Substance Abuse
Essays

Criminal Justice System – Most Important Change Needed According to my research of Criminal Justice websites, journal articles and books, perhaps the most needed improvement is the System's institutionalized assistance in breaking the cycle of substance abuse in America. On a daily basis, all levels of the Criminal Justice System must deal with either substance abuse charges or related problems such as thefts committed to obtain drug money, domestic abuse by drug abusers and probation violations by failed drug tests. As a result, the System is forced to deal with the significant impact of drug abuse in the United States. It appears that Criminal Justice experts are determined to break the cycle of substance abuse in our Nation in order to handle all the drug/alcohol-related problems faced by the System. Through decades of intelligent observation and practice, the System is gradually realizing that merely punishing substance abuse offenders is an ineffective method of dealing with the substance abuse cycle. Consequently, the System must pay closer attention to the science of addiction and institutionalize methods of dealing with addiction throughout the System. First, the System should require system-wide continuing education of judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, police, probation officers and all other members of the Criminal Justice System about the science of addiction. Secondly, the educators and the members of the Criminal Justice System should work together for a statewide or even nationwide plan to determine: what roles each member of the Criminal Justice System should play in dealing with addiction, according to his/her job in the System; what information must be gathered to decide whether a person suffers from addiction; the earliest/best times to screen people who come into contact with the System; all the possible alternatives for dealing with screened people, depending on their assessment results. Third, these decisions should be used to design effective System-wide: alternative programs for dealing with addiction; screening and assessment in order to decide which people should be merely prosecuted and which people need alternatives such as substance abuse treatment. Fourth, the System needs to empower and encourage all members of the Criminal Justice System to use effective alternatives to sentencing. Fifth, the System needs to empower and encourage all members of the Criminal Justice System to supervise people being helped by those alternatives, using the power of their positions to encourage each person's cooperation. By adopting a System-wide approach to substance abuse, the Criminal Justice System can more effectively and ultimately inexpensively deal with our rampant drug/alcohol-related criminal problems.

The causes of drug dependency are numerous and begin for many during exposure in youth. The discussion here considers the impact that social factors have on the decision to begin abusing young. Additional consideration is given to the possibility that some are predisposed to addition by genetic makeup or mental health.

The Department of Justice of the United States of America, in order to cope with heavy work pressure, had to introduce a separate court for the sole purpose of dealing with criminal offenses committed by drug abusers…

Author Tracy Kidder writes, "The world is full of miserable places…" His tongue-in-cheek quote then continues, "One way of living comfortably is not to think about them or, when you do, to send money." Kidder then…

According to Merrill and Fox (1999) the total impact of substance abuse on Federal entitlement programs is more than $77 billion. This constitutes in excess of $66 billion directly associated with substance abuse.

My client is a four year old, Caucasian female, currently in kindergarten. She is living with her father, and great-grandfather, and next door to her father's parents. The client is currently living with her father and great-grandfather due to her parents separating/divorcing. Client was asked by the father to receive counseling due to parent's separation/divorce. In an article I read by Bryner, he wrote about a study done by Wallerstein and Blakeslee, whom did a longitudinal study for 10 years, they followed for those 10 years a total of 116 children who had come from a divorced home. What they found was that divorce was not something isolated but yet just one step of a series of family transitions that affect the family and the child. Those series of events range from life in the family before a divorce, life in a sudden single-parent household, and possible future marital changes (Bryner, 2001).

The purpose of this work in writing is to conduct a comprehensive literature review of the research in regards to the quantity and frequency of alcohol consumed by college athletes compared to non-athletes and to…

Violent offenders can best be defined as those who commit criminal acts such as homicide, rape, sexual assault, aggravated battery, robbery, and torture. Typology of such offenders begins with very specific…

For most of U.S. history up to the time of the Community Mental Health Act of 1963, the mentally ill were generally warehoused in state and local mental institutions on a long-term basis.

Domestic violence and child abuse are serious issues that affects everyone in the family. Children who are exposed to domestic violence or are abused are at risk to develop a number of potential negative outcomes ranging from emotional to psychological to cognitive problems. Not all of these children will develop problems, but it can be assumed that a fair number will and treatment can be helpful for the victims, but it still appears that legal interventions are most effective for the perpetrators. Thus, understanding what potential effects from exposure to violence can occur in secondary victims, treating them with understanding and care as well as and following strict rules with batterers and primary victims can help to reduce the tension and allow to design an individual program for families in need.