Although, Huntsville Police annually brings in the most drug arrests for the state, it’s not the city’s main priority to meet an arrest quota. Instead, the police force usually catch these offenders after stoping them for traffic violations. When an officer stops an individual for reckless driving and suspicion of driving under the influence, he or she will often smell a mixture of alcohol and marijuana. With probable cause, the officer will then search the vehicle and often times finds the individual in possession:
We 've got some low amounts that will get you a misdemeanor arrest and low amounts that will get you a felony arrest," Rizzardi acknowledged of Alabama laws. "All I 'll say is that somebody who uses a lot of marijuana or drinks alcohol uncontrollably and gets behind the wheel – let 's say at the corner of University Drive and the Parkway – my vantage point has to be the safety of the public in general first. (Roop)
While the Huntsville Police have used traffic stops to get small amount offenders off the streets, the city has used more complex and proactive measures to tackle the large issue of drug trafficking. The most popular tactic has been the use of surveillance teams and drug busts. In one 2015 case, after a set of investigators completed surveillance on a local Huntsville business, officers located an
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In order to establish an effective and long-lasting drug policy, governments have to: tailor policy-making to the majority’s beliefs, clearly define the set of established laws, and strictly enforce it amongst the masses. A task that the federal government has failed to accomplish long-term, but states have strived
Mandatory minimums for controlled substances were first implemented in the 1980s as a countermeasure for the hysteria that surrounded drugs in the era (“A Brief History,” 2014). The common belief was that stiff penalties discouraged people from using drugs and enhanced public safety (“A Brief History,” 2014). That theory, however, was proven false and rather than less illegal drug activity, there are simply more people incarcerated. Studies show that over half of federal prisoners currently incarcerated are there on drug charges, a 116 percent percentage rise since 1970 (Miles, 2014). Mass incarceration is an ever growing issue in the United States and is the result of policies that support the large scale use of imprisonment on
The United States is one of the only few democratic countries that disenfranchises convicted felons. An estimated 5.85 million people charged with a felony are banned from voting. Moreover, felon disenfranchisement laws are a form of racial discrimination because a large percentage of felons are Hispanic, Latino or African American that have been incarcerated as a result of racial profiling. Denying felons from voting is unconstitutional since the right to vote and cast a ballot is supposed to be the cornerstone of democracy. Felons who have completed their sentence should be restored their right to vote as they should be able to participate in elections just like every other citizen. Despite being charged with a felony, felons are also American
Is it true that excessive force is one of the most used forms of police misconduct? Are unarmed African Americans more likely to get killed during an encounter with police officers than any other race? Yes, both of these shockingly horrifying facts are true. So why are police officers abusing their powers and creating fearful environments when they should be making people feel safe in their communities. Who can we turn to on this earth to keep us safe if everyone and thing seems to be corrupt? When did police brutality become a thing in the U.S.? What exactly are we dealing with and what can we, as a nation, be doing to solve this awful conflict evolving quickly in the U.S.
In this paper I will evaluate America's War on Drugs. More specifically, I will outline our nation's general drug history and look critically at how Congress has influenced our current ineffective drug policy. Through this analysis I hope to show that drug prohibition policies in the United States, for the most part, have failed. Additionally, I will highlight and evaluate the influences acting on individual legislators' decisions to continue support for these ineffective policies as a more general demonstration of Congress' role in the formation of our nation's drug policy strategy. Finally, I will conclude this analysis by outlining the changes I feel necessary for future progress to be made. Primary among these changes are a general promotion of drug education and the elimination of our current system's many de-legitimating hypocrisies.
Police brutality among all races needs to stop. Movements like Black Lives Matter focus in on only one race; however police brutality happens among all ethnic groups. Police brutality can sometimes shut out people who are not of the African American race. If more people supported the all lives matter movement, this could truly bring the discussion of police brutality to the table. It can be more difficult to do this when we focus on just one community of individuals. The only way to fix the downside that we face is requiring all police officers in the United States to wear body cameras. This solution would create less he said she said and more facts in situations where people are killed by police officers no matter what color they are.
When societies finally become comfortable with reality, they begin to abandon the murderous laws that impede their growth. Currently, the social stigma and legislated morality regarding the use of illicit drugs yield perhaps the most destructive effects on American society. Drug laws have led to the removal of non-violent citizens from society- either directly by incarceration or indirectly by death - which is genocidal in quantity and essence. I base my support of the decriminalization of all drugs on a principle of human rights, but the horror and frustration with which I voice this support is based on practicality. The most tangible effect of the unfortunately labeled "Drug War" in the United States is a prison population larger than Russia's and China's, and an inestimable death toll that rivals the number of American casualties from any given war, disease or catastrophe.
Is people going to forget what happen in Ferguson? How about George Zimmerman being proven not guilty? Or that Eric Garner was screaming “ I can’t breathe” before his death? There are lists of African Americans all over the world who were not given the justice that they deserved. In todays, news African Americans are being treated unfairly compared to any other demographic groups. America is the greatest country in the world, but it is difficult to believe that being in the 21st century racism still does exist. For instance, when it was time to remove the confederate flag, some demographic groups had a hard time letting go. People who argue that “blue lives matter,” which states that police are justified when using force and being unfair. These reasons are not justifiable enough to kill someone. Black Lives Matter alleges that police target and use
Lately it seems that drug policy and the war on drugs has been in the headlines quite a lot. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the policies that the United States government takes against illegal drugs are coming into question. The mainstream media is catching on to the message of organizations and individuals who have long been considered liberal "Counter Culture" supporters. The marijuana question seems to be the most prevalent and pressed of the drugs and issues that are currently being addressed. The messages of these organizations and individuals include everything from legalization of marijuana for medical purposes, to full-unrestricted legalization of the drug. Of course, the status quo of vote seeking politicians and conservative policy makers has put up a strong resistance to this "new" reform lobby. The reasons for the resistance to the changes in drug policies are multiple and complex. The issues of marijuana’s possible negative effects, its use as a medical remedy, the criminality of distribution and usage, and the disparity in the enforcement of current drug laws have all been brought to a head and must be addressed in the near future. It is apparent that it would be irresponsible and wrong for the government to not evaluate it’s current general drug policies and perhaps most important, their marijuana policy. With the facts of racial disparity in punishment, detrimental effects, fiscal strain and most importantly, the history of the drug, the government most certainly must come to the conclusion that they must, at the very least, decriminalize marijuana use and quite probably fully legalize it.
We must take actions to reform police behavior! The problem is not the police nor the people of the United States, but the Federal Government system in which we all have to abide by. In order for a police reform to be implemented, the system has to be fixed and reconstructed. The people of the United States want to feel protected by the police, but on the other hand, they receive limited training on how to effectively interact with the people in the community they serve. Police officers are ordained by the power of the government. Police reform should start by giving proper training to new recruits and veterans, enforcing community policing and police accountability.
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
Throughout human history, society tries to find the right way to deal with juvenile delinquency and problems of children who are abandoned, left without parental care, or abused. In the 19th century, the United States began to move in the direction of important social reforms that ultimately led to great changes in the ways of solving these problems. Various states have passed laws on child labor, which protected children from heavy-duty, the laws on social assistance to children who were working when the parents abused the children and did not care about them, the laws on education, which guarantees the right of every child to receive education.
Therefore, if you are riding your bicycle and you are weaving or displaying other signs of being impaired by alcohol, an officer can pull you over. If the officer finds probable cause, he can charge you with DUI.
The drug control policy of the United States has always been a subject of debate. From Prohibition in the early 1930’s to the current debate over the legalization of marijuana, drugs have always been near the top of the government’s agenda. Drug use affects every part of our society. It strains our economy, our healthcare, our criminal justice systems, and it endangers the futures of young people. In order to support a public health approach to drug control, the Obama administration has committed over $10 billion to drug education programs and support for expanding access to drug treatment for addicts (Office). The United States should commit more government resources to protect against illegal use of drugs by youths and provide help for recovering addicts.
Recreational drug use has been controversial for years. Government has deemed the use of certain drugs to be dangerous, addictive, costly, and fatal. Governmental agencies have passed laws to make drugs illegal and then have focused a great deal of attention and money trying to prohibit the use of these drugs, and many people support these sanctions because they view the illegality of drugs to be the main protection against the destruction of our society (Trebach, n.d.). Restricting behavior doesn’t generally stop people from engaging in that behavior; prohibition tends to result in people finding more creative ways to obtain and use drugs. However, just knowing that trying to control people’s behavior by criminalizing drug use does not work still leaves us looking for a solution, so what other options exist? This paper will discuss the pros and cons about one option: decriminalizing drugs.
I like to think that all children below 18 are harmless human beings-that they have a fun filled life ahead of them. But what really, goes through their mind? Many psychologists have studied the brain of a child or teenager. But nothing excites them more than being able to study the brain of a kid on trial, for murder. What is going through their brain when they’re killing their best friend or parents? Some kids are smart enough to know that, in most states it is unconstitutional to send a teen or child to death row or life without parole. Kids now-a-days are smarter than the average court system. But is it fair for juvenile delinquents to be held at a different standard, even after killing someone?