...Decriminalization and Legalization of Drugs in Canada The Decriminalization and/ or legalization of drugs is a highly contentious issue regarding political, legal, economic, and social implications. It is also a highly contagious issue that the media cannot seem to cure its self of. Then again the public definitely cares about this issue intensely and so do many politicians whether they are users themselves or just simple supporters (of the tax revenues that legalizing certain narcotics will bring in to the country), especially in the United States and Canada where people are being thrown in jail for years only because of small possession charges (more so in the USA). Prisons in The United States are overcrowded with people who shouldn’t be...
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...The War on Drugs was intended to reduce the use of criminal drugs. The United States government, with the assistance of other countries, have been wanting to reduce the use and trade of illegal drugs. This initiative includes strict laws and policies, such as prison time, this is meant to discourage the production, distribution and consumption of these targeted substances. In the following essay, it is important to make the distinction between street and prescribed drugs, their effects, and the punishment one may receive for having drugs. We can identify the cost our country has put into this extremely controversial campaign and whether or not is has been effective in accomplishing what our government has set out for. This can be compared to...
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...In other words, street drugs are typically contaminated through mixture of other properties which in return causes dangerous diseases and possible death to those who ingest these substances. Caulkin (2014), mentioned that an opiate such heroin is safe because it can be utilized in medical purposes. However, there are two major issues concerning heroin. The first being that heroin coming off the streets typically ranges from 20 to 90% in regards to the purity of the drug. Which in this case can increase the likely hood of someone dying while consuming it. Secondly, septicemia and wound infections take place when drug users incorporate unhygienic injection methods. For example, according to Chitwood (2002), states that 40% of international cases dealing with aids result from user sharing needles amongst other drug users. In addition to sharing uncleanly injection equipment, the user may develop hepatitis C which is likely to lead to liver cirrhosis then...
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...drugs, often forcing users to steal to get the money to obtain them. Although difficult to estimate the black market prices of heroin and cocaine, these drugs appear to be many times greater than their pharmaceutical prices. For example, a hospital-dispensed dose of morphine (a drug from which heroin is relatively easily derived) costs only pennies; cocaine costs about a dollar per ounce. It is frequently estimated that a good percentage of all property crime in the United States is committed by drug users so that they can maintain their habits. That amounts to about four million crimes per year and billions of dollars in stolen property. Supporters of prohibition have traditionally used drug-related crime. They have even exaggerated the amount of such crime in the hopes of demonstrating a need for larger budgets. But in recent years, the more astute prohibitionists have notices that drug related crime is in fact drug law related. The fact is, while some researchers have questioned the causal connection between illegal drugs and street crime, many studies over a long period have confirmed what every inner-city dweller already knows: drug users steal to get the money to buy expensive illegal drugs. Studies were reviewed in an article entitled “Narcotics and Crime: An analysis of Existing Evidence for a Causal Relationship.” The authors conclude that heroin addiction can be shown to dramatically increase property crime levels. A high proportion of addicts’ pre-addiction criminality...
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...that had been tried. The soldiers in Vietnam were either drafted by lottery or had enlisted voluntarily. Forty percent of those who had enlisted voluntarily were school dropouts who had limited job opportunities and considerably more drug experience. Heroin and opium was widely available, relatively cheap, and so pure that it could be smoked rather than injected for those who were reluctant to inject it. By 1971, half of soldiers had tried heroin and half had used enough to develop an addiction. In the spring of 1971 it was discovered that 15% of United State servicemen were returning from service already addicted to heroin. The Armed Forces was coping with the staggering numbers with military discipline and amnesty. Those who were found to be using or possessing drugs were court martialed and given a dishonorable discharge. Users that voluntarily sought help may be offered amnesty and brief treatment. This did not make much of a difference and usage increased dramatically over the next year and a half. While the US was trying to negotiate a settlement of the war, soldiers were being reduced very quickly. Thousands of men were sent back daily and discharged shortly thereafter. This meant that hundreds of heroin addicts were being sent home weekly. This provoked a response from President Richard Nixon. With the help of his Domestic Council members Jeffrey Donfeld and Egil Krogh, Jr., President Nixon sought help from Dr. Jerome Jaffe from the University of...
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...Dan Gravitt English 102 April 23rd, 2012 Mr. Rawson “Start of Something New” In recent reports from the Los Angeles Times, it is estimated that 100 people die every day from drug abuse or overdose. Abuse or overdose being defined as taking more medicine than a doctor prescribes, or taking medication not prescribed to the victim. These totals don’t even include deaths related to side effects from other prescription drugs, and those reach over one hundred thousand people annually. These numbers have alarmed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but rightfully so because from the years 2000 to 2009 the report states, “The percentage of poisoning deaths among those aged 15–19 years with prescription drugs as a contributing cause increased from 30% in 2000 to 57% in 2009.” There are many different speculations that would drive such a rapid climb, such as music and lifestyle, accessibility to the drugs, and affordability for many teenagers. Agencies like the CDC and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are working together with the White House to reside this issue by improving education of healthcare professionals, using state prescription monitoring programs, and proper disposal of controlled substances by business trade and the public. I agree with Obama in that there are steps that need to be taken to help end this recent issue in society. Although, I believe there are other ways to go about it and the first is to federally decriminalize marijuana...
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...War on Drugs: Is It a Failure? Allen Overall COM/172 August 26, 2014 Denise Mclean Abstract The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition of drugs with the intent to define and reduce the illegal trade of drugs. The initiative includes a set of policies that intent to discourage the production, distribution and consumption of illegal drugs. Fundamental reforms in the National drug policy are required. The American War on Drugs has failed, with devastating consequences to societies and individuals. The consistent continued use of drugs and the increasing costs for controlling its usage is what makes this war a failure. More striking than the financial costs have been the broad societal implications: an attrition of civil liberties, a decreased ability to police violent crime, the inability to treat certain drugs as a health issue and denial of potentially effective medicine for patients. Introduction The United States has been through many great wars for many different causes, such as The American Revolutionary War, The American Civil War, The Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, The Vietnam War and the ongoing War on Drugs. The term “War on Drugs” was first used during President Richard Nixon’s 1971 term, when he officially declared the war. The War on Drugs” continues today, although drug use has been consistent throughout the forty three year period of the war. All drug use has remained steady despite the militarization of the drug war as the data below...
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...What are the benefits of decriminalizing any drug? “A drug is not bad. A drug is a chemical compound. The problem comes in when people who take drugs treat them like a license to behave like an asshole,” – said Frank Zappa, the American composer and rock musician and I absolutely agree with him. The dawn of the twenty first century has ushered in a new age of optimism and wonder. Despite the proclamations of television, all is not in well in our part of the world. Our societies have waged a war on drugs, but this war is far from being won. Being fought against our own citizens and citizens abroad, an international effort to eradicate drug production and use has undoubtedly failed leaving in its wake social unrest and political chaos. Assault, property crime, homicidal tendencies, racial and economic marginalization, murder, corruption and many other undesirable things are burning through society fanned by the drug war's cold and inhuman policies. In addition to these problems there are the initial problems that drug users incur on themselves and society; the same ones the drug war was supposed to eliminate. Prohibition is an old idea that is not practically attainable in a democratic society that values individual rights. – short generalization+quotation For one, experiments with the prohibition of alcohol failed miserably and cost many people their lives. If the justification behind the drug war is human health and wellbeing, as governments would have us believe, then refraining...
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...if drugs were legalized (Hartnett, 2005)? States like Washington and Colorado have made Marijuana legal, all other states and countries are watching the results. They are watching what legalizing marijuana does for the economy, tax revenue, and crime reduction. There is an international impact with marijuana legalization. History behind the drug war Throughout the history of the drug war, both state and federal law enforcement agencies have cracked down on both drug abusers and drug dealers. During the late 60s, the U.S. government founded the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD). The BNDD worked a study to find a correlation between crime and heroin addiction. They found that 44 percent of those entering the jail system in Washington, D.C. have used heroin (Innabi, 2014). The next year the Controlled Substance Act was passed by Congress to give schedules to regulate drugs by medicinal value and potential to be addictive. This started the War on Drugs with President Nixon. The criminal justice systems are spending huge amounts of $56 billion each year on working to contain...
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...The topic of prostitution and drug use has been an ongoing battle over the decriminalization of these so called victimless crimes. They are both correlated to sociological factors, such as, race, gender, socioeconomic standing and age, which, increases the likelihood of becoming involved in prostitution and illegal drug use. They are correlated to each other because prostitution is a means of income to support drug use and drug use is used to make a prostitutes work “bearable”. This paper will discuss in detail, prostitution and illicit drug use, including the contributions of sociological variables. Furthermore, it will distinguish whether the two are truly victimless crimes. Finally, it will include a personal opinion regarding the decriminalization of drug abuse and prostitution. Prostitution is associated with sexual services for hire. Lyn Stankiewicz Murphy defined prostitution as “a behaviour that involves the exchange of sexual services for economic compensation in the form of drugs, money, or needed resources” (2010, p.775). There are several types of prostitutes that are based on their status. From lowest status to highest, they are: streetwalkers, bar prostitutes, house prostitutes, massage-parlour prostitutes and escort service prostitutes. Streetwalkers are those who solicit their availability on the streets and are most often ran by pimps. Bar prostitutes work in bars and lounges, while house prostitutes “operate illegally and on a small scale” and are “managed...
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...of the U.S.A. is 313.9 Million according to United States Census Bureau, and the World Bank (2012). Fifty percent of Americans, 156.95 Million, support legalization of marijuana. These numbers demand drug reform in this country. Half of the drug arrests, 850,000 Americans, where arrested in 2010. Eighty eight percent, 748,000 of those arrests were for marijuana possession alone. The current criminalization of marijuana undercuts future economic development. Incarceration reduces former inmates’ earnings by forty percent, devastating families and communities. Former users with an arrest record for possession of marijuana should not be prevented from obtaining employment, or from accessing social benefits. (Huffingtonpost.com 2014) Decriminalization of marijuana will allow for future economic development, and increase the tax base to further pay down the trillion-dollar deficit. Marijuana should be legalized nationally in the U.S.A. The general census is that the use of marijuana leads to the use of other harder drugs. Marijuana currently considered a precursor drug, meaning that the use of marijuana leads to experimenting with other types of illicit drugs. Columbia University’s national center on addiction and substance abuse reports that teens who used marijuana at least...
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...compared to the number containing opium or cocaine. It was in the 1920's that marijuana began to catch on. Some historians say its emergence was brought about by Prohibition. Its recreational use was restricted to jazz musicians and people in show business. "Reefer songs" became the rage of the jazz world. Marijuana clubs, called tea pads, sprang up in every major city. These marijuana establishments were tolerated by the authorities because marijuana was not illegal and patrons showed no evidence of making a nuisance of themselves or disturbing the community. Marijuana was not considered a social threat. (http://www.narconon.org/drug-information/marijuana-history.html). The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 classified marijuana along with heroin and LSD as a Schedule I drug, i.e., having the relatively highest abuse potential and no accepted medical use. Most marijuana at that time came from Mexico, but in 1975 the Mexican government agreed to eradicate the crop by spraying it with the herbicide paraquat, raising fears of toxic side effects. Colombia then became the main supplier. The "zero tolerance" climate of the Reagan and Bush administrations resulted in passage of strict laws and mandatory sentences for possession of marijuana and in heightened...
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...It wasn't until about 1914, when the United States passed its first federal drug policy called The Harrison Narcotics Act. Drugs. This act restricted the manufacture and sale of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and morphine, and specifically targeted physicians and pharmacists who were over prescribing drugs. Drugs use continued to sky rocket well into the 1960’s, with administrations continuing to create stricter drug policies. The 1960’s, known as the “hippie era”, gave birth to rebellious movement that popularized drug use. Not only did marijuana become increasingly popular amounts college teens, but many soldiers returning from the Vietnam War had heroine and marijuana habits. In 1971, when President Nixon officially declared a “War on Drugs.” In this famous speech, Nixon depicted a battle between the United States and drug users in which the United States was greatly loosing. Nixon states “ Drug abusers continue to fill out courts, hospitals...
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...Iris Walker Kathy Anderson English 1020 02/12/2012 Are our drug laws working I will be discussing drug-related crimes, besides what the financial burden is in our society. Additionally, I will bring out how two countries, the Netherlands and Portugal, addressed their drug problems in relation to crime. I do not believe that our drug laws are working because neither crime nor costs are going down. Below is an excerpt that explains the relationship between drugs and crime: Economic-Related: Economic crimes include those that are committed by drug users in order to support additional drug use. These crimes may not be inherently violent, but may become violent. The strongest indicator in classifying crimes of this nature is that the offender committed the crimes as a result of his or her compulsion to obtain drugs (Goldstein, Brownstein, & Ryan, 1992). Recent articles on national statistics related to such crimes include: * According to Substance Abuse and Treatment, State and Federal Prisoners, 1997, nineteen percent (19%) of State prisoners and sixteen percent (16%) of Federal inmates reported that they committed their most current offense to obtain money for drugs (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1997). * The percent of jail inmates who committed their offense to get money for drugs totaled about thirteen (13%). Among those inmates who committed their offense to obtain money for drugs, almost twelve percent (12%) committed violent offenses and nearly twenty-five...
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...Any randomly chosen group of people asked to list the most dangerous of these, would include among their immediate answers: “The Drug Problem”. By the “Drug Problem”, do they mean the proliferation in our communities of all illicit, mood-altering, physically dangerous drugs? Or do they really mean the accompanying problems bought on by these proscribed substances: crime and the threat of crime, violence, disease, the growing number of users on public welfare, the loss of productivity to the country’s industry, the congestion of the court system, the over-crowding of our penal institutions, the diversion of our tax dollars from more productive areas, the corruption of our law enforcement agencies, and directly and indirectly the erosion of our civil rights? Since I am confining this paper to discussing the laws prohibiting marijuana use, I will concede that it fits the first two categories above; i.e. it is by law, illicit, and by its nature, mood-altering. With the third category we enter upon shaky ground. There is no scientific proof that the prolonged use of marijuana exacts a greater physical toll on the user than the equivalent abuse of nicotine or alcohol. Under the name Extract of Cannabis, marijuana was once widely used medicinally in the United States, and still has minor medicinal uses in other countries. There is only one species - Cannabis Sativa - which yields both a potent drug and a strong fiber long used in the manufacture of fine linen as well as canvas...
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