Illegal Drugs as a Problem in Trades - Book Report/Review Example

Illegal Drugs as a Problem in Trades Literature Review In 1960s, there were problems caused by the epidemic of heroin, a demoralizing illegal drugs crisis, which took center stage in the field of criminal Justice (Wisotsky, 1990). There were doctrines in illegal drugs policy during 1980s, and since then, illegal drugs trade has become a challenge to the development of social and moral fundamentals of authority (Rosenbaum, Flewelling, Bailey, Ringwalt & Wilkinson, 1994). There have been various illegal drugs policies in the field of criminal justice, which focus on imposing penalties and deterrence in order to prevent and control the problem (Reuter, 1991). Nevertheless, this research paper will focus on establishing problems in trade of illegal drugs within the criminal justice, and exploring ways that deal with the problem. Various policies have exerted pressure to the issue of trading illegal drugs leading to a chance for other problems arising in the same problem (Reuter, 1991). For instance, there are criminal endorses for low-level crack users that changed their resources from treatment, and this results to an increase in vectors of HIV transmissions, as a result of the rise in sexual activities (Morales, 1989). In fact, this problem can be attributed to ineffectiveness of the strategies aimed at reducing the use of illegal drugs (Currie, 1993). Implementation of numerous strategies aimed at reducing and eliminating trade of illegal drugs have consumed many resources in the field of criminal justice. Moreover, failure through this effort by the department of criminal justice has increased risks associated with health, illegal drugs and violence that surround the illegal drugs markets (Hughes, 1983). In addition, the illegal drugs policies have led to increased profits for the illegal drugs traders, thereby attracting numerous people into this trade (Reuter, 1991). Therefore, the exaggeration attributed to symbols of conspicuous consumption by the trades is considered an appeal for young people to join this trade. Nevertheless, there is a severe sentence which is applied by law without discrimination, (Tonry, 1995). There had been an increase of the trade of illegal drugs in different parts of the world over the last thirty years, beginning 1960, when there was a heroin epidemic in America (Currie, 1993). In fact, heroin epidemic was followed by a cocaine epidemic in the 1980s, and this continues down the history to the current level of trade of illegal drugs in different parts of the world (Belenko, 1993). There was an initiative established by the criminal justice departments facilitating issues like illegal drug testing in the workplace, whereby abusers were incarceratedb leading to overcrowding in the prisons. Moreover, there were numerous social experiments aimed at controlling trade of illegal drugs in America (Currie, 1993). The illegal drugs trades have led to increased emphasis in the criminal penalties and hindrances through the mechanism for controlling illegal drugs problems in order to prevent and reduce the amount of expenses incurred by the government through the department of criminal justice, in fighting trade of illegal drugs (Freeman, 1992). However, there had been an increase in use of criminal justice resources aimed at achieving objectives such as a reduction of the illegal drugs demand through deterrence of the users, reduction of illegal drugs supply through disruptions of markets and reduction of violence (Reuter, 1991). On the other hand, there are policy responses that need a low imprisonment threshold for offenders associated with illegal drugs trade. In this case, there is a high chance of making arrests related to illegal drugs use and trade via extensive street-level enforcements (Wisotsky, 1990). Criminal justice department has been diverting their resources from prevention and treatment of the problems associated with trade of illegal drugs to enforcement and imprisonment (Reuter, 1991). There are policies, which have been formulated through an atmosphere of intense concern, though this occurs without conceptual development of policy analysis (Freeman, 1992). In fact, criminal justice department has found it relevant to evaluate the implication and returns from decisions made through these policies (Rosenbaum, Flewelling, Bailey, Ringwalt & Wilkinson, 1994). Moreover, this offers an opportunity to evaluate and consider the choices made to reduce illegal drug trade. The trade of illegal drugs that emanates from the epidemics of illegal drugs such as cocaine runs its natural course, whereby it causes an onset of peak of the crack epidemic that can eventually subside leaving a significant illegal drugs problem (Belenko, 1993). Moreover, there is empirical information regarding the rational standpoint on numerous policy initiatives that are pursued in mobilization of people against illegal drugs trade. This information is based on the lessons that have been learnt from other illegal drugs crises (Morales, 1989). In this case, the criminal justice department focuses on highlighting the policies through the premise of the limits that are attained (Wisotsky, 1990). It also offers a context for formulating framework of coherent illegal drugs policy, whereby through this initiative, a reduction of problems caused by the trade of illegal drugs can be realized. The criminal justice department has applied illegal drugs laws in 1980s as a way of reducing demand for the illegal drugs (Tonry, 1995). There were moral restriction and preclusions to inform on the perspectives, thereby leading to an inelasticity of demand while illegal drugs offenders were facing imprisonment, as an alternative method for reducing demand. However, different policies were recommended with emphasis on demand reduction (Belenko, 1993). Nevertheless, there were insignificant margins for deterrence effects on criminal penalties. Currently, there are recommended strategies focusing on the informal mechanism of individual reduction of illegal drugs consumption, which contributes significantly to minimization of demand in the trade of illegal drugs (Freeman, 1992; Warner, 1993). In fact, these illegal drugs courts have emanated from the grassroots due to frustrations caused by incapability of prevailing punitive anti-illegal drugs policies to minimize the crime caused by illegal drugs trade. The courts of illegal drugs have been shifting participant’s roles, thereby becoming a significant part of criminal courts (Rosenbaum, Flewelling, Bailey, Ringwalt & Wilkinson, 1994). In this case, people who need individual attention instead of an ordinary criminal case can be served. There are multi-disciplinary case-management approaches aimed at responding to the convicts. Therefore, this increases the involvement of the society to the sensitive case, which relates to community (Belenko, 1993). Moreover, there is a wider reflection and an extended range of the approaches concerning the crimes caused by the illegal drugs trade. In addition, illegal drugs courts emphasizes on solutions for problems instead through repeated punishment for those involved in the trade of illegal drugs (Morales, 1989). In fact, they offer a representation of the potential power of the model that connects the treatment and public health system to the process of criminal justice. There are alternative sentencing programs, which are applied as solutions for the problems caused by the trade of illegal drugs (Zimring & Gordon, 1992). However, limitation to the treatment of the illegal drugs courts and the diversion or alternative sentencing is associated with the risk of widening the net for social control that can be unnecessary (Currie, 1993). On the other hand, there is a focus on the intervention strategy, whereby an individual is applied as a responsive intervention of reducing the illegal drugs trade. Nevertheless, this risk can be reduced by necessary eligibility and criteria for screening and this can be integrated with an assessment for the problems caused by trade of illegal drugs (Kleiman, 1992). Therefore, reduction of the problems in the trade within the department of criminal justice has been reduced significantly by connections of illegal drugs treatment and public health, which can make treatment the first resort (Tonry, 1995). There are numerous opportunities for the criminal justice to intervene in the trade of illegal drugs such as prohibition of supervised treatment, which is based on the correction models proposed by the community (Hughes, 1983). On the other hand, the criminal justice use prison based strategies (Zimring & Gordon, 1992). Moreover, the criminal justice-based treatment service is considered a stipulation to offer a treatment and other services after the release of those involved in the jail due to issues related to illegal drugs, and they are supervised by the criminal justice (Warner, 1993). The criminal justice has been capitalizing on the communities as a substantial conceptual reason for investing in the community for the purposes of illegal drugs control and mobilizing members of the community to disrupt illegal drugs markets and users (Freeman, 1992). In this case, community policing has been considered a vital strategy of dealing with the problems brought by the trade of illegal drugs within the criminal justice (Morales, 1989). Therefore, it has received significant attention and support for a long period, since there is a relationship of critical illegal drugs policy issue (Wisotsky, 1990). Numerous studies have indicated that there are benefits of community policing in reduction of the illegal drugs trade, which focuses on reduction of the market scope of the illegal drugs. In this case, by reducing the demand for the illegal drugs, there are substantial effects on the criminal justice system (Currie, 1993). In fact, this approach facilitates the connection of treatment and public health service concerning the law enforcement instead of the approaches that depend on the undercover narcotic officers (Morales, 1989). On the other hand, the criminal justice focuses on conducting a research on prevention of the problems used by illegal drugs trades in the country, thereby disaggregating certain illegal drugs and population (Rosenbaum, Flewelling, Bailey, Ringwalt & Wilkinson, 1994). Moreover, these strategies are based on people’s understanding of strategies to obtain information that can be used in making rational decisions regarding the trade and use of illegal drugs. Lessons learnt by criminal justice and society from the heroin epidemic in 1960s, which had been caused by trade of illegal drugs are distributed evenly from the credible sources (Warner, 1993). This concerns the information on risks of abusing illegal drugs, which have direct or indirect social implications (Belenko, 1993). Moreover, there are normative alterations of the patterns of trade associated with the influence caused by the legal threats to the illegal drugs traders. On the other hand, the criminal justice has decided to expand the treatment in prisons, whereby the high concentration of the rate of risk associated with the use of illegal drugs has been segmented in the population (Reuter, 1991). Therefore, the treatment initiative focuses on these segments in a way that increases the level of efficiency. Numerous, high-risk illegal drugs and users have been imprisoned; thereby connecting their criminality to the illegal drugs issues (Warner, 1993). In this case, there is cost arguments raised for making treatment a strategy of discouraging the trade (Hughes, 1983). In addition, this serves as a way of reducing the criminality and the problems caused by the illegal drugs trade. Therefore, the criminal justice focuses on conducting experimentations and researches to develop a social technology depending on the criminal approval to access the treatment. Criminal justice deals with the problem by seeking ways to reduce the harm caused by use of illegal drugs, thereby focusing on deterrence of the trade of illegal drugs (Belenko, 1993). However, this does not focus on the spread of the health harms caused by the illegal trade of these illegal drugs (Warner, 1993). Criminal justice has understanding that illegal drugs addiction is a form of chronic disease, which is not infectious or contagious; thereby, they have decided to use an approach that can facilitate achievement of realistic policy and objectives that reduce the trade of illegal drugs (Kleiman, 1992). After gathering relevant ideas from the different academic sources, there is need to propose hypothesis, which are tested in the study and results discussed, thereby reaching to a reasonable conclusion. In this case, the first hypothesis relates to the assumptions that criminal justice has established and dealt with the problems associated with trade of illegal drugs. Secondly, there is an assumption that their strategies are tested by use of systematic models. Third, criminal justice has established a reasonable understanding of the consumer behaviors in the illegal drugs markets in order to develop effective intervention strategies. References Belenko, S. (1993). Crack and the Evolution of Anti-Illegal drugs Policy. Greenwich, CT: Greenwood Press. Currie, E. (1993). Reckoning: Illegal drugs, the Cities, and the American Future. New York: Hill and Wang. Freeman, R. (1992). Crime and the economic status of disadvantaged young men. In Urban Labor Markets and Job Opportunity, (eds). G.E. Peterson and W. Vroman. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press. Hughes, G. (1983). The concept of crime. In The Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice, (eds). S. Kalish. New York: MacMillan. Kleiman, M. (1992). Against Excess: Illegal drugs Policy for Results. New York: Basic Books. Morales, E. (1989). Cocaine: White Gold Rush in Peru. Tuscon: University of Arizona Press. Reuter, P. (1991). On the consequences of toughness. In Searching for Alternatives: Illegal drugs-Control Policy in the United States, (eds). M.B. Krauss and E.P. Lazear. Stanford, CA: Hoover Press. Rosenbaum, D., Flewelling, R., Bailey, S., Ringwalt, C. & Wilkinson, D. (1994). Cops in the Classroom: A Longitudinal Evaluation of Illegal drugs Abuse Resistance Education (DARE). Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 31: 3–31. Tonry, M. (1995). Malign Neglect. New York: Oxford University Press. Warner, K. (1993). Legalizing illegal drugs: Lessons from (and about) economics. In Confronting Illegal drugs Policy: Illicit Illegal drugs in a Free Society, (eds). R. Bayer and G.M. Oppenheimer. New York: Cambridge University Press. Wisotsky, S. (1990). Beyond the War on Illegal drugs (2nd edition). Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books. Zimring, F. & Gordon, H., (1992). The Search for Rational Illegal drugs Control Policy. New York: Cambridge University Press. Read More