Drugs Essays (Examples)

Drugs and Alcohol Issues Many Americans Have

Drugs and Alcohol Issues

Many Americans have trouble getting to sleep. As a results they may turn to sleeping pills to help them get some ZZZs. How do you feel about the prescribing of sleeping pills for people to assist them with sleeping? Should our medical industry instead be writing prescriptions for vigorous activity which would also help people sleep better? How about a prescription for caffeine avoidance?

There is nothing wrong with physicians recommending non-pharmaceutical alternatives to insomnia or any other medical or health problem. However, the autonomous rights of patient make it inappropriate for the physician to substitute his or her values for those of the patient. The physician's duty is to disclose all relevant information and to provide good-faith advice; but the ultimate choice of modality to address a given problem must always remain with the patient.

On some level, the same criticism of using sleeping pills could be leveled at many other drugs: a physician could prescribe biofeedback pain control classes or meditation or a reduction in work hours for a patient complaining of headaches. If a drug is available that is intended for the treatment of headaches and it is medically safe for that patient,…… [Read More]

Drugs Many Drugs Have Been

A room in a house or a basement can become manufacturing laboratory for methamphetamine easier than a closet in a city apartment. Similarly, access to cocaine and other illicit substances may be easier in inner cities, which are usually ports of entry for foreign and regional cartels. Demand for methamphetamine may be linked to the availability of other substances in urban centers.

If access to cocaine, heroin, and other drugs is limited in rural areas then it is also likely that the prevalence of methamphetamine in rural regions is linked to consumer demand. Manufacturing methamphetamine is relatively simple, and in some ways easier than traveling to a distant city to procure drugs. The drug is also fairly inexpensive to make yet can supplement incomes through its sale on the black market. Drug and alcohol abuse is relatively common in rural areas, even those with few cocaine or heroin problems ("Meth a Growing Menace in Rural America" 2004). Ennui may be one factor driving individuals to drugs. Other explanations include the breakdown of families and social isolation, which lead to anomie and deviant behaviors. Poverty in rural areas might also fuel the methamphetamine trade.… [Read More]

Drugs and Society Our Society

The government regulating of drugs use is one of those elements which are somewhat affected by such an approach. The government regulates both illegal and legal drugs in order to both maximize profits for American companies and minimize profits for foreign capitol. There are strict regulations on pharmaceuticals within the country. Also, many people posit money leaving American hands as a major underlying cause of the government's regulations of what is know known as illegal substances. If such narcotics such as marijuana and opium were to be legalized within the United States, it would not be the government who was making the biggest chunk of profit of sales. Because the majority of these drugs are grown overseas, that money would also therefore go overseas. In order to keep a monopoly on legal drugs, the government may have had a hidden agenda while drafting legislation which deemed other drugs illegal.

2b. The DAWN system, or the Drug Abuse Warning Network, is especially useful for researchers to collect unbiased and hard data regarding drug use and abuse. It represents a centralized network which provides data directly from Emergency wards in hospitals around the country. This allows researchers a great tool for statistical…… [Read More]

Drugs and Society Why Do

Abusing illegal drugs can give rise to crime and violence, even if they are used in an allegedly positive way to 'open up' and 'free' the mind. Even overusing antibiotics, and insisting upon taking them even though one's disease is likely caused by a virus can cause a rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and can impact general human health. However, refusing to take certain medical treatments, such as refusing to vaccinate one's child, can have negative social fallout, as can be seen in the increase of diseases that were once thought to be eradicated, such as mumps and measles. An untreated mental illness can have a profoundly deleterious effect for the sufferer and his or her family.

When antidepressants became popular during the 1990s, some questions were raised regarding the morality of taking them, as it was said that this could fundamentally change the personality, and even ran the risk of eradicating art and higher-level thinking, given how much despair had influenced great artists and philosophy. The imperfect effects of antidepressants, which some studies indicate are not nearly as effective as once thought, have silenced such criticisms. But according to David Karp, who took such medications and believes he must take…… [Read More]

Drugs Rock Music and Developing Countries Examining

Drugs, Rock Music and Developing Countries

Examining the effects of imported rock music on developing countries and its impact on violence and drug abuse is by no means a simple or straightforward task. One important factor is that this type of music overwhelmingly appeals to young people under age 30, and these are often the majority of the population in many developing nations, especially the Middle East and North Africa. To be sure, because of poor social and economic conditions, many of them cannot speak English and are not able to afford imported music or other cultural products. These types of imports most affect urban upper and middle class youth, who are also most likely to use the new Internet, social media and satellite TV technology. They have a great deal in common with their Western counterparts in that they are attracted to the rebellious nature of this musical form, and with the drug use that goes along with it. Among this group, drugs like marijuana, ecstasy and methamphetamine will be used socially within peer groups, although only a small number of these could be considered addicts. Other drugs like heroin and crack are more associated with impoverished groups, and…… [Read More]

Drugs and Crime Zabransky T

"The program offers a unique advantage over many traditional surveys of drug use through its collection and testing1 of a urine sample from respondents to verify answers about recent drug use (Abt Associates Inc., 2009))."

Fry, Smith, Bruno, O'Keefe & Miller (2007). Benzodiazepine And Pharmaceutical Opioid Misuse And Their Relationship To Crime. Retrieved from http://www.ndlerf.gov.au/pub/Monograph_21.pdf… [Read More]

Drugs There Are Several Major

The legalization of cocaine in any field would only make it easier to get, and therefore raise levels of illicit use. Cocaine should continue to be a fully illegal substance.

2a. Barbiturates and benzodiazepines are usually administered at first in smaller dosages. Whether their use is legal or illegal, users usually begin with smaller amounts due the heavy risk of overdose. Because they are sedatives, there is always an increased risk of overdose with really no way to help oneself. These low doses eventually become less than what the user needs in order to maintain a certain level of intoxication. Therefore, the user then begins to slower bump up dosages in order to reach that previous level of intoxication. This then leads to higher and higher doses. Because this process takes so much time, the user may not even know he or she has become addicted to the substance. They may begin to exhibit physical and psychological signs of addiction before they even know there is any sort of problem. Therefore this makes barbiturate and benzodiazepine addiction not only hard to diagnose, but also incredibly hard to treat as well.

2b. Barbiturates and benzodiazepines, and all sedative-hypnotic drugs for that…… [Read More]

Drugs How Poverty Contributes to Drugs and

Drugs

How Poverty Contributes to Drugs and Alcohol Abuse

There is a serious problem in the United States today with irresponsible use of alcohol and drugs. Hundreds of people die on a daily basis from drug and alcohol consumption, or from the effects of that consumption. For every direct victim, there are many others who suffer -- their friends and families. In order for society to overcome this problem, we must make an effort to understand the societal problems that contribute to it. This paper will discuss how poverty contributes to drug use in American adults.

The United States has a reputation as a rich country, yet approximately 1 in every 10 Americans lives below the national poverty line. People who live in poverty survive on incomes that the government deems too low to buy food, clothes, shelter and other basic needs. Many types of people live in poverty, including children and adults. Poverty contributes to drug and alcohol abuse in many ways.

According to Ovenden (2002): "It is abundantly clear that disadvantaged areas with poor housing, poor amenities and high levels of unemployment remain overwhelmingly the areas where drug problems are concentrated. Sadly, the link between drug problems and…… [Read More]

Drugs Alcohol

Drugs and Alcohol's Influence On Crime Rates

There is a growing problem here in the United States, as well as around the world. Drug and alcohol use is skyrocketing out of control. On the one hand, many within modern society claim that it is their right to decide what they put in their own bodies and how they can behave. Yet, on the other, there is the much older view that alcohol and drugs can lead ordinary people to do unintended things that often lead to the commencement of a crime. In order to explore this issue further, this research begs the question: what is the relationship between drugs / alcohol and crime?

There is a large body of research on the topic of alcohol / drugs and how it impacts our behavior in negative ways. Within this research are studies examining the relationship between drugs / alcohol and crime? Within the United States, over 50% of crimes reported to the police were apparently involving individuals under the influence of either drugs or alcohol (Hart & Rennison 2003). Apparently, some 60% of assault cases involved some sort of illicit substance (Hart & Rennison 2003). In the context of Canada, one…… [Read More]

Drugs Past and Current

Drugs Past and Current

Substance abuse is not new; throughout human history human beings have used and abused everything from alcohol to food to chemical and pharmaceutical substances. In fact, one of the main reasons for the nineteenth century progressivism movement to enact prohibition laws was to preserve the public health and to curtail the alcoholism problems rampant throughout the nation and especially on the Western frontier. Only a prohibition on narcotics remains, but these attempts to limit the sale and distribution of mind-altering substances has not at all limited use and abuse of those substances. In fact, recent substance abuse statistics and trends in the United States have become particularly severe. It seems that substance abuse is entrenched in North American society. Especially among adolescents, substance abuse can cause terrible mental and physical health problems and in many cases leads to accidental or deliberate drug-related deaths. In some cases, substance abuse is linked with other sociological and socioeconomic factors. Substance abuse is also related to underlying mental health issues, but direct causal relationships between such mitigating factors are difficult to establish. While substance abuse is a worldwide phenomenon, American culture in particular seems to stimulate drug use and abuse.…… [Read More]

Drugs What Argument Can You Make for

Drugs

What argument can you make for either the prohibition of or the continued legalization of caffeine and nicotine? What are some of the implications of either move?

Both caffeine and nicotine are legal drugs, and they should remain legal just as all drugs of all types should be legal. Caffeine is a "psychoactive stimulant drug," and it can be found in common foods and beverages such as coffee and soft drinks (p. 274). Nicotine is described as a "toxic, dependence-producing psychoactive drug found exclusively in tobacco," (p. 254). Although caffeine and especially nicotine are not necessarily healthy substances, using these drugs is a matter of personal choice. Similarly, using alcohol, cannabis, and doctor-prescribed medications is also a matter of personal choice and should be so. The implications of keeping caffeine and nicotine legal include allowing people to enjoy delicious beverages like coffee, which has a long and entrenched cultural history. Caffeine also "relatively benign" even if signs of dependency can be shown in clinical trials and in case study (p. 274). There is no reason to ban caffeine, any more than there is a reason to ban alcohol. Nicotine might be more harmful than caffeine due to the fact…… [Read More]

Drugs in Holland Canada and the U S

Drugs in Holland, Canada, and the U.S.

Drugs in Holland

There are many misunderstandings about the use of drugs in the Netherlands, also known as Holland. The truth is that drugs as rule are not legal in Holland. According to the Government of the Netherlands, the sale of "soft drugs' in coffee shops is "tolerated"; in those coffee shops no alcohol may be sold or consumed. So the country allows people of age to come to coffee shops and buy and smoke marijuana (or hashish), but the smoking of marijuana is not permitted in public places like bars or restaurants.

Moreover, members of the public are not prosecuted "…for possession or use of small quantities of soft drugs," the Government of the Netherlands explains on the government's website. What does the government consider "soft drugs"? The "Opium Act" sets the record straight as to what soft drugs are juxtaposed with hard drugs.

Hard drugs -- that are illegal -- include cocaine, amphetamine, heroin, ecstasy and GHB. These are listed as "Schedule I." But soft drugs ("Schedule II") are legal in small amounts; those include marijuana, cannabis products (hash and marijuana), and sleeping pills along with sedatives (Valium and Seresta) (Government…… [Read More]

Drugs - Cocaine Cocaine Cocaine

The euphoric cocaine high is very addictive and in experiments on laboratory animals, mice and chimpanzees given the choice between food and cocaine typically prefer cocaine to such an extent that they will ignore the lever rewarding them with food and continually select the lever that provides cocaine until they die of starvation. In the 1970s and 1980s, cocaine became an extremely popular recreational drug in the U.S. partly because of the social perception that it was the drug choice of the wealthy elite. It was sold and consumed by club goers and was available at upscale parties about the same way that ecstasy has become a popular club drug today. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a new from of cocaine was introduced that produced an even more powerful and more addictive high. "Free base" cocaine is the product of a chemical process in which certain molecules of the compound are separated out using ammonia solutions and various other processes. Instead of being snorted like powdered cocaine, free base cocaine comes in a paste or "rock" that is smoked from a glass pipe.

This direct inhalation method produces a shorter but much more powerful and powerfully addicting high…… [Read More]

Drugs Society and Human Behavior

Your Thoughts/Feelings About Giving Something Up & What You Learned and How it Applies to the Overall Concept of Addicition

It is quite amazing to think about the freedoms and opportunities each person really has, regardless of his or her situation. For instance, many people often complain about being forced to stay at work or required to show up for a certain meeting. While these people may be recognize that they must stay at the job or they will be fired or they are required to show up for a meeting if they do not want to face adverse career circumstances, people are not really forced to do many things. In frustrating situations, it is well within most people's power to simply walk out of the door. But something else compels people to stay in many situations that are less than perfect.

By giving something up, I know now how hard it is not to exercise my choices, to know how easy it is to simply take what I desire. With nothing like a paycheck or a moral right or wrong guiding me, I realized that giving something up solely for the purpose of benefiting myself was a very frustrating…… [Read More]

Drugs & Ethics the Kalydeco

The Orphan Drug Act is an extension of these ethics, but veers away from utilitarianism. The principle at work with orphan drugs is more deontological in its nature because it uses massive amounts of taxpayer money to provide drugs for relatively few individuals, under the idea that all Americans deserve their ailments to be treated, not just Americans with common ailments.

From this analysis, Vertex appears to be operating with poor ethics. From a utilitarian perspective, the American taxpayer has underwritten the development of this drug so that CF sufferers can also receive treatment, yet Vertex in charging such a price for Kalydeco is rejecting the bargain that it has with its backers. From a utilitarian perspective, this betrayal of the American taxpayer represents harm done to the masses for the benefit of a few (Vertex shareholders). That this behavior runs directly contrary to the spirit of the system places Vertex on shaky ethical ground from a deontological perspective as well. The company is not expected to behave altruistically, but both the law and societal norms reject the idea that a person's life should be held at ransom, especially in amount that it unreasonably high. Vertex is under no obligation…… [Read More]

Drugs in Rock Music -- 1955-1966 Much

Drugs in Rock Music -- 1955-1966

Much is made in the media about rock history and drug involvement by rock stars, particularly in the late 1960s and into the 1970s. The deaths of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and others were apparently due to drug overdoses. But illegal drugs and prescription drugs were in use by rock and roll bands and individual stars before the psychedelic era in the late 1960s. This paper reports on some of those drug use situation in rock music between 1955 and 1965.

There was indeed evidence of drug use (and abuse) in rock music between 1955 and 1965 -- notably drug use by Elvis Presley, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Bob Dylan.

Elvis Presley, probably the biggest rock music superstar in history, was involved with drugs in the 1950s, according to an article in Rolling Stone magazine. In the Elvis Presley biography, the article states the widely known facts that Presley was involved with "barbiturates, tranquilizers and amphetamines…during the last years of his life"; he in fact was involved with "mainly amphetamines" while he served in the U.S. Army.

Presley entered the Army in 1958 and was discharged with…… [Read More]

Drugs and Crime Despite Efforts

The third issue discussed is that of the juvenile justice systems. Most youth when convicted at a young age and put into these juvenile detentions enter a world that they rarely escape from. Once they go into this system, very rarely is there enough support to keep them out. In order to make these programs work, staff need to be better compensated, more professional mentors are needed to encourage youth to make something more of themselves, and better follow-up is needed (Anglin et al., 2009). Youth who are addicted to drugs have to be treated differently and in a different infrastructure for them to actually get help. Putting them into a detention hall with other violent youth, will only make them become more violent and therefore increase crime rates.

The fourth and last issue discussed was the need to have more gender-specific treatment when it comes to women. More than half of incarcerated women were under the influence of drugs when committing a crime, about 20% have a co-occurring mental disorder, and have a higher STI and HIV rate than incarcerated men (Anglin et al., 2009). These numbers show the importance of addressing women's issues separately than those of men,…… [Read More]

Drugs and Violence It Also Points Out

drugs and violence. It also points out the differences between the effects of various drugs and how different kinds of drugs lead towards different types of violent crimes and aggressive actions. This paper also puts light on the usage of drugs by victims and executors of drugs.

Drugs are considered to be related to violence in a number of ways. Many researches have shown that there is a strong and direct relation between drugs and violence. An increase in the usage of drugs always leads towards an increase in violent behavior. The violent behavior, however, varies from drug to drug. Different drugs have been observed to instigate aggressive behavior in different ways. Upon observation it was indicated that alcohol has different effects on the user when compared to the effects of narcotics. ("Alcohol and other,") Drugs and violence are related to each other in three complex ways. (Goldstein) According to a study these three possible ways are as follows:

Psychopharmacological Way:

This way suggests that some people due to initial intake of some drugs may demonstrate violent behavior. This is because they lose their ability to think rationally and indulge in aggressive behavior such as torture. The drugs usually found…… [Read More]

Drugs in Film the Big Lebowski

Big Lebowski

Drugs in the Big Lebowski

Drugs have played a major role in the development of culture and society and have even come to be a topic of interest in cinema. Drugs' influence on cinema has even led to the creation of the sub-genre of drug films, the stoner comedy. A drug film -- in the context of stoner comedies -- can be described as a film in which a drug, such as marijuana, influences a character or in which drugs influence, drive, or contribute to the narrative or plot development. One such film in which characters are influenced by drugs is Joel and Ethan Coen's The Big Lebowski, released in 1998. In the film, The Dude's habitual and recreational drug use help to establish his character and how others around him perceive him, which leads them to believe he can be easily influenced into carrying out their schemes.

In the context of The Big Lebowski, and in other drug-oriented films, a drug can be defined as an illegal or controlled substance that may have medicinal, intoxicating, or performance enhancing properties. Additionally, it is expected that drugs influence characters and events in a drug-oriented film. In The Big Lebowski,…… [Read More]

Drugs in the Military

Drugs in the military [...] drug usage in the United States military, and some of the steps the military is taking to combat drugs. Drug usage in the military is beginning to rise again, and the military is attempting to combat illegal drug usage in a variety of ways. However, the military recently reduced waiting times for those who test positive for marijuana usage and want to join the military, so they seem to be sending a mixed message to drug users. Their policies may affect how the military recruits in the future, and how they deal with illegal drug use by military personnel.

The United States military has a "zero-tolerance" policy on illicit drug use. However, illegal drug usage in the military seems to be increasing again, after nearly 20 years of a known decrease, and in 2002, newspapers reported "17,000 people have been discharged from the military for positive drug tests since 1999" ("Drug Use"). Therefore, illegal drugs are still established in the military, and military personnel use them for a variety of reasons, from stress to recreation.

Drug use in the military is not new. World War II veterans remember taking methamphetamines to stay awake during combat,…… [Read More]

Drug Profile

Drug Profile

Drug addiction is a human issue that cultivates biological, psychological, and social consequences, among others. The manifestation of addiction itself is characterized by physical dependence, and is defined by the uncontrollable, compulsive urge to seek and use drugs despite harmful repercussions (Fernandez, Rodriguez & Villa, 2011). Philologically, drug use affects the reward center, where dopamine receptors are over-stimulated. Ultimately, the repetition of drug use is encouraged to achieve the same, heightened, pleasure response (U.S. DHHS, 2007). Psychological responses to drug use may reflect motivations caused by positive pleasure, anxiety, or protection. The bodily effects of drugs often reflect the drug's class: stimulants, depressants, narcotics, hallucinogen, and cannabis. Each class represents various drugs and causes distinct biochemical responses. In addition to illicit drugs, prescription drugs are also highly abused and are categorized within the drug classes. Drug addiction does not discriminate between gender, race, sexual orientation or creed, and its psychological and physiological effects mirror the drug's inherent properties.

To understand the physiology of drug addiction, one must first recognize that all drugs are chemical compounds. Each drug is composed of various chemical properties that react to receptors within the brain, stimulate biochemical processes, and the individual then experiences…… [Read More]

Drug Legalization as the Country

"As a case in point we may take the known fact of the prevalence of reefer and dope addiction in Negro areas. This is essentially explained in terms of poverty, slum living, and broken families, yet it would be easy to show the lack of drug addiction among other ethnic groups where the same conditions apply." Inciardi 248()

Socio-economic effects

Legalizing drugs has been deemed to have many socio-economic effects. A study that was conducted by Jeffrey a. Miron, who was a Harvard economist estimated that by legalizing drugs, this would inject about $76.8 billion in to the U.S. every year. 44.1 billion dollars would come from savings made from the law enforcement measures and 32.7 billion would be from tax revenue. This revenue can be thought to be broken down as follows: 6.7 billion dollars from marijuana, 22.5 billion from heroin and cocaine and the rest from the other minority drugs Debusmann ()

Many drug cartels have taken advantage of the limited resources of the nations in terms of having low taxation levels in the Central American countries which had been credited with weakening the response of the region towards drug traffickers. 2010 tax revenue statistics show that El…… [Read More]

Drug Wars a Thin Bloody Line Borders

Drug Wars

A Thin, Bloody Line

Borders are artificial lines. Even when they follow natural divisions such as rivers or mountain ranges, borders are still artificial. They are imaginary lines that different governments (or other official groups of people) have decided marks the place on the earth where the authority and power of one group ends and the power and authority of the next group begins.

Borders are in general a good idea because they tend to reduce the overall amount of violence in the world by dividing potential combatants into different regions. The fact that wars are a constant in human society demonstrates that borders are too porous to stop all violence. But borders that were absolutely closed would prevent all trade, which would be catastrophic. The United States and Mexico do not want an end to trade. The governments want an end to trade in illegal drugs (or at least a dramatic reduction in this trade) and thus a dramatic reduction in terms of the accompanying violence.

While it is also the case that while borders tend to separate people who might otherwise take up arms against each other, it is also the case that those who live…… [Read More]

Drugs and Addiction

Drugs and Addiction

Prolonged drug use produces compulsive seeking of the drugs. Drugs affect the functioning of the brains' functioning, and that has behavioral implications on the drug addict. Drug addiction leads to chronic relapses, which may lead a person to face problems of disconnection. Prescription drugs are becoming the most abused drug types regardless of the negative influences they produce to the lives and behavior of users. University students in America adapt to illegal use of prescription drugs like Adderall, piracetam and modafinil in search of increased intelligence.

The controversy behind the use of drugs like Adderall is based on the ethical influence on others with relation to effects its use has on addicts. The controversy behind Adderall use comes from the fact that it helps users in enhancing their concentration, while at the same time; it produces negative characteristics on users. As this paper discusses the addictive use of drugs, the focus is on the use of Adderall as an enhancement drug, and how it should be treated focusing on moral aspects of drug use on others. There is also going to be a focus on the essence of relating Adderall use to healthy eating, which is encouraged…… [Read More]

Drug Tests and Government Benefits Recently There

Drug Tests and Government Benefits

Recently, there has been discussion regarding government benefits, such as unemployment. This discussion has focused on a new, potential requirement to receive benefits such as welfare: drug testing. People who are applying for benefits like welfare or unemployment would have to be tested for illegal drugs (Alcindor, 2012). If they were found to use drugs, they could be denied benefits. This would seen to make sense, because those who are out of work and needing government assistance should not be spending the money they do receive on illegal drugs or other nefarious activities. However, the American taxpayers are concerned about where the money for the drug tests will come from, and the federal government is already stating that states which pass this drug testing law for benefits will be in violation of federal law. That means these states could lose out on millions of dollars of benefits. Would that be more harmful than the idea that some government benefit recipients may be using drugs instead of spending their benefit money wisely? That is a question that can be difficult to answer and can vary between states.

There are two main issues at stake here. These…… [Read More]

Drug Culture in Film

Drug Culture Midterm

Prior to this course, I had a very narrow interpretation of drug culture in regards to film. The films I was most familiar with were those that focused on marijuana such as Cheech and Chong films, Pineapple Express, Half-Baked, and the Harold and Kumar trilogy among others. Additionally, the only other heroin-centric film I was aware of was Trainspotting, and the only other cocaine-centric film that had made an impression on me was Blow. However, as the term progressed, I became aware of how the general public perceived these drugs and how addiction was depicted in films.

Additionally, my definition of drug culture expanded to include things that are not necessarily consumed but that still alter a person's perceptions or contribute to addiction. These different types of addictions and mind-altering phenomena are most evident in Videodrome and The Social Network.

Question 1b.

There are several films that have impacted me so far in the course. Of the public service announcements and films, A Day In the Life of Donny B. impressed me because of its depiction of an addict and the public's reaction. Throughout the film, Donny B. is shown to have lost his way in life…… [Read More]

Drug Abuse Individuals Who Use Drugs Have

Drug Abuse

Individuals who use drugs have difficulties defeating their addiction and often are pulled back into a reoccurring cycle. The euphoria a person experiences through the use of certain drugs causes the individual to continue their use in order to maintain their excited state. Eventually through continued use a person can develop a tolerance, which can cause increase use to substitute the effect.

Illegal Drugs

The most common illegal drugs on the market include marihuana, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. They are considered illegal due to the fact that they are acquired through illegal practices by drug dealers and sold at highly expensive rates. Due to the high cost to obtain these drugs, many addicts go to grave lengths to get their daily dose. Individuals will engage in sexual activity and even steal from family members in order to purchase these highly addicted drugs. People high on meth or heroins loose their sense of judgment and can act in a way not recognizable to their family and friends, they also tend to make irrational decisions that can haunt them forever. Increased sexual activity among addicts can lead to many sexual related diseases, such as AIDS and HIV. According to the…… [Read More]

Drug Crime Does Research Evidence Suggest That

Drug Crime

Does research evidence suggest that current policies on drugs and crime are still appropriate?

While "tough" policies designed to curb drug use and distribution are attractive politically, and look good on paper, research shows that such policies are no longer appropriate. Instead of responding to drug use as a public health problem, governments like that of the United States and the United Kingdom still regards criminalization as "the sine qua non-of responsible policy-making," (Downes and Morgan, 2007, p. 212). Unfortunately, the criminalization approach happens to also be irresponsible policy making based on emotion rather than fact. Governments with criminalization policies like the United States and Great Britain show a disturbing "state of denial" about the way criminalization creates and enhances organized crime, and may have even exacerbated some types of substance abuse (Downes and Morgan, 2007, p. 212).

Drug use patterns have also changed dramatically, requiring an intelligent shift in public policy. There has been a pattern of "normalization" associated with illicit drug use of most types (South 2007, p. 815). The normalization of drug use suggests that a criminological policy is failing to inject the type of normative change needed to prevent drug problems. Instead, criminological policies…… [Read More]

Drugs and Alcohol Effects on College

Drugs and Alcohol Effects on College / Campuses

Current Literature On Drugs And Alcohol On College Campuses

Drugs and Alcohol Effects on College Campuses

The number of college students using the drug and alcohol in the United States of America has been on the increase. Binge drinking is the way most students in these colleges take alcohol. College students are a visible group where alcohol and drug abuse have become a common place. Effects of alcohol on college students cause social, legal, and academic problems. Students, on the other hand, engage in risky sex behaviors and other physical activities that might even result to death. Studies indicate that approximately four out of five college students in the United States abuse alcohol. About 1700 college students aged an estimate between 18-24-year die unintentionally because of alcohol and drug abuse. Most of these deaths are a result of motor vehicle accidents or injuries from assault (O'Malley & Johnston, 2002).

Alcohol and drug abuse in colleges is associated with rape. About 97000 students in United States experience rape episodes in colleges. Victims of rape in colleges are mostly associated with alcohol, drug abuse and in other cases date rape. A majority of college…… [Read More]

Drug Pregnant

Drugs and Pregnancy

The habit of taking drugs continually well into the pregnancy stages of a woman has been associated with several effects that the drugs may have on the fetus. There have been several arguments posited by various groups depending on their standpoint about the issue of drug abuse and pregnancy. There have also been attempts, as seen in this session, to classify the drugs into those that do not arm the fetus and those that can in some way hurt the fetus. Having gone through the entire course and getting exposed to numerous materials, there is one thing that stands out clear and I came to understand with insurmountable evidence, the fetus is adversely affected by the drugs that the mother takes. This is true bearing that the fetus depends on the mother for entirely everything for its survival.

The central issues identified during the entire session include the effects that the drugs can cause to the fetus and those that follow the infant after birth. Some of these damages or effects can cause malfunctions in the fetuses in their later life hence it is significant that the fetus is not exposed to teratogens especially during the first…… [Read More]

Drug Trafficking in the United States

Drug Trafficking

In The United States

drug trafficking in the united states

"Drag trafficking is an activity that involves the importation, manufacturing, cultivation, distribution, and/or sale of illicit drags.

In this hierarchical system, narcotics are moved from smugglers, growers, or manufacturers to wholesalers who pass the product down through the chain of distribution to retailers and eventually to the consumer or drug user"

(Desroches, 2007, ¶ 1).

Despite the problems inherent in drug abuse promoted by drug trafficking from Mexico and other countries as well as by individuals living in America, United States (U.S.) consumers continue to spend billions of dollars each year on illegal drugs. Producing and supplying illegal drugs currently comprises a massive global business venture expected to continue to grow; negatively impacting the way a person's mind and body works. Drug trafficking portrays the supply side of the drug trade. In the book, Drug trafficking. What if we do nothing?, Harris (2009) explains that in the U.S., drug trafficking constitutes illegal trading of drugs, while on an international scale; it simultaneously depicts a criminal activity. Drug traffickers cater to, albeit, at the same time exploit problem drug users. The United Nations defined drug users as "people who…… [Read More]

Drug Culture Final the Second

Brick and Cutter's Way can be categorized as both thrillers and films noir due to the fact that the narratives of these films revolve around an investigation into the mysterious deaths of young women at the hands of power-hungry men. While the investigation in Brick is fueled by a desire to expose a drug trafficking ring at a high school, thus making drugs a central issue, drugs in Cutter's Way are not a factor that contributed to the deaths of the individuals Cutter was looking into. However, that is not to say that drugs to not play a major role, as Cutter is heavily addicted to alcohol, which causes him to be discredited despite the fact that he is able to solve not only the crime at hand, but also reveal why his father was targeted by the same murderer years before.

On the other hand, Cabin in the Woods, can be considered to be a postmodern horror film that parodies horror films, in general. In Cabin in the Woods, drug use, particularly marijuana, is exaggerated and simultaneously used to comment on society's perceptions of drug use and users. Additionally, commentary on the formulaic structure of horror films, and the…… [Read More]

Drug Legalization of Drugs Legalization

Economists are concerned with the impact that the sale of drugs has on both individual and economic freedoms and frame their argument from this perspective. Others argue that reliance on the criminal justice system has not produced significant results and that it is time to reframe the argument to focus on the education, prevention, and treatment of drugs.

From the economic perspective, there are apparent differences between government prohibition and legalization of drugs. It has been estimated that total government expenditures devoted to the enforcement of drug laws is well in excess of $26 billion. These figures are also significant in state and local law enforcement agencies with drug related incidents making up one fifth of the total investigative resources and drug enforcement activities. Approximately 25% of the total prison population, municipal, state and federal, is made up of drug law violators. In fact, ten percent of all arrests are for nonviolent drug offences with forty percent being for marijuana related possession and use (Millhorn et al., 2009). The United States rate of imprisonment for drug related offenses exceeds the rates of the majority or Western European nations for all crimes. This is of significant concern since most drug related…… [Read More]

Drug Free Workplace in Favor

What further makes interpretation of results difficult to precisely define quantify is that the amount of drug stores depends on the nature of the drug itself, the duration of the ingestion of the drug, and the composition of the tissue holding the drug and the frequency of use. The greater the incidence of drug use the more permanent the level of toxins and chemicals in tissues throughout the body, and therefore the greater the probability of catching chronic drug users in drug testing. Thea difficult part of using drug tests periodically is the longitudinally there may be peaks and valleys to the incidence of drug abuse. Companies have begun surprise inspections of their workers in the most potentially dangerous occupations including forklift workers, construction workers, airline pilots, and heavy equipment workers.

Despite these shortcomings of tests, the advances made in drug testing technologies are gradually overcoming these obstacles related to the reliability and validity of testing technologies. Specific testing technologies are more adept at capturing the traces of different drugs relative to others yet all abide by the requirements of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) according to document published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (1998) which…… [Read More]

Drug Cartel the Need for

Moreover, influential Mexican officials are involved in the drug business and they support drug leaders in destroying the country. Corruption is thriving in Mexico, as most high officials find it difficult to resist the benefits that the drug business might bring. (Andrew Reding) According to Reding, there are even members of the federal judicial police involved in the Mexican drug business. It is not just the financial benefits which make officials get involved in the drug industry. There have been several important Mexican people that chose to reject the thought of collaborating with the drug barons. Sadly, most of those that didn't cooperate had been murdered by the merciless cartels. Curiously, wanted drug lords are often sighted on the streets of Mexico accompanied by their bodyguards as they simply walk along the streets without being arrested. (Reding) Their attitude is an insult to honest people everywhere.

The Mexican drug industry is getting more powerful with the passing of time and more and more people become drug abusers as a result. The increase in the arrest of drug lords doesn't seem to stop the evolution of drugs in Mexico and in the U.S.

The U.S. is one of the countries with…… [Read More]

Drug Testing in High School

Drug-testing in schools has been shown to reduce the use of drugs as well as reduce other negative activities and occurrences known to be associated with drug use among students. There are critical components of a drug testing program and this study has related those components and the appropriateness of their use in a school drug testing program.… [Read More]

Drug Alcohol Abuse Drug and Alcohol

Substance use is frequently associated with child abuse and domestic violence. It also is a leading contributor to marital dissatisfaction, family breakups and rejection of family members. The importance of the family in understanding alcohol and drug use and abuse is underlined by these highly destructive consequences of alcohol and drug dependency on the abuser and the family. (Lala; Straussner; Fewell, 17)

Peer Group plays an important part in resolving the problem as they are able to take the drug or alcohol abuser more into confidence compared to others since most people associate themselves with their respective peer group in terms of habits, tastes and concerns. It has been demonstrated that a drug abuser will definitely abide by a member of the peer group to which he belongs and obey requests of abstinence more than anyone else. Educational system also plays an important role in tackling the prevalence of the problem through imbibing a value system within the students and motivating them to be noble citizens and make contribution to the society by engagement in better careers. The role of mass media is also important for abstinence of drug and alcohol abuse through awareness generation regarding its evil effects. (the…… [Read More]

Drug Abuse and Prostitution Researchers

This despite how much money is being wasted on "the war on drugs." Making "war" militarily on a medical/social problem makes no sense. In addition to the psychological problems of individuals, social conditions contribute greatly to the problem. People who are alienated from society become addicted to drugs, as Sen. Robert Kennedy pointed out back in 1965. Solving the drug problem means "solving poverty and broken homes, racial discrimination and inadequate education, slums and unemployment" (cited in Goldberg, 2005 p. 11), not to mention child abuse. Instead, we treat prostitutes as though they were scum. A New York study has shown that the police, the courts, and their clients (johns) routinely mistreat them in a manner that violates civil liberties and human rights. This is "mirrored at the judicial level, where sex workers bear the brunt of the criminal justice system while johns usually get off relatively lightly" (Facts about prostitution web site).

Until the complex, hard-core social problems are addressed in a meaningful way, drug use will continue to be a problem. Drug use is a symptom of societal sickness, and making "war" on a symptom without addressing the disease itself is useless, expensive, and makes everything worse. Sanho…… [Read More]

Drug-Related Crime Many People Who

One example of the kind of policy change that is being suggested by some in the particular war on Meth is the reduction of the ability of meth makers, especially large scale makers to realize the supplies of a small number of raw materials used to make the drug pseudoephedrine is quaaludes, as this drug was successfully removed from the radar screen by the banning of the chemicals used to make it, and this may be an option for all synthetic drugs.

Reurer 170)

Works… [Read More]

Drug Usage the Use Drugs

Drug addiction is not merely a failure of will or weakness in character, however having this 'brain disease' does not absolve the addict of responsibility for his or her behavior, but it does explain why an addict feels compelled to continue using drugs (Leshner 2001). Environmental cues that surround an individual's initial drug use and development of the addiction, actually become "conditioned" to the drug use and thus are critical to the problem of addiction (Leshner 2001).

Therefore, when those cues are present at a later time, "they elicit anticipation of a drug experience and thus generate tremendous drug craving" (Leshner 2001). This type of cue-induces craving is one of the most frequent causes of drug use relapses, independently of whether drugs are available and even after years of abstinence (Leshner 2001).

In March 2006, it was reported that researchers from Liverpool, England discovered a gene that directly affects the risk of an individual vulnerability of addiction to the Class A drug (James 2006). Researchers tested 700 cocaine users and 850 non-users in Brazil, where use of crack and cocaine is widespread, and found that individuals (some 30%) who had a particular variant of a gene called the Dopamine Transporter…… [Read More]

Drug Enforcement Strategies There Are

In jails, not one of the violent criminals was under the influence of heroin at the time their crime was committed. Twenty-one percent of state inmates incarcerated for violent crime were under the influence of alcohol alone at the time they committed their crime. The number of those under the influence of marijuana alone was too small to be recorded statistically. (National 1998) These facts indicate that it is not the drug users that are committing the crimes, but the people who deal with drugs. If there was no money to be gained from dealing with drugs, these criminals would have to find legitimate jobs and the police would only have to worry about traffic.

The efforts to target youth with drug education in the War on Drugs has fallen far short of its original goals. The ONDCP is budgeting less than 12% of the $100 million it was planning to allocate between 1998 and 2003 for reducing youth drug use. (McCaffrey 1998)

In some cities, such as Syracuse, New York, the proportion of resources dedicated to drug enforcement has been criticized by the city's auditor, who noted in his report to the mayor that drug-related arrests "exceeded arrests for…… [Read More]

Drug Education

Drug Education

The DARE program, whose short form is derived from "Drug Abuse Resistance Education," has developed so quickly, from the time since its commencement 18 years ago, that it is at the present being educated in 75% of school districts all over the country, as well as in 54 other countries. Particularly, in the lives of elementary school students, skilled and qualified police officers who educate and lecture the program have turned out to be vital figures; in addition to that, in thousands of communities, the program's red symbol has taken on symbolic status on T-shirts and bumper stickers (1).

Is D.A.R.E. Effective?

If the evaluation and measurement for the accomplishment of D.A.R.E. is fame and recognition amongst the masses, then yes: D.A.R.E. has been extremely successful in magnetizing extensive admiration, as well as monetary support. Furthermore, D.A.R.E. has accomplished a point of observation unmatched and unequalled by any other solitary drug education program. In addition to that, D.A.R.E. is even increasing a compelling existence on the Internet, as more and more individuals and D.A.R.E. executives and officials are putting up web pages, encouraging and advancing their local agendas (2).

On the other hand, if the evaluation and measurement…… [Read More]

Drug Reimportation the Need for

While it is definitely true that these companies spend a great deal of money on research and development, for which they certainly deserve and in fact need to be compensated (not to mention their right to make a profit, and the fact that profit potential is a major driver in innovation), the amount of profit and compensation that comes solely from the United States is inordinate when compared to that provided by other countries. Nearly half of all revenue going to pharmaceutical companies every year comes from United States' consumers (Sawkar, 2005). The argument that drug reimportation would damage companies' innovation and profit potentials implies that it is the United States' sole responsibility to provide funds for these goals; if reimportation were allowed then prices would even out, meaning other countries would start paying a fair share towards research and development costs while the United States would experience a savings.

The arguments against drug reimportation, then, are rather weak. The arguments for it, on the other hand, are quite compelling -- rising prescription costs are a major problem for many senior citizens and for those that have chronic and long-term illnesses, and many people simply cannot afford the medications they…… [Read More]

Drug Control Policy as Ethan

Unfortunately, the American government has been looking in the wrong place for these models, especially in Asia and Latin America. For example, the coca plant from which cocaine is derived grows in abundance in many geographical regions of northern South America and in Central America, where growers make huge profits as compared to efforts to force farmers and peasants to grow legal crops which inevitably do not produce enough profits in order to survive.

Of course, over the last twenty years or so, the U.S. federal government has done much and at great expense to attempt to eradicate the growing of coca but these efforts have also failed miserably. As Nadelmann relates, even if foreign supplies of coca and other drugs like heroin could be cut off, "the drug abuse problem in the U.S. would scarcely abate," due to the fact that much if not most of the drugs like marijuana, amphetamines and hallucinogens (LSD) are made in the U.S. Thus, if cocaine and heroin supplies were eliminated, drug users "would quickly substitute other drugs" in place of cocaine and heroin, thus creating a never-ending cycle of drug substitution and a system wherein new types of drugs are invented to…… [Read More]

Drug Addiction and Crime Over

(Cussen, 2006, pp. 39 -- 48)

The Role of the Church, Family, Community and Nonprofits

Like what was stated previously, our focus will be on those organizations that are through: the church, family, community and various nonprofits. The basic idea here is to have each one of these groups effectively reach out to various addicts and offer them a way of effectively dealing with their addiction. This is significant because, this kind of basic approach has been used consistently throughout the course of human history to address these kinds of problems. Evidence of this can be seen by looking no further than a direct reference from 1 Corinthians 10:13 with it saying, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." ("The Holy Bible," 2007) As a result, the change in policy that we are advocating is intelligently dealing with these issues, while remaining in line with some of the basic ideas of the Judeo Christian philosophy. This giving these organizations the chance to…… [Read More]

Drug Control

Drug Control

"Prevention is better than cure" is an age-old and time-tested maxim. It has been proved correct in many different situations. None more so than in the area of drug abuse: it being far easier and more cost effective to prevent drug use than drug treatment. This essay explains why drug treatment is far more expensive than drug prevention.

A study by the Lewin Group for the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimated the total economic cost of alcohol and drug abuse in the U.S. was $245.7 billion for 1992. ("NIDA InfoFacts" 2005) This includes productivity losses (losses from premature death, drug abuse-related illnesses), health costs, and other, primarily crime-related, costs such as losses due to incarceration and criminal careers. If we consider a hypothetical case in which we prevent all alcohol and drug abuse in the United States, we would theoretically save $245.6 billion.

On the other hand, by treatment of drug abuse only, we can at best hope to save only a small fraction of the total amount. This too, only if we assume that the cost incurred on treatment of drug abuse would be greater than the subsequent saving due to rehabilitation of the reformed drug…… [Read More]

Drug Treatment According to the

Thirdly, drug treatment counselors consider the effectiveness of the program's treatment methods when recommending these programs to addicts. This is determined through evaluating the program's success rates, especially from an objective external agency. This process may also require consideration of the program's accreditation and licensing to determine whether its workers are properly trained mental health professionals and specialists. The success rate of a drug treatment program is crucial in determining its effectiveness in helping the addicted individual to recover.

The fourth factor considered by these professionals when recommending a treatment program is social factors since several environmental factors enhance the probability of exposure to particular drugs. In some cases, some drugs are more often used within some cultures while other drugs are easily found is some geographic areas. Social factors are also considered because drug use takes place in the context of social network for many people (Hoffman et. al., n.d.).

In addition to these factors, drug treatment counselors should consider the family of the addicted person. The need for consideration of the family is because it plays a crucial role in the treatment of any health issue such as substance abuse ("Chapter 1 Substance Abuse Treatment," n.d.). While family…… [Read More]

Drug Enforcement Administration DEA in

The agents then formalize a data which helps them to stop the drug trafficking in future. By the end of year 1968, America's counter culture movement was at its peak and the trend of illegal drug use for the recreational purposes was rising. That was an alarming situation and then the President Lyndon Johnson introduced a legislation that ultimately combined the BDAC and Bureau of Narcotics into a single entity: Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs under the department of Justice (Kleiman & Hawdon, 2011).

As far as the core mission of the Drug Enforcement Administration is concerned, it is to enforce the laws and regulations regarding the controlled substances and to bring the law breakers to the criminal and civil justice system of the United States. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) operations are not only limited to the United States but its jurisdiction is across the world as a competent jurisdiction. The organizations and the members are also involved in the growth, manufacturing or distribution of the illicit substances which are destined to be trafficked in United States ("DEA Mission Statement").

DEA investigates and prepares the prosecution of violators of controlled substances laws that might be operating interstate or…… [Read More]

Drug Laws Changes in Drug

Therefore, a closer look at what is needed is in order.

Needed Changes, Stakeholders and Barriers to Change

The decades that followed Rockefeller and Felony Offender made it clear that these laws were in dire need of change for a variety of reasons. Perhaps most importantly among the reasons for a need for change was the fact that many of those in need of recovery from drug addiction were instead being locked away in prison, burdening the justice system, breaking up families and torturing people with a definite disease. On the other side of the argument, however, barriers to change in these policies was led by staunch conservatives who, not realizing the many facets of drug addiction, were too fast to dismiss addicts as criminals who were only getting what some felt they deserved (nysda.org). In reality, however, there are effective solutions to the debate.

Effective Solutions to the Debate simple relaxation of drug laws and lighter sentences for minor drug offenses is not the only part of the solution equation. In addition, drug abusers need to receive rehabilitation services to help them to free themselves from the prison of drug abuse, and therefore the literal prison that previously awaited…… [Read More]

Drug Culture and Horror

Drug culture at Temple U

Transitioning from high school to college may be shocking to some individuals, but as they begin to get more comfortable with their environment, classes, and fellow students, one may realize that there are many similarities that carry over from their previous academic environment. One social structure that carries over from high school to college are the formation of social groups and cliques. The groups are usually formed because the individuals have common interests -- curricular or extracurricular -- or they are in the same academic program or share classes. Some social groups are also formed based on a shared interest in drugs. While drug use is not something that is openly discussed on campus, nor are drugs consumed openly, there is still evidence that supports the argument that students sometimes engage in recreational drug use.

One of the more widely accepted illegal drugs is marijuana. While the drug is not consumed publically, there are signs that allow individuals to pick out who smokes and who does not. While it is difficult to pinpoint drug use on campus during school hours, there is evidence that suggests individuals support the drug's use and the culture that surrounds…… [Read More]