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Prison Drug Laws Essay

768 Words4 Pages

Once upon a time, there were no drug laws in the United States. Back then Americans had this strange idea that somehow this was the land of the free and you can do what you wanted with your body, but we got rid of that notion. There once was a time, when Americans also believed that prisons had the purpose of rehabilitating prisoners; that was the official ideology of the American correctional system, but we did away with that principal. Now we live in a time, all praise to the criminal “justice” system, where America is known for holding the World’s record for prisoners. And although “the united States comprise of only 5% of the World’s population we house 25% of the Worlds prisoners”. Of those 25% percent we detain a staggering percentage …show more content…

Many of the inmates that have been convicted of drug charges do not have any prior conviction of violence but are exposed to the violent prison systems and/or not receiving the appropriate rehabilitation they need. Many families like mine are having to suffer by having to worry if their family members are safe from rap, violence and etc. Though some States have taken steps to provide programs as an alternative to incarceration, such as The Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison (DTAP) program, developed by the Kings County District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, N.Y., which is the first prosecution-led residential drug treatment diversion program in the country according to the National Institute of Justice. In addition, some States have created special drug courts to review drug related offenses. According to the drug court activity data, as of April 5, 2013, there were 2,383 Drug Court Programs currently operating in the US. Another 198 Drug Court Programs were being planned. Adult Drug Courts were operating or being planned in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Drug courts were operating or being planned in a total of 1,537 out of 3,143 counties in the US. However, the percentage is still at its height and there are many individuals that are still incarcerated.
Some people may believe that harsh drug laws may be a logical

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