Drugs Legal
Drug Prohibition Causes More Problems Than it olves
This is a paper on drug prohibition and its disadvantages. It has 1 source.
During Prohibition, Americans discovered that making popular substances unlawful cause more problems than it solves. Like alcohol and tobacco, drugs should be legal in this country as most of the problems related to drug use arise from the fact that they are illegal and hence more tempting.
Imagine this: Your fifteen-year-old son is going out to a fast food store, suddenly two gangs start shooting at each other, your son gets shot and dies in a cross fire.
The government of the United tates spends more than $18 billion of tax payer's money on the drug war. The increased expenditure finances the Drug Enforcement Agency, Office of National Drug Control Policy and is used to build a new prison every week. Add to this the financial cost of lawyers, judges,…...
Marijuana is one of the most vilified drugs in history and it very difficult to see just why this is so. The United States used to have a thriving agricultural concern that consisted of hemp (marijuana) famers producing plants for their fibers and seeds. The fibers were used in products such as rope and paper and the seeds were used to make oil which served as a lubricant and a food additive. Unfortunately, people became aware of its psychotropic properties and growing marijuana for any reason was banned. This ban also coincided with the introduction of products that were superior to those made of hemp. The drug usage properties of marijuana had been known for centuries and it had been used in religious ceremonies and as an additive to medicines, but it could also be used in quantities that made the user completely incapacitated for periods…...
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Works Cited
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). "Tax and Fee Rates." U.S. Department of Treasury, 2012. Web.
Blumenson, Eric, and Eva Nilsen. "No Rational Basis: The Pragmatic Case For Marijuana Law Reform." Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law 17.1 (2009): 43-82. Print.
Blumenson, Eric, and Eva Nilsen. "Liberty Lost: The Moral Case For Marijuana Law Reform." Indiana Law Journal 85.1 (2010): 279-299. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Oct. 2012.
Chilea, Dragos. "A Brief Overview of Drug Control Policy in the United States and It's Current Challenges." Judicial Current 14.3 (2011): 13-22. Print.
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, odriguez & 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…...
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…...
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References
Millhorn, M., Monoghan, M., Montero, D., Reyes, M., Roman, T., Tollasken, R., & Walls, B. (2009). North Americans' attitudes toward illegal drugs. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 19(2), 125-141.
Miron, J.A. (2001). The economics of drug prohibition and drug legalization. Social Research, 68(3), 835-855.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (1998). The economic cost of alcohol and drug abuse in the United States. National Institute of Health Publication, 98-4327.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2009, April). National household survey on drug abuse main findings, 1998.
In most cases, recreational drug use is seen as a victimless crime and a harmless activity. This attitude changes in the workplace if the drug use impairs performance to the detriment of other workers or if the work involves public safety, in which case tolerance for drug use drops significantly. Another reason why tolerance for some drug use is so high is because the attitude is a reaction to the apocalyptic warnings emanating from law enforcement and government, given that people know that mild marijuana use, for instance, is not the mind- and life-bending experience often claimed. Many do not see the problem as being as dire as it is made out to be, and so they do not see it in the way earlier generations did.
Casey J. Dickinson notes the increasing use of pre-testing for applicants as a way not assuring that the person hired does not use drugs.…...
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Works Cited
Dickinson, Casey J. "New Vision Gets Results Before Employers Hire." The Central New York Businesss Journal (10 Dec 2004), 5.
Finkel, Kevin W. "Water Intoxication Presenting as a Suspected Contaminated Urine Sample for Drug Testing." Southern Medical Journal, Volume 97, Number 6 (June 2004), 611-613.
French, Michael T., M. Christopher Roebuck, and Pierre Kebreau Alexandre. "To Test or Not to Test: Do Workplace Drug Testing Programs Discourage Employee Drug Use?" Social Science Research (March 2004), 45-63.
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…...
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References
Alleyne, B.C., P. Stuart, and R. Copes. (1991) Alcohol and other drug use in occupational fatalities. Journal of occupational medicine (Baltimore) 33(4):496-500, 1991.
Gerber, J.K. And G.S. Yacoubian, Jr. (2002). An assessment of drug testing within the construction industry. Gerber, J.K. And G.S. Yacoubian, Jr. J Drug Education 32(1):53-68
Koch, K. (1998). "Drug Testing." November 20, 1998
Kelly, T.H., R.W. Foltin, and M.W. Fischman. (1991) Effects of alcohol on human behavior: implications for the workplace. Drugs in the workplace: research and evaluation data. Vol. 11, National Institute on Drug Abuse. Rockville, Maryland 1991. pp. 129-146.
Drug Sentencing in the U.S. Criminal Justice System
The objective of the research proposed in this document is to examine the issue of drug sentencing in the U.S. Criminal Justice System in order to determine if the sentencing used is effective in bringing about a reduction in drug offenses and the rehabilitation of prisoners in successful return to society following incarceration.
(1) Is drug sentencing in the U.S. Criminal Justice System effective in reducing repeat offenses?
(2) Are individuals successful returned to society following incarceration and rehabilitation programs?
(3) Is the U.S. Criminal Justice system succeeding or failing and are drug sentencing laws negatively or impacting the success of the U.S. Criminal Justice system in regards to drug sentencing laws?
Significance of the Study
The significance of the study is the additional knowledge that will be added to the already existing knowledge base in this area of study.
Methodology
The methodology proposed for the research in this study…...
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…...
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References
Ammerman, Robert T; Ammerman, Peggy J. Ott; Tarter, Ralph E. (1999) "Prevention and Societal Impact of Drug and Alcohol Abuse" Routledge.
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…...
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Works Cited
Changeux, Jean-Pierre. (1998 March 22). Drug use and abuse. Daedalus. Retrieved November 06, 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.
Eaves, Lindon J. (2005 July 01). Familial influences on alcohol use in adolescent female twins: testing for genetic and environmental interactions. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. Retrieved November 06, 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.
Goldman, Erik. (2005 July 01). Genetic tests could improve future drug abuse treatment. Family Practice News. Retrieved November 06, 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.
Heroin Addiction Cuts Across All Social Boundaries, Caron Foundation Study Reports.
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…...
Sawkar, M. (2005, March). High U.S. drug prices: Causes and cures. Paper presented for The Drug Reimportation Debate. Retrieved from www.sawkar.net/blog/high_drug_prices.doc
Wu, M.Y, Kennedy, J., Cohen, L.J., & Wang, C.C. (2009). Coverage of atypical antipsychotics among Medicare drug plans in the state of Washington: Changes between 2007 and 2008. Primary Care Companion Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 11 (6), 316- 321.
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…...
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Bibliography
Nadelmann, Ethan a. (Jan. -- Feb. 1998). Common sense drug policy. Foreign Affairs.
Drug Education
he 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 -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…...
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The writer highlights that in spite of vast promises, in the past two decades statistics have pointed to a sharp augment in the use of drugs in the United States.
5). Stewart I. Donaldson. 1996. Drug Abuse Prevention Programming, Do we know what content works? Journal of American Behavioral Scientist. (June). Vol 39, no. 7. Pgs. 245-261.
The highlights that if $700 million a year and twenty thousand specifically trained police officers do not effect in the lessening of drug used amid minors, besides giving police something to do, what does it accomplish?
Third interesting fact reported in the reported is that looking into this demographic, it was found out that past month illicit drug abuse occurred most commonly among individuals aged 18- to 20-year-old. Among the underaged (not of legal age) group (12-17 years old), marijuana abuse among females lowered this year, while this figure has increased by 0.7% among males. ithin the 12-year-old or older demographic, American Indians or Alaskan Natives have the highest reported illicit drug abuse in the past month, at 13%. Although there were distinct differences in the profile of drug users in terms of age group, gender, race, and even on the type of drug abuse, there were no distinct differences in the geographical locations of users, scattered among the following counties: large metropolitan, small metropolitan, non-metropolitan urbanized, and non-metropolitan less urbanized areas.
ork cited:
Department of Health and Human Services. September 2008. "Results from the 2007 National…...
Liability insurance marketer and clinical resource" (Chizek, 2003)
As standards of care constantly change, medical and nursing staff must keep informed of current standard to develop and/or modify policies and procedures, which must be maintained and secured indefinitely. In the event the facility is sued, these will be used to establish the current standard during the time of the questionable occurrence. Policies and procedures also provide the legal nurse consultant with the foundation for facility documentation to be judged for compliance. (Chizek, 2003)
The minimum length of time the modified policies and procedures should be kept is the time frame of the statute of limitations in the individual jurisdiction. In most jurisdictions, the statute of limitations is two to three years."…...
Brown, M.R. (1999, February). America's Most Wanted J-O-B-S. Black Enterprise, 29, 109.
Chizek, Mardy. "Can you use a legal nurse consultant? These specially trained and experienced nurses can be frontline protectors against liability suits. (Feature Article)." Nursing Homes, February 1, 2003.
Clark, Scott a.. "Keys on developing the best laid business plans," the Journal Record, April 12, 1999.
14). Soon, Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act, which was signed into law in 1937. Like the Harrison Act, the Marijuana Tax Act placed marijuana into the same category as the cocaine and opium drugs. It was now illegal to import marijuana into the United States (McWilliams, 1991). However, this law was ineffective in curbing marijuana use (Brecher, 1986, p. 14).
By the early 1940s narcotic addiction had significantly reduced in the United States (Harrison, Backenheimer and Inciardi, 1999). However, this was not the result of legislative initiatives. Instead, it was because World War II was cutting off the "supplies of opium from Asia and interrupt the trafficking routes from Europe" (Inciardi, 1992, p. 24).
Several other legislative efforts in the supply reduction department served to establish more severe penalties for violations of drug laws, and tighten controls and restrictions over legally manufactured narcotic drugs (Harrison, Backenheimer and Inciardi, 1999). The…...
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References
1999). Recreational Drug Information. History of Drug Use U.S. Retrieved from the Internet at www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/.
Brecher, E. (1986). Drug Laws and Drug Law Enforcement: A Review and Evaluation Based on 111 Years of Experience,' Drugs and Society 1:1.
Drucker, Ernest. (1999). Harm Reduction: A Public Health Strategy. Current Issues in Public Health, 1: pp. 64-70.
Modern conflicts have witnessed a significant departure from the conventional titles traditionally bestowed upon wars. These new titles reflect the evolving nature of warfare, the socio-political context in which they occur, and the shifting perceptions of war's causes and consequences.
The Decline of Traditional Titles
In the past, wars were often named after their geographical location (e.g., the Franco-Prussian War) or the specific conflict between two or more belligerents (e.g., the Hundred Years' War). However, such titles have become less common in recent decades. The increasing complexity and interconnectedness of global conflicts has made it....
Impact of Illegal Immigration on Economies, Societies, and National Security
I. Economic Impact
A. Labor Market Effects: - Depressing wages for low-skilled native-born workers - Increasing unemployment among certain demographics - Creating a shadow economy and undercutting legitimate businesses
B. Government Spending: - Imposing costs on healthcare, education, and social services - Reducing tax revenue due to undocumented workers' inability to file - Straining infrastructure and public resources
C. Business Climate: - Creating an unfair competitive advantage for employers hiring undocumented workers - Reducing investments and economic growth - Distorting labor markets and hindering innovation
II. Social Impact
A. Social Cohesion: - Creating divisions within communities ....
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