ipl-logo

Substance Abuse In The Other Wes Moore

774 Words4 Pages

Drug Addiction Imagine a life where someone is controlled by something that doesn't have a pulse, controlled by a substance that they can see ruining their life but for some reason they can't control the outcome. Substance abuse costs the health care system about $11 billion, with overall costs reaching $193 billion. That $11 Billion dollars could go to treating the addiction rather than treating the outcome, and instead of locking up low level drug offenders, we as a society should help them through their difficult time. And according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), approximately 27 million Americans, or 10.2% of the American population over the age of 12 reported using illicit drugs in 2014. 10% of our society is …show more content…

We know that a baby does not come into this world knowing how to roll a joint or smoke crack, Those actions are learned, and in most cases those actions are learned at a young age. This relates the the other Wes in The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore. The other Wes, as a child, watches his older brother get wrapped up into the drug game and also sees the riches in which it brings. So in order to reduce the number of drug users we need to focus on the children. In 2014, 21.5 million Americans aged 12 or older met the criteria for a substance use disorder (or addiction) in the previous year. Even at the age of 12 kids can get addicted to these harmful chemicals and ruin their …show more content…

While America holds 10% of the world's population, America also holds 25% of the world's jailed population. That number is baffling because one in every 4 people are jailed. This comes rise in jailing trickles down to the war on drugs in the early 70’s. In June of 1971, President Richard Nixon declared a “war on drugs”. He increased law enforcement agencies and mandatory sentences for people charged with drug related crimes. These mandatory sentences made small crimes big crimes. Meaning people convicted of these crimes were locked away with other felons while getting no treatment for their addiction. Once released these people are now labeled as an Ex-Convict, now making it difficult to find a job and support their family. Once they finally realize that they can't get a job to make enough money to support their family they now go back to the one activity that they know will make money and that is the drug game. This is a vicious cycle that repeats itself over and

Show More
Related
96 Words | 1 Pages

Due to the unprecedented expansion of the war on drugs by the Reagan administration started a long period of skyrocketing rates of incarceration. The huge number of offenders incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenders increased from 50,000 to 1980 to over 400,000 by the year 1997. In 1981, Nancy Reagan began a highly publicized antidrug campaign called “Just Say No”, as public concerns arose due to the portrayals by the media about people addicted to a smoke-able form of cocaine dubbed as “crack”. This campaign set the stage for zero tolerance policies implemented in the late 1980’s.

Read More
1080 Words | 5 Pages

Crime, Law, Administration of Justice Professor: Kelly McGeever 04/25/18 Topic- Reflection on lock-in by John Pfaff Provide your reflection on the book and argument The justice system in America caused mass incarceration to become overpopulated from the 1970s to 2000. The reason being people were sentenced for more minor crimes which resulted in prisons to become overcrowded. Based on the book Lock In by John Pfaff, the three main reasons causing mass incarceration in America were; long sentences, war and drugs, and prosecutors.

Read More
1471 Words | 6 Pages

In the United States, results from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed that 19.9 million Americans used illegal drugs in the month prior to the survey. ”(the staff of the official webpage of Foundation for a Drug-Free World). Problems that associated with alcoholism and substance addiction are serious and comprehensive, which often affect every area of a person's life. This includes emotional wellbeing, physical health, psychological, and psychological state (Curtin, 2017). Health care concerns within these populations are depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other psychological factor that lead to alcoholism and substance abuse (Sommer,

Read More
555 Words | 3 Pages

In 2014 there were 215,000 people incarcerated in federal prisons, almost half were there for drug-related offenses with the enactment of mandatory minimum sentencing laws for drug offenses in the 1980s, increasing the population by more than 800 percent (Malcolm, 2014.) “Moreover, drug offenders make up the single largest category of incarcerated offenders in Tennessee, serving an average sentence of 9.7 years” (Malcolm, 2014, paragraph 21.) By limit sentencing, we can address the issues of high cost, by using probation and parole for more misdemeanor

Read More
844 Words | 4 Pages

This dependence on substances often leads to a dangerous cycle, where individuals feel they cannot function without them. As more and more people fall into this trap, we risk ending up like the society depicted in Brave New World, where happiness is manufactured and individuality is suppressed. Sadly, our own government seems to be following a similar path, with a lack of resources and support for those struggling with substance abuse, exemplified by the current opioid epidemic in America. If we continue down this path, our society may end up like the one in Brave New World, where the pursuit of happiness comes at the cost of individual

Read More
678 Words | 3 Pages

Opioids is a big issue because Americans are addicted to drugs especially opioids. After a surgery doctors give patients opioids because they are a pain killer. After patients have been taking opioids they soon are not in pain anymore but they keep taking the pills because it makes their body feel relieved. People get addicted to this and can’t function without them.

Read More
1087 Words | 5 Pages

In the 1970s the United States entered the era known as mass incarceration, the byproduct of the drug war. The War on Drugs changed how society handled drug dependency, diverting the problem from public health to criminal justice. Since the Nixon administration, the political stance on being tough on crime has resulted in various laws and policing practices that heavily criminalized drugs to point in which the prison population in the United States increased from 300,000 people in 1972 to 2.3 million today (Barish, DuVernay, Averick & DuVernay, 2016). The epidemic of mass incarceration corresponds to a variety of public health issues such as mental illness, increased violence within society, increased incidence of addictions, and increased incidence of chronic illnesses (Drucker, 2013).

Read More
1339 Words | 6 Pages

Mandatory sentencing, Three strikes, truth-in-sentencing, quality of life policing, zero tolerance, and various other proposals that result in longer and harsher penalties and the elimination of rehabilitation and other programs are all contemporary examples of “tough on crime” policies. (43) The one who came with this idea of having more stricted laws and no rehabilitation and other programs was President Nixon. This didn 't even worked because the U.S. still have the highest incarceration rate in the world, and they still a lot of people using and distributing drugs. It 's definitely that this movement didn 't work at all because the war on drugs started when President Nixon declared the war against our "biggest enemy," those who are involved with the drug

Read More
934 Words | 4 Pages

The drinking age in America has been unchanged over many years but I believe that this is one area of law that should stopped being overlooked as it may be the cause for many unforeseen negative effects. The amount of taxpayers money that is spent on the current law system is outrageous for many reasons, one reason is the number of people in jail or correctional facilities. As we move on to try and better our society in gender inequality and many other areas this is a area that deserves to be targeted as well. One of the ways we could limit the number of people in the law system is ridding the system of unjust laws. Another way is to try to teach people the effects of using alcohol in a responsible manner.

Read More
707 Words | 3 Pages

In 1972, former President Richard Nixon made his infamous statements regarding crime and drug abuse. In this speech, he declared a war on crime and drugs and intended to decrease the number of people using drugs and the amount of crimes that were committed. Since this declaration, incarceration rates in the U.S. have gone up by 500%, even though the amount of crime happening has gone down. One of the reasons why I feel our rates have risen, is because sometimes, we put people in jail when they don’t need to be there in the first place.

Read More
1561 Words | 7 Pages

Addison Hicks Ms. Duke CA III/W3 27 February 2023 American Punishment: Rehabilitation Substitutes Incarceration A person whose life falls victim to the ongoing problem of substance abuse dwindles down into the hands of the state, thus deciding an individual’s punishment. Each year, more than 20 million people suffer from the use of drugs. Whether these be cocaine, heroin, LSD, marijuana, methamphetamine, or nicotine. The majority of these offenders end up in places such as prisons, leading to the issue of overcrowding.

Read More
1233 Words | 5 Pages

Introduction: Attention getter: according to ohio.gov, over 4,000 people died of drug overdose in 2016. Relevance: drug abuse is a growing epidemic especially here in Ohio, which is ranked 2nd worst overdose rates in the united states. Credibility: multiple of my family members have been addicted to drugs and i have first hand experience of how drug abuse can affect someone's life, and how rehab affects people addicted to drugs vs how prison affects people addicted to drugs. Thesis & Preview: as a result of the growing drug epidemic in the United States, thousands die every year. There are many proposed solutions for this problem such as decriminalization, rehab, prison, and even the death penalty.

Read More
707 Words | 3 Pages

Perspectives are often prejudiced by preconceived notions. Society has historically communicated that addicts are morally negligent people without any inclination to cease their destructive behavior and that the addiction itself is produced because of a character flaw or a weakness. Citing the addict’s seemingly careless attitude toward the financial burden and pain and suffering they arbitrarily cause others as proof of their imagined personality imperfections. As with numerous other things, unfortunately, experience is the best teacher. Before my personal journey with a drug-addicted child, I also held to the belief that an addict was an addict by choice and could stop the abuse by simply making the decision to.

Read More
874 Words | 4 Pages

isn’t the only thing people believe needs to change; the reasons for arrests have been criticized by many. America incarcerates more citizens for drug related crimes than any other place in the world. Of the roughly 200,000 in federal prison, 52% are being held for drug crimes and only 8% are for violent crimes, such as: murder, assault, and robbery (Waldman, 2013). Many believe that the “War on Drugs” must become less aggressive because of its large contribution to the prison population. The distribution of prisoners by race has also raised concern among Americans.

Read More
716 Words | 3 Pages

Substance abuse and addiction has been around for many years and it is very harmful to people’s overall health. Substance addiction is a disorder that involves an uncontrollable use of a substance. It is important that people know about this so that they can decrease their chances of developing an addiction and acknowledge the harmful effects. It is also important for people to know about the treatments so they can help themselves, their family members, or friends who might be dealing with substance abuse and addiction. We will look into some risk factors of substance abuse and addiction, the effects it has on a person’s physical and mental well being, and some available treatments.

Read More

More about Substance Abuse In The Other Wes Moore

Open Document