inciardi, Steven Martin, and Clifford Butzin’s “Five-Year Outcomes of Therapeutic Community Treatment of Drug-Involved Offenders After Release From Prison.” Both articles look at drug abuse prevention programs implemented by prisons. Steven Belenko and Jordon Peugh’s article focuses on how some programs only focus on one aspect of treatment. This treatment mentality is ineffective since those who are first time abuser will need different treatment options compared to some who has been abusing drugs for several years and have already done time in prison. James Inciardi, Steven Martin,

Rehabilitative approach give a second chance for offender to go back to the community but they fist need to tread their addiction on drugs, to prevent them to re-use drugs and provide them with counseling to help them deal with problems and receive treatment. Some individuals may take months in treatment and counseling regardless of all the help they receive they go back on drugs and all the effort, time and money that was used to rehabilitate it was not enough to prevent them from re-use drugs.

The next type of offender to treat is the substance abuse offenders. Drug addiction is a brain disease that affects behavior. Drug addiction is a serious problem that can be treated and managed throughout its course. Effective drug abuse treatment engages a therapeutic process, retains them in treatment for a lengthy time and helps them learn that they can live without this drug. There are many treatment programs for substance abuse offenders but the offender must want to stay clean. In treatment the abuser is taught to break the old patterns of thinking and to learn new skills for avoiding drug use. Offenders with a sever drug problem will need more intense treatment (example, Minimum of 3 month). To start treatment the offender will need

Over nine percent of Americans admit to abusing drugs, such as marijuana, psychotherapeutics, hallucinogens, and cocaine (www.drugabuse.gov). Drugs have been a great constituent in American society since the first English colony of America was founded in 1606. Now drugs play an enormous role in the nation’s economy. People also started to

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.

Substance abuse is a form of substance-related disorder. It refers to the harmful or hazardous use of substances that affects almost every community, including alcohol, tobacco and legal or illegal drugs. Drug abuse is one of the most commonly substance abuse in teenagers. It is a disease that is defined as a destructive pattern of using drugs that can cause significant problems or distress. The most commonly abused drugs among them are marijuana, cocaine, heroin and hallucinogens. Drug abuse is caused by psychological, genetic as well as environmental factors and can have significant damaging effects on health.