Heroin And The War On Drugs Summary

During 1971, two members of Congress: Robert Steele & John Murphy revealed an alarming report stating that 15 percent of U.S. servicemen in the Vietnam war were addicted to Heroin. The armed forces were trying to deal with the drug problem by combining military discipline with amnesty. Anybody discovered possessing or using illicit drugs was subject to court martial and dishonorable discharge from the service. Many of these drug users that voluntarily looked for help might be offered amnesty and brief treatment. The policy apparently barely had an impact. Heroin abuse and its social effects had increased drastically over the following year and a half.

This article begins by discussing the differences in the heroin-user demographic between the 1960s and present day. In the 60s, the typical heroin users were males who started using at the age of 16 and came from low-income families. Today, heroin has become a high-society drug and the average addict begins using at the age of 23. The most interesting difference between the heroin addicts of today and those of the 1960s, however, is undoubtedly the fact that heroin addicts of the 60s jumped right into heroin—in other words, there was no “gateway drug” which led them to their addiction. However, in our present society, many heroin addicts are led to heroin through the prescription medications prescribed to them by their doctors.

One of the only foreseeable “problems of truth” is the representation of the heroin epidemic as just that - an epidemic. Many people see heroin abuse as a choice - which it is, initially - and a crime that should be punished, not necessarily treated. Hopefully, conversations with law enforcement and medical professionals can provide objective, expert opinions that will balance with firsthand accounts that the audience can empathize with. This approach will seek to strike a balance between the personal and the professional to minimize that “problem of truth”. Supporting assertions with evidence and expert testimony will put objectivity at the forefront of the documentary.

There is no cookie cutter heroin user. In fact, many of heroin’s newest addicts are in their teens or early 20s; many also come from middle- or upper-middle-class suburban families. Heroin is a dangerous drug that has many different “street names” such as Smack, Mud, Dope, Dragon, and Junk. The scientific names are diacetylmorphine or morphine diacetate, also known as diamorphine.

The focus in the video Heroin and the War on Drugs, is to address the most efficient recorded path to defeat drug addiction; which is identifying drug addiction as a national health issue. With drug addiction being directly related to crime, former president Nixon first approached the drug epidemic with tough penalties that resulted in no documented reduction change and resources being wasted. After, different approaches were being tested such as methadone; resulting in “overdose deaths went from 70 deaths a year to 4. The crime rate at a monthly bases was cut in half in that period of time.” stated L. DuPont. Next approach that was tested was clean needle exchange which produced “Baltimore’s HIV rate plummeted.”. Although, the video stated

Recently the Midwest has been ravaged by an epidemic know as heroin. One county in particular though, has seen a skyrocket in heroin problems since 2008. That county being Madison County in Illinois. As a way to spread awareness the film “The Heroin Project,” was made. The film, starts off with a heroin user talking about how horrific the drug is, all while at a police station.

The video Heroin and the War on Drugs describes how the world of heroin has changed throughout the past fifty years. In the 1960s, most violence in large cities, such as Chicago, was caused by drug use. New York City seriously struggled with heroin use in the 1950s and the 1960s. When the epidemic first began, many people believed that it was primarily an inner city problem. Nelson Rockefeller declared what later became known as the Rockefeller Laws, which stated that people caught using drugs needed to be harshly penalized. He believed that drug users and sellers all belonged in prison for life. Prisons began filling up, and the drug epidemic did not subside. However, after a test revealed that forty-four percent of people living in Washington

Volunteering and participating in service projects are two of the most rewarding activities in my opinion. Some people may find it was a hassle or only do it because they have to meet the minimum requirement for school or work. Helping others, for me, has always been somewhat second nature to me. Over many years of volunteering I believe I have developed qualities that will stick with me for life and benefit me in my career. As early as freshman year, in high school, I found myself looking for ways to give back. I started by looking for opportunities within school, where I came across the A+ tutoring program, and so my journey of giving back began. While tutoring, my patience for others really evolved, partly by choice and partly because

Heroin in the USA has become an ever increasing problem that we must work hard to solve. It is taking over people’s lives and their family’s lives as well. Nevertheless, heroin is not going away any time soon, therefore we have to find a way to prevent people from overdosing, contracting STDs through shared needles, and try finding any other way to help heroin addicts, one of which is by introducing anti-opiate drugs, such as Naxaloone, Methadone, and Buprenorphine ← THIS SENTENCE IS A COMMA SPLICE. These said drugs would fight all the heroin-induced chemicals, until eradicating the necessity for heroin. It is essentially like rewiring your brain to get rid of the opiates.

Starting in 1914 the U.S introduced the first probation acts that prohibited the consumption of Opiates and Cocaine with the Harrison Narcotics act of 1914 Later this act was amended to include marijuana. This Act was the first use of federal criminal law in the United Sates to attempt to deal with the nonmedical use of drugs (wisegeek). The war of drugs started primarily in the 1971 when Nixon declared the war on drugs. He dramatically increased the size and presence of federal drug control agencies (Drug Policy). With the first major organized drug imports from Columbia from the Black Tuna Gang based in Miami, Florida Columbia was quickly growing into a drug superpower able to feed America’s growing addictions.

However, I argue these changes are motivated by the changing face of heroin or its increasing use among the white suburban middle class. For instance, more social resources have been allocated to today’s Heroin epidemic compared to harsh crime laws issued in the 1990’s used to combat the Drug War. One can argue that the United States has taken steps to improve the treatment of drug users, but this overlooks the fact that there is an

Heroin is an addictive, illegal opioid painkiller derived from morphine. This analgesic drug produces stress-relieving effects along with a sense of euphoria. Addiction to heroin generally begins as an addiction to another substance: marijuana, alcohol, cocaine, or prescription painkillers. Overdose on heroin can cause many complications including coma and death. This risk is commonly increased by combining heroin with alcohol or by cutting it in with other drugs. Injection of heroin also puts one at a significantly increased risk of contracting HIV, Hepatisis, other disease carried in the bloodstream (CDC, 2015). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2015), 8,200 people died from heroin-related overdose deaths in the United States in 2013. This number has been climbing steadily over the past decade and continues to climb today within certain demographics and age groups.

In 2014 1,297,348 people were arrested for non-violent drug charges (drug policy, 2015). These people’s lives are now forever changed because of a mistake they made. This mistake is continually made every single day and Americans are being punished in extreme ways for a non violent crime. The United States needs to decimalize all drugs because the drug war is costly, causes high incarceration rates, and isn’t effective as European drug solutions.

Spearheaded by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, the movement known as the “War on Drugs” sought to control the sale and use of psychoactive drugs as well as promote access to treatment for those who abuse and misuse these substances (Bagley, 1988; Elkins, 1990). Policies implemented prohibited the possession and distribution of narcotics (e.g. marijuana, cocaine, heroin); the punitive policies, which often resulted in hefty fines and prison sentences for violators, ultimately prompted the emergence of a black market, more potent and lethal drugs, synthetic drugs as well as led to the increase in organized crime and prison population (Bagley, 1988; Broden, 2013; Cussen & Block, 2000; Elkins, 1990; Friedman, 1991; Henderson, 1990; MacCoun, 1993; Powell, 2013). Despite the initial intention, there was rarely sufficient funding allocated towards achieving the latter goals—of promoting and advocating treatment for drug addicts (Bagley, 1988).

According to John Ehrlichman, who served time in prison for his connection in the Watergate scandal, the Drug War was “intended to disempower the anti-war and black rights movements in the 1970s.” It’s no secret that drug use in the United States has been a problem. Many Americans have struggled with addiction to some of the worse drugs. Many lives have been affected in some of the most terrible ways. It can be easily said that due to America’s history with drugs that former president Richard Nixon noticed the problem and felt there was something that needed to be done. In 1969, the president had established an action which became known as the ‘War on drugs’. He proclaimed, “America’s public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new, all-out offensive (Sharp, 1994, p.1).” Nixon fought drug abuse on both the supply and demand fronts. Nixon’s drug policies reflect both the control view and disease view of addiction. The main objective was to minimize the use and selling of illegal narcotics. Many people believe that the War on drugs has been a failure for the criminal justice system. As a result of this people have came to the theory that if the government would legalize drugs and control it, that it would serve as a better solution to the drugs and violence they bring.