Drug Policy in the USA
Drug Policy in the USA
Drug policy in the United States of America covers a broad spectrum ranging from classification of drugs which are illegal and their legal punishment to their treatment and rehabilitation services. These policies are actively involved in the development of campaigns to create awareness on drug abuse and trafficking. This essay will focus on the understanding of addiction and how the congress has dealt with the whole issue.
The background of drug policy in USA dates back to the late 19th century to early 20th century but the federal government was not involved in the regulation and distribution of drugs as there were no agencies mandated to perform such duties (Sacco 15). Drug control took shape in the early 20th century due to the growing levels of drug abuse. The Harrison Act of 1914 was introduced which sought to regulate and control drugs through taxation. There has been continuous passing of drug control legislation ever since, such as the Boggs Act of 1951 which established mandatory prison sentence for some drug offenses which also applies to Narcotic Control Act of 1956 which increased penalties for drug offenses and established death penalty as a punishment for selling heroine to young people. In 1970, The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Act was passed by the congress with an aim of controlling select drugs and chemical substances under the jurisdiction of the federal government. This Act regulated the production, possession and distribution of controlled substance lawfully. The Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act of 2003 was introduced which directly targets the drug producers and shifted its focus from imposing punishment on those who establish places where drugs are made, distributed, and consumed to those who maintain such places knowingly. The act also authorized educating the youth and parents about club drugs.
Despite the many drug legislations, the congress has failed in their attempt to make America a drug free nation. This is due to the fact that there is preferential of rhetoric facts rather than reality (Lassiter 135). When independent commissions are chosen to evaluate drug related policies, their recommendations are often ignored being termed as politically risky. This discourages the commissions as the truth doesn’t come to light as a result of a few selfish individuals hiding behind politics to protect own selfish interests. Some of the congress members are also drug peddlers. This simply means that they tend to undermine any drug-related law which would throw them behind bars. Congress members being powerful also have enough power to tamper with the operations of the judiciary hindering them from effectively exercising their mandate on drug related cases thus hindering the whole process of bringing the drug menace to an end.
In conclusion, there is dire need of reducing the sentences imposed on drug offenses bearing in mind that most of the federal prisoners are drug offenders whose sentence is longer than that of those found guilty of violent crimes. The congress should therefore enact such laws and be the first people to make sure they are followed. Drugs being a danger to many young people in the country a more proactive manner should be adopted to keep young people from them. This could be by intensifying campaigns against drug abuse and also rehabilitating those already affected by the drugs rather than punishing them whenever they are found in possession of drugs.
Works Cited
Lassiter, Matthew D. “Impossible Criminals.” American History (2015): 126-140.
Sacco, Lisa N. “Drug Enforcement in the United States:.” Congressional Research Service (2014): 1-26.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER
Drug Policy in the USA
Paper details
This module focuses on public policy. As I noted in the last slide of the lecture, the
domain of public policy is immense, and so our coverage of public policy barely touched
the surface.
For this essay, however, I would like you to delve a bit deeper on your own. Your
primary is to choose a public policy topic or issue of special interest to you, but one that
also has been addressed by Congress in one way or another (for some help, click on
this link for a long list of different issues). Then complete the following tasks (in essay
form!):
