War on Drug Policies

War on Drug Policies

Drugs and substances have been on the rise at a considerable level. According to research conducted by the National Survey on Drug use and Health (NSDUH) in 2017, approximately 20 million adults in America aged between 12-24 years are hooked in drug and substance abuse. This shows that the youth are the primary target or are the primary drug market (Somani & Meghani, 2016). The advancement in technology has contributed to a significant increase in the rate at which the drugs are abuse. In their defense, the author suggests that technology has created a mode where the young generation can interact more effectively; this is aided by the use of smartphones. Through the interaction, there is an increase and spread of peer pressure that ultimately leads to increased drug abuse (Zaman, Razzaq, Qureshi & Hassan, 2015). Law enforcement agencies with support from criminal justice systems have taken a move to deal with this menace. In this paper, there will be a review of the various policies/strategies set forth by the law enforcement agencies.

Juvenile sentencing and correction facilities for the youth is one of the policies set forth by the law agencies. This policy involves the sentencing of a juvenile/youth for any form of delinquency they may commit, such as drug abuse. The creation of such a strict and harsh punishment for the youth offenders instills fear, among others, with the same behavior (Meade, 2015). Additionally, the juvenile prisons are used as correction services of rehab centers. Through the help offered by qualified counselors, the youth are guided, and their addiction is eliminated through intensive healthcare treatment and procedures (Thapa, 2018). Thus, juvenile and correctional services are a significant policy set on war against drugs.

Law enforcement agencies have been continuously evolving over the decades. In traditional times, the federal, state, and tribal agencies mainly focused on the significant wholesale drug activities among the youth. This means that they laid much emphasis on investigation and rooting of major city sellers. However, with the introduction of cocaine in the mid-1980s, there was the recognition for the need to focus on retail sales of drugs. Moreover, the constant raiding of the drug suppliers did not help because another would pop up. Thus, there was the initiative of raiding the illicit drug manufactures and cartels (Vale, 2003). Therefore, investigation and rooting the main course of the issue is a practical policy set.

Another policy set towards the war against drugs is the community policing strategy. Over the years, police have worked independently towards maintaining law and order and prevention of crime and drug abuse. However, it was discovered that considerable progress was made through the combination and conjunction of forces between the police and the community served. Members of the community share vital information regarding various drug operations that the police are unaware of, and necessary corrective actions are taken (Cooper, 2015). Thus, community policing strategy is a significant policy set towards fighting drug and substance abuse.

The justice system, in conjunction with the law enforcement agencies, have set a policy on drug education to be conducted in schools. Drug education refers to the efforts made by teachers to reduce drug abuse through the provision of necessary knowledge on the adverse effects of substance abuse. This form of education should be included in every school time table and curriculum. When the youth start learning about drug abuse and its effects on their future, they will be enlightened to have an awareness of the implications of drug abuse behavior (Botvin & Griffin, 2009). This reduces the rate of drug abuse and thus can be considered as a policy on the war on drugs.

The increase in police count will aid in the improvement of drug abuse reduction measures. Law enforcement officers are a critical element in ensuring there is a peaceful co-existence between people in the community. Additionally, they provide the eradication of any illicit activities such as drug abuse. Through the increase in the number of police, there is an increased level of police surveillance in major cities. According to the research conducted by the Federal Bureau of investigation, in the last decade, there has been a significant reduction in the rate of drug abuse due to numerous arrests made by the police (Cooper, Moore, Gruskin & Krieger, 2005). This is made possible through the increment of the number of law enforcers.

Despite the spread of peer pressure, social media can be used as a tool for the reduction of drug abuse in society. Many youths have unlimited access to social media platforms through access to computers, tablets, and smartphones. These kinds of platforms can be used as a tool. The law enforcement agencies are continually sending messages through GIFs, photos, and short clip videos to social media platforms. These messages are used to communicate the dangers and implications of drug abuse. There is a high probability that almost all the youths can come across such posts and be educated (Valente, Gallaher & Mouttapa, 2004). Thus, social media can be allied as a tool for fighting drug abuse.

Another strategy would be the employment of a problem-oriented and policing approach. This involves the training of law officers on the various methods of critical thinking and figuring out solutions for different predicaments. Such kind of training aids the officers being able to uncover multiple drug crime patterns and figuring out the practical approach to such a situation (Rojas-Gaona & Travis, n.d.). Thus, problem-oriented policing can be viewed as a tool towards the fight against drug abuse.

In conclusion, various policies have been implemented by law enforcement agencies towards the fight against drug abuse. The success of these strategies is mainly dependent on how effective the agencies are towards the reduction of drug abuse.

References

Botvin, G., & Griffin, K. (2009). Drug Abuse Prevention Curricula in Schools. Handbooks Of Sociology And Social Research, 1(1), 45-74. doi: 10.1007/0-387-35408-5_3

Cooper, H., Moore, L., Gruskin, S., & Krieger, N. (2005). The impact of a police drug crackdown on drug injectors’ ability to practice harm reduction: A qualitative study. Social Science & Medicine, 61(3), 673-684. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.12.030

Cooper, H. (2015). War on Drugs Policing and Police Brutality. Substance Use & Misuse, 50(8-9), 1188-1194. doi: 10.3109/10826084.2015.1007669

Meade, C. (2015). Juvenile Justice. The Encyclopedia Of Crime And Punishment, 1, 1-5. doi: 10.1002/9781118519639.wbecpx234

Rojas-Gaona, C., & Travis, L. Policing, Problem-Oriented. Encyclopedia Of Street Crime In America, 332-335. doi: 10.4135/9781452274461.n138

Somani, S., & Meghani, S. (2016). Substance Abuse among Youth: A Harsh Reality. Emergency Medicine: Open Access, 6(4), 1-4. doi: 10.4172/2165-7548.1000330

Thapa, R. (2018). Role of Rehabilitation Center to Reduce Drug Addiction in Nepal : A Case Study of Different Rehabilitation Centers in Biratnagar Metropolitan City. Journal Of National Development, 31(2), 209-215. doi: 10.29070/31/58301

Vale, A. (2003). Cocaine. Medicine, 31(10), 43. doi: 10.1383/medc.31.10.43.27807

Valente, T., Gallaher, P., & Mouttapa, M. (2004). Using Social Networks to Understand and Prevent Substance Use: A Transdisciplinary Perspective. Substance Use & Misuse, 39(10-12), 1685-1712. doi: 10.1081/ja-200033210

Zaman, M., Razzaq, S., Qureshi, J., & Hassan, R. (2015). Drug abuse among the students. Journal Of Pharmaceutical Research, 2(1), 41-44.

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