Decriminalization Of Drugs

Decriminalization of drugs is not the same thing as legalization, not endorsing the use of drugs but instead attempting a different approach at the stop of drug use. Drug dealers and manufacturers are still incarcerated, while drug addicts are given treatment instead of punishment. Should Canada decriminalize drugs and instead treat drug addiction as a health issue? Two percent of the population currently report using hard drugs (cocaine, heroin, speed, etc.) within the past year. Taking into consideration that this number is slowly climbing and that most drug users may not admit to using while the harsh punishments still exist, it is clear that this nation has a drug problem that has no foreseeable end. Canada would benefit from the decriminalization

All the drug related charges are forcing the prison population into overwhelming numbers. Were drug usage decriminalized this could relieve some of the stress on the penal system. Baird states in her piece that the prison population would diminish greatly with legalization and all the money saved can then be used for many more beneficial things “…like treatment for addiction, health, and prevention.” Walter, standing on the

In our society we are faced with a drug addiction problem that is not being dealt with properly. Our use of incarceration as a means to deal with this

According to the webpage DrugPolicy.org, under the section titled “Approaches to decriminalize drug use” it states that the best solution to reduce the number of people being swept into jail or prison is to enact various forms of decriminalizing drug use and possession. “Decriminalizing is the removal of criminal penalties for drug

The War on Drugs is one cause for the mass incarceration that has become apparent within the United States. This refers to a drastic amount of people being imprisoned for mainly non-violent crime (“Mass Incarceration” 2016). In addition to people who are not an immediate threat to society being locked up for a substantial duration of time, the economic consequences are costing states and taxpayers millions of dollars. Specifically, every one in five people incarcerated is in prison due to some

There are groups of people in the criminal justice system who considers drug addiction a personal issue, not a criminal one. This could not be further from the truth; drug abuse is illegal and should be treated as such. It is a catalyst for many crimes seen today from mugging to murder. If the numbers of those who abuse drugs are reduced, the amount of crimes associated with the addiction are also reduced. Not only will crime levels be reduced, most of those who undergo treatment tend to be better prepared to do more with their lives and not re-offend.

There are many major factors at one point time in society, the most controversial is drug decriminalization. When the topic of drug or drug related discussion arises, many individuals would choose to ignore the topic entirely. Why not approach the topic head on? Attack the issue at its roots and refuse to give up until proven wrong. Drug decriminalization is a topic that needs to be brought to the front of discussion with politics and legislation. State and federal laws should be readjusted and in many cases removed in regards to drug policy. As a society, we need to treat the way we handle drug users and drug cases differently. Our current approach is not working anymore, and it’s time for a change. To change, everything has to change from the start.

The debate over the legalization of drugs continues to disturb the American public. Such an issue stirs up moral and religious beliefs, beliefs that are contrary to what Americans should believe. I ask all of you to please keep an open mind and hear me out on this very controversial subject. All of us have in some way or another been affected by drug, whether it is a family member or the economic burden on society. Americans often take at face value the assumptions that drugs cause addiction, which leads to crime. This is true but abundant evidence exists to support the view that legalizing illicit drugs can help solve the drug problem in America. There is not a way to stop

It seems like that drug related crimes are becoming more and more popular in America. In the land of the brave and the free, there is a stagnating statistic of 1 in 100 U.S. citizens are confined in jail or prison due to a drug related crime. (Drugs and Crime in America. (n.d.). Retrieved December 15, 2015). Since this is such a big deal in America these days, it is important for the justice system to take the right approach in preventing or even decreasing the amount of drug related crime in the U.S. There is a range of options that that the justice system can do in the fight against drugs. For starters, harsher punishments can be a step in the right direction. Other than being more strict on offenders, education is also a great way to fight

Drug abuse and crime is not a new concept and the statistics around the problem have continued to rise. According to (Office of Justice Programs, 2011), there were an estimated 1,846,400 state and local arrests for drug abuse in the United States. Additionally, 17 percent of state prisoners and 18 percent of federal inmates said they committed their current offense to obtain money for drugs (Office of Justice Programs, 2011). Based on this information, we can conclude that our criminal justice systems are saturated with drug abusers. The United States has the highest imprisonment rate and about 83 percent of arrests are for possession of illegal drugs (Prisons & Drug Offenders, 2011). Based on these figures, I can conclude that we should be more concerned about solving the drug abusers problems and showing them an alternative lifestyle rather than strict penalty of long term incarceration which will inevitably challenge their ability to be fully functioning citizens after release.

The United States has the world's highest incarceration rate. With five percent of the world's population, our country houses nearly twenty-five percent of the world's reported prisoners. Currently there are approximately two million people in American prisons or jails. Since 1984 the prison population for drug offenders has risen from ten percent to now over thirty percent of the total prison population. Federal prisons were estimated to hold 179,204 sentenced inmates in 2007; 95,446 for drug offenses. State prisons held a total of 1,296,700 inmates in 2005; 253,300 for drug offenses. Sixty percent of the drug offenders in prisons are nonviolent and were purely in prison because of drug offenses (Drug War Facts). The question then arises,

For many years, a real push has been looming on the idea of legalizing now illegal drugs. This has become a hot debate throughout nations all over the world, from all walks of life. The dispute over the idea of decriminalizing illegal drugs is and will continue on as an ongoing conflict. In 2001, Drug decriminalization in all drugs, including cocaine and heroin, became a nationwide law in Portugal (Greenwald). Ethan Nadelman, essayist of “Think again: Drugs,” states his side of the story on the continuing criminalization of hard drugs, in which he stand to oppose. Whether it is for the good of human rights or not, decriminalizing drugs may be a good head start for a new beginning.

Proponents on the legalization of drugs believe if drugs were to become legal; the black market worth billions of dollars would become extinct, drug gangsters would disappear, addicts would stop committing crimes to support their habit and the prison system would not be overwhelmed with a problem they cannot defeat. The decriminalization of drugs will only make illegal drugs cheaper, easier to get and more acceptable to use. “The U.S. has 20 million alcoholics and alcohol misusers, but only around 6 million illegal drug addicts. If illegal drugs were easier to obtain, this figure would rise”(Should Drugs be decriminalized? No.November 09, 2007 Califano Joseph A, Jr).”

Drug abuse is a major problem that affects the world in many ways. Many people do not understand how or why people begin to use drugs. Some people are able to use recreational or prescription drugs without ever experiencing negative consequences or addiction. Drugs aren’t necessarily making people do things that aren’t right, but make it so that people don’t think straight. When people don’t think straight they tend to make wrong choices. When people make wrong choices it usually puts people around them in danger. If drugs were legal people who decided to try them will see the negative impact drugs will have on their lives. Thus this will then show everyone else the effects of drugs, which will then have a negative impact on the drug community;

The drug war has dramatically affected the number of imprisoned Americans, as well as its prisons. According to DrugSense.Org, 1,576,339 people have been arrested for drug law offenses this year alone. And out of those, 9,261 have been incarcerated. As for marijuana offenses, 747,183 people have been detained. In fact, most of the non-violent offenders sitting in state, local and federal prisons