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Substance Abuse In The Other Wes Moore

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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

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