Drug Addiction Treatment Vs. Incarceration - 966 Words

Drug Addiction Treatment vs. Incarceration: Gaining Insight Regarding the Facts Drug addiction is most often defined as a chronic progressive relapsing cycle in which an individual experiences excessive compulsions in using a mood altering substance despite the consequences associated with the drug. Drug addiction is also considered a disease that affects the brain; which results in a chemical imbalance caused by the abuse of illegal substances. The effects of drug usage can cause long term brain damage and can lead to many other self destructive behaviors such as violence and drug arrest. Many offenses are committed under the influence of an illegal substance such as DWI’s, fatalities, theft, domestic violence, homicidal and suicidal murders. These destructive behaviors can result in criminal convictions within the criminal judicial system. Drug related charges in the United States have quadrupled in number within the last ten years. The question that arises among the majority of the population: Is incarceration the ultimate solution in addressing the needs of an individual who may be suffering from the effects of a drug addiction? Illicit drug use is recognized as one of the most prevalent drug convictions within the criminal justice system. Of the 2.3 million inmates in the U.S., more than half admitted to a history of substance abuse and addiction (Carmichael, 2010). This number is subsequently valued at one million individuals that have acknowledged a historyShow MoreRelatedIllegal Substance Abuse And Addiction1196 Words   |  5 PagesIllegal substance abuse and addiction can have far-reaching negative impacts that affect not only the people who abuse drugs but also their friends, family members, the community, and government resources. Substance abuse can lead to domestic violence, child abuse, suicide, crime, automobile accidents, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and unwanted pregnancy. A particular area of concern of drug use and abuse is the impact of methamphetamine (meth) labs on public safety and the environmentRead MoreWhat Term Should be Used to Describe Alcholism?1465 Words   |  6 Pages The majority of people hearing the term addict or addiction drugs are probably the first thing that comes to their mind. Fewer may think of alcohol because, although people who chronically abuse alcohol are also addicts, the term alcoholic or alcoholism is used more often in reference to those people. A growing number of people will imagine a person sitting in front of a poker machine, flashbacks of a certain president admitting to being a sex addict, or a teenager with a PlaystationRead MoreDrug Court vs. Incarceration2165 Words   |  9 PagesManns ENGL 112 Argumentative Paper September 2, 2012 Drug Court vs. Incarceration Drug addiction has increased drastically across America in the last fifty years. Non-violent drug offenders fill our jails and prisons. Taxpayer dollars are put into a prison system that is proving to be counter-productive. Recidivism rates are high. Drug Court is an alternative to incarceration that offers rehabilitation to criminal offenders. In drug court, the traditional functions of the U.S. justice systemRead MoreIncarceration or Rehabilitation1950 Words   |  8 PagesIncarceration or Rehabilitation for Non-Violent Drug Offenders Statistics have proven that incarceration alone is a monetary pitfall and does not deter the cluster of non-violent drug related crimes in this country. We need to create an alternative habilitation pattern for these offenders including an assessment of their mental health, specialized life skills training, and occupational employment assistance: in some cases, in lieu of incarceration and in others, in conjunction with incarcerationRead MoreShould Drugs Be Decriminalized?1666 Words   |  7 PagesShould Drugs Be Decriminalized? 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 (TrebachRead MoreAustralia s Drug Policies And Efforts For Change Essay1366 Words   |  6 PagesUnited States comparative approach to Australia’s Drug Policies and Efforts for Change For as long as we have been a nation there have been criminal elements. Criminal elements are nothing new and often time’s criminal behavior is part and parcel with substance abuse. When people think of substance abuse the images that come to mind are often the work of fiction and have little to no resemblance to what the individual users adheres to. Meriam Webster’s defines substance abuse as a noun, â€Å"OverindulgenceRead MoreA Public Health Approach Using Specialized Model Essay1994 Words   |  8 PagesDrug courts are defined as problem solving courts that take a public health approach using specialized model in which the judiciary, prosecution, defense bar, probation, law enforcement, mental health, social service, and treatment communities work together to help addicted offenders into long term recovery. The first drug court was established in Florida in 1989 (Carey, 2005. Drug courts were established because individuals in the justice system felt that there w as something that was broken andRead MoreCriminal Rehabilitation3452 Words   |  14 Pagesfor minor offenses to hanging for more serious crimes-including theft (Wright, 2007). Many people are surprised to learn that the use of prisons as a form of punishment and rehabilitation was an American innovation (Farabee, 2005). On average, incarceration costs about $22,000 per year: to lock someone away for ten years costs, on average, about $220, 000; a shorter sentence with emphasis on re-education and rehabilitation would be cheaper and more effective (Fauteck, 2006). Rehabilitation seemsRead MoreShould Drug Offenders Be Sent?2660 Words   |  11 PagesThe United States leads the world in incarceration with more than 2.2 million people in jails or prisons. Over the past thirty years, the population in jails and prisons has increased by 500%.(cite) Much of the increase of population is drug offenders. The main question is; should drug offenders be sent to jail or treatment program s? The cost of housing an inmate is very expensive compared to what it costs for and individual to receive treatment, and attend programs. It is very important to determineRead MoreMethadone Maintenance3756 Words   |  16 PagesAssemblies of God University School of Distance Education Methadone Treatment Programs are Effective in Stopping Heroin Use A Paper Presented to Professor Loyd Uglow, Ph.D In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Course THE 5113 Research Literature and Technology Sharon Pete November 28, 2012 THESIS STATEMENT: To investigate Methadone maintenance is found to be more effective in treating heroin addiction than 180 day detoxification. The objective is how methadone maintenance