Nova Southeastern Drug Treatment in Criminal Justice System Paper

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m23346343

Law

Nova Southeastern University

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Prepare a 10 page paper that identifies a problem or issue in criminal justice that was covered in the text and expand upon it with further research. The paper must adhere strictly to APA 6th Edition and address the issue from a policy perspective. The paper must focus on the relationship of the criminal justice system to the issue selected. Students will be graded on content, format, organization and development and critical analysis.

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Running head: DRUG TREATMENT

1

Drug Treatment in the Criminal Justice System
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name

Course Title

Date

DRUG TREATMENT

2
Abstract

There has been a significant increase in the number of individuals incarcerated under the
criminal justice system in the United States for the last two decades (Mitchell et al.., 2007).
Approximately 7 million adults are under criminal justice supervision in the United States. This
shows how laws and penalties have become tougher toward drug offenses. Molecular and
imaging studies have shown that addiction is a brain disorder that has a genetic component and
can be treated by use of new pharmacological treatments.
Inaccessibility to drug treatment in the correctional facilities is a missed opportunity for
improving health and safety among the prisoners. It is therefore important to integrate treatment
into the criminal justice system. This would ensure that individuals who would otherwise not
receive treatment are able to receive drug treatment. Drug abuse treatment will improve the
medical outcome and reduce the chances of re-incarceration of drug offenders.

This paper provides a policy perspective approach to drug treatment in the criminal
justice system. It further provides data on the number of people incarcerated as a result of drugrelated crimes. The paper provides drug treatment modalities, drug treatment effectiveness, and
also discusses the barriers to effective drug treatment. It provides data on the top and bottom five
states in regards to the federal prison sentences related to drug-related crimes in 2013. The paper
also provides data showing the increased rates on incarceration due to drug-related crimes from
1980 to 2015. Finally, different treatment methods have been tabulated addressing the commonly
abused drugs such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and alcohol.

DRUG TREATMENT

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Introduction

Drug use and drug addiction directly correlate in a number of ways. Drugs such as
Marijuana, alcohol, cocaine, and heroin are commonly abused in the United States. It is
prohibited to produce, dispense, use, or be in possession of drugs underlined as addictive
(Mitchell et al.., 2007). The usage of drugs has led to increased robbery cases in a bid by drug
offenders to obtain more funds to acquire drugs. This leads to the eventual incarceration of drug
addicts who end up spending years in prisons. Additionally, drug abuse can lead to mental health
disorders such as anxiety disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality
disorder. Alternatives such as drug treatment programs in the correctional facilities patients’
from going back to their unlawful behavior. The success of these programs is also tied to the
community-based programs which continue with treatment when the patients leave prison. There
have been reduced cases of re-arresting of drug offenders by 25% to 50% once they have been
able to complete the drug treatment programs (Belenko, 1998).

The table below shows the top five and bottom five states according to infographics by
the council of State government 2017.
TOP FIVE STATES
STATE

PERCENTAGE (%)

West Virginia

59.1

Maine

52.7

Kentucky

52.2

Arkansas

50.8

Connecticut

47.9

DRUG TREATMENT

4
BOTTOM FIVE STATES

STATE

PERCENTAGE (%)

New Mexico

11.3

South Dakota

19.3

Colorado

20.9

Nevada

21.4

Wyoming

23.1

West Virginia state and Maine state have the highest drug-related cases in the United
States followed by Kentucky, Arkansas, and Connecticut states which close the top five position
of states with the highest federal prison sentences that were drug-related in 2013. States such as
New Mexico and South Dakota came first and second respectively as a state which had the
lowest federal prison sentences that were drug-related in 2013. They were closely followed by
Colorado, Nevada, and Wyoming as states with the lowest federal prison drug-related sentences.

The correctional facilities such as prisons aim at punishing wrongdoers and also
rehabilitating individuals having deviant behavior. Presently, the criminal justice system is
working to ensure the availability of rehabilitation programs that aim at rehabilitating inmates.
These rehabilitation programs vary in degrees, type, and form from one correctional facility to
the other with the purpose of averting re-offending. Drug abuse and trafficking are considered
national issues that are heavily fought by the Federal Government (Belenko, 1998). The Federal
government has used incarceration as a way to heal drug addicts though this method has not
borne fruits. Rehabilitation through other alternative methods to incarceration is necessary for
ensure that cases of re-arrest as a result of drug abuse are reduced. Drug use among the juvenile
population has substantially continued to rise despite all the efforts put in place to educate and stop

DRUG TREATMENT

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drug abuse among juveniles. Juveniles’ accessibility to drugs has left them vulne...


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