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History of drugs and criminalisation
History of drugs and criminalisation
The history of drug court essay
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Drug laws are laws that are in place to monitor the use, sell and possession of drugs. Many drug users and legal sellers of drugs have a tendency to misuse and get into illegal situations The head of the United States believes that everyone who is educated, skilled with a trade and has determination should be able to compete with anyone in the world for a job or career. But, many Americans cannot compete or even be a contingent because of the dependency and abuse of drugs. The cost to the nations is astronomical. The history story of drugs laws can dated back to the very existent of America. Each state has its own set of laws governing the use and sell of drugs. The state of Massachusetts was the first to limit the availability of alcohol. Indians …show more content…
Prohibition lets the public know that the government will not tolerate the use of certain drugs. With the restriction, the government can collect taxes or fine if a citizen is caught using. State law mainly dealt with the misuse, abuse and overdose of prescription drugs. Over time they went on to create PDMP program which stands for Prescription Drugs Monitoring Program. Many questions circle the PDMP law and implementation guide. The PDMP’s purpose is to allow this program installed to assist in the reduction of the abuse of controlled substances. It also educates and encourages the proper use. They also watch over hospitals and other things, to ensure better quality of health care. Administering the right medication to treat pain and terminal illness and also to reduce duplicative prescribing and over prescribing of controlled substances. The controlled substances act came in at 1970 regulating psychotropic and other drugs. In 1973, DEA was created this stands for Drug Enforcement Administration. This program deals with insurance and dispensing of controlled substances. Penalties for violation or not abiding by this aspect can result in jail time or fines. Licensure is the
Marijuana also known as weed, is a green mixture of dry, shredded leaves and flowers of a hemp plant known as Cannabis sativa. Research has shown that marijuana has been around since the 1920s. People use marijuana because of the after affects. Studies have shown marijuana makes you feel delightful, it increases satisfaction while smoking, if you’re stressed, after smoking the marijuana you’ll be on cloud nine and the stress will no longer be present. Society has influenced people to smoke marijuana more each day. After interviewing a series of marijuana users, they’ve told me that marijuana is a safe, harmless drug, that is used for meditation. In order to smoke the marijuana, you’ll use some form of paper to roll it up with.
“[The war on drugs] has created a multibillion-dollar black market, enriched organized crime groups and promoted the corruption of government officials throughout the world,” noted Eric Schlosser in his essay, “A People’s Democratic Platform”, which presents a case for decriminalizing controlled substances. Government policies regarding drugs are more focused towards illegalization rather than revitalization. Schlosser identifies a few of the crippling side effects of the current drug policy put in place by the Richard Nixon administration in the 1970s to prohibit drug use and the violence and destruction that ensue from it (Schlosser 3). Ironically, not only is drug use as prevalent as ever, drug-related crime has also become a staple of our society. In fact, the policy of the criminalization of drugs has fostered a steady increase in crime over the past several decades. This research will aim to critically analyze the impact of government statutes regarding drugs on the society as a whole.
A “drug-free society” has never existed, and probably will never exist, regardless of the many drug laws in place. Over the past 100 years, the government has made numerous efforts to control access to certain drugs that are too dangerous or too likely to produce dependence. Many refer to the development of drug laws as a “war on drugs,” because of the vast growth of expenditures and wide range of drugs now controlled. The concept of a “war on drugs” reflects the perspective that some drugs are evil and war must be conducted against the substances
The war on drugs in our culture is a continuous action that is swiftly lessening our society. This has been going on for roughly 10-15 years and has yet to slow down in any way. Drugs continue to be a problem for the obvious reason that certain people abuse them in a way that can lead to ultimate harm on such a person. These drugs do not just consist of street drugs (marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy), but prescription medications as well. Although there are some instances where drugs are being used by subjects excessively, there has been medical research to prove that some of these drugs have made a successful impact on certain disorders and diseases.
Regulatory laws were passed in 1937, and criminal penalties were instituted for possession and sale of the drug. "Marijuana" refers to the dried leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant, which contains the non-narcotic chemical THC at various potencies. It is smoked or eaten to produce the feeling of being "high." The different strains of this herb produce different sensual effects, ranging from a sedative to a stimulant.
However, before the specific outcomes of Congressional influence and policy impact can be evaluated it becomes important to first review the general history and current situation of drugs today. Our present drug laws were first enacted at the beginning of the century. At the time, recreational use of narcotics was not a major social issue. The first regulatory legislation was for the purpose of standardizing the manufacturing and purity of pharmaceutical products. Shortly after, the first criminal laws were enacted which addressed opium products and cocaine. Although some states had prohibited the recreational use of marijuana, there was no federal criminal legislation until 1937. By contrast, the use of alcohol and its legality was a major social issue in United States in the early 20th century. This temperance movement culminated in the prohibition of alcohol from 1920 to 1933. Recreational drug use, particularly heroin, became more prevalent among the urban poor during the early ?60s. Because of the high cost of heroin and its uncertain purity, its use was associated with crime and frequent overdoses.
The Drug Policy in the United States The Drug Policy in the United States is a very strict and well defined policy that, in this day and age, has very little room for change. Most people are well aware of the fact that there are a certain number of drugs that are illegal in the United States, but what many people do not realize is that every drug in the United States is considered and classified by the government. The Controlled Substance Act (CSA). is a new name for the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control. Act of 1970.
This topic is very controversial topic because it deals with a growing body of citizens whose lives have greatly been affected by the United States government drug policies. In order to tackle the problem effectively, we need to look how it relates to economic problems, health issues, the criminal justice system and etc in our communities I look at bureau of justice statistics for statistics on National Drug Budget control, National household survey on drug abuse, prison statistics and book written by scholars on the issue.
The war on drugs and the violence that comes with it has always brought around a hot debate about drug legalization. The amount of violence that is associated with drugs is a result from harsher drug laws and prohibition.
The National Drug Control Strategy was issued two years ago to reduce drug use among teenagers and adults. The success of the President’s drug policy can be measured by its results. The student drug testing approach has reduced drug use and discouraged first time users significantly. Communities have been more actively involved in anti-drug programs for youth and adults. The increase in budget for law enforcement will enhance their effectiveness in detaining drug lords and cartels.
Christian organizations had a meeting with congress and made a claim that drug abusers were hazardous, wicked individuals. These groups thought that the drug use among foreign individuals like the Chinamen and corrupt Mexicans were a threat for the American born individuals. These groups convinced Congress to criminalize drugs. One-hundred years ago some drugs was legal to possess and even children could buy drugs like morphine, opium, marijuana, and cocaine. These drugs if got caught with them today could result in a life sentence it today’s society.
The current situation of drug control in the United States is imperfect and inadequate. Millions of men and women, both young and old, are affected by illicit drug use. It costs the United States about $6,123 every second because of drug use and its consequences (Office). Moreover, 90 percent of all adults with a substance use disorder started using under the age of 18 and half under the age of 15. Children who first smoke marijuana under the age of 14 are five times more likely to abuse drugs as adults than those who first use marijuana at age 18. Finally, the children of alcoholics are four times more likely to develop problems with alcohol (Prevent). Current legislation that has to do with the United States’ drug control policy is the Controlled Substances Act, which regulates the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of certain substances (Shannon). In 1966, Congress passed the Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Act also known as the NARA. This legislati...
The obvious place to start is by defining terminology. What does decriminalization mean? Decriminalization is not the same thing as legalization; these are two different options for dealing with illegal drug use. Legalization means that the government authorizes the use and sale of certain drugs to adults (The Drug Policy Forum of Texas [DPFT], 2004). A current example of this would be restaurants that serve alcohol; even though alcohol is legal for adults, restaurants are still required to have a license to serve liquor. For some drugs such as marijuana, legalization will also allow the government to regulate the drug enough to tax sales, so instead of spending money to fight drug possession, the government will now make money by taxing it (Thimmesch, 2013). People can use and possess drugs on a limi...
During the late 1800's, the United States changed their methodical approach to drug policy. During this era, the US moved away from the practice of laissez-faire to one that is more authoritarian. Many will call this policy shift the start to the "War on Drugs". The(is) so-called "War on Drugs" started to shift the current population away from crime, dependence, and toxicity. On November 15, 1875, San Francisco implemented the nation's first anti-drug law.
Throughout history, drugs have been nothing but a social problem, a burden per say. From Edgar Allen Poe smoking opium in an attempt to make his poetry more creative, to Vietnam soldiers coming back from the war addicted to heroin. Narcotics was not a serious issue at the time, only a small handful of people were actually doing the drugs, and they were just simply looked down upon. It was not until the late nineteen sixties when recreational drug use became fashionable among young, white, middle class American citizens, that the United States Government “put it’s foot down”. (pbs.com)