Addiction And Drug Related Sentencing Essay - 924 Words

Addiction is a word most people are familiar with. In 2016 it is hard to avoid hearing about drugs, or knowing someone who indulges in them. We see it every day, in the news, in movies, from coworkers, and from friends. We know that addiction is an illness that affects all of us; it does not discriminate, and it controls every aspect of the addicts’ life. We also know that the addict uses these substances as self-medication to treat anything from a mental instability, to a physical medical condition - But do we know what we are doing to help the addict? What about our justice system, are we giving them the proper medical treatment they require when incarcerated, or should we be offering another option prior to sentencing an addict to incarceration? Above all, are there other options than the processes we currently use for addiction and drug related sentencing, and how does it affect us as a society? I, myself, suffered from an addiction throughout my teenage years and know fir sthand how hard it is to fight this battle. I have seen the struggle that addicts face when it comes to receiving help. The lucky few are handed over to rehabilitation centers, like myself; the unlucky majority are handed over to jails and prisons upon being caught with their substance of choice. Upon entering rehabilitation I was shocked to learn that almost everyone in my group had already spent time in jail and/or prison in previous years. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, inShow MoreRelatedDo Queensland s Sentencing Laws Focus Too Heavily On Punishment948 Words   |  4 PagesQueensland’s sentencing laws focus too heavily on punishment, rather than rehabilitation, of drug offenders? Queensland’s current drug sentencing laws primarily focus on punishment more than rehabilitation. 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Drug offenders who committed no act of violence make up a large portion of the inmates in the United States. County, State, and Federal prisons are so over populated that the private sector has opened up corporate facilities to house convicted persons. The cost each year to hold a person rises, placing larger financial demands on the judicial system. The Judicial System of the United States should reevaluate the sentencing guidelines for non-violen t drug offenders to alleviateRead MoreSentencing Guidelines For Crack And Powder Cocaine1154 Words   |  5 PagesAttorney, 14th Judicial District, Durham County Subject: Seeking Equality in Sentencing Guidelines for Crack and Powder Cocaine Date: October 17, 2014 Most of us would agree that drug abuse and addiction is no respecter of persons. Regardless of age, race, gender, or economic status drug addiction can rear its ugly head in any situation. 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If mandatory minimum sentencing were to be done away with, then the criminal justice system could finally start to bring desperately needed change to itself and start to get back to where it needs to be; a system that takes people with a problem andRead More U.S. Drug Policy Versus Drug Reality Essay1334 Words   |  6 Pagesserious about winning the war on drugs, it will have to face some hard facts about the failure of its drug policy to date. Since Reagan introduced the war on drugs in the early 1980s, the focus of anti-drug legislation has been on incarceration and eradication, not on drug education and treatment. Drug use is viewed as a crimethe same way that burglary and murder are viewed as crimeswithout examining the social and economic causes behind drug use. This categorization of drug use as criminal misrepresentsRead MoreIllegal Drug Use1378 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Illegal drug use and abuse remains a pervasive social issue despite significant efforts to quell its existence. In fact, a recent report released by the RAND Corporation (2005) notes that drug abuse has become such a prominent social issue that substantial increases in prison populations all across the United States have been attributed to the tougher sentences that have been put in place for drug users. With the realization that current social policies toward reducing drug abuse are not working—onlyRead MoreThe Failure of the War on Drugs Essay1529 Words   |  7 PagesThe War on Drugs in the United States has a profound influence on both the incarceration rates and activities of the criminal justice system. Many politicians and advocates of the policy claim that the War on Drugs is a necessary element to deter criminal behavior and reduce the crime rate. However, studies show that drug deterrent policies on possession and use have been inadequate and unsuccessful (Cole Ger tz, 2013). Studies also show that the War on Drugs has not attained its objectives because