Is It Time to End the War on Drugs? - King County Bar Association

More documents

Recommendations

Info

evidenced by <strong>the</strong> fact that rising levels of juvenile drug use have occurred during <strong>the</strong> sameperiod of increased law enforcement activity. In consideration of this trend, many observershave seriously questioned <strong>the</strong> deterrent effect of criminal justice enforcement related <strong>to</strong> druguse among our youth, and have concluded that <strong>the</strong> “<strong>War</strong> on Drugs,” with its emphasis oncriminal justice enforcement, has been more harmful <strong>to</strong> youth than <strong>the</strong> use of <strong>the</strong> drugs<strong>the</strong>mselves, and that that drug use and drug abuse should be treated as a social and publichealth problem ra<strong>the</strong>r than as a criminal justice problem.Opportunity for Cost SavingsFor society at large, drug abuse by young people does extract a cost in health care,educational failure, mental health services, addiction treatment and juvenile crime. A recentstudy concluded that each youth who drops out of school and falls in<strong>to</strong> a life of drug abuseand crime will cost society from $1.7 <strong>to</strong> $2.3 million. 47 This suggests <strong>the</strong> practical wisdomof a public policy that seeks <strong>to</strong> avoid those costs. The National Institute on Drug Abuse hasfound that “for every dollar spent on drug abuse prevention, communities can save four <strong>to</strong>five dollars in costs for drug abuse treatment and counseling.” 48 Accordingly, increasedinvestment in an effective drug abuse prevention strategy would be a prudent means ofsaving future public costs. Ra<strong>the</strong>r than “getting kids out of trouble,” it would be wiser <strong>to</strong>“keep kids out of trouble.”2. Trying <strong>to</strong> Explain Juvenile Substance Abuse:31
Risk Fac<strong>to</strong>rs and Protective Fac<strong>to</strong>rsThe findings above reveal that many young people experiment with drugs, but arelatively small number of youth develop serious problems when experimentation evolvesin<strong>to</strong> regular or habitual use, and <strong>the</strong>n even fur<strong>the</strong>r in<strong>to</strong> dependence and addiction. <strong>It</strong> is,<strong>the</strong>refore, important <strong>to</strong> identify those children and adolescents who are most highly at risk ofusing drugs excessively, and fashion interventions that effectively prevent such abuse. Toguide <strong>the</strong> development of such a prevention strategy, it is necessary <strong>to</strong> understand <strong>the</strong>interplay of fac<strong>to</strong>rs related <strong>to</strong> juvenile substance abuse.All children are vulnerable <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> risks of substance abuse, regardless of ethnicity orsocial class, and it is difficult <strong>to</strong> predict with certainty which children will use drugsexcessively. Poverty is one principal risk fac<strong>to</strong>r, but current research has shed light on <strong>the</strong>o<strong>the</strong>r risk fac<strong>to</strong>rs that increase <strong>the</strong> likelihood of substance abuse, as well as <strong>the</strong> importantprotective fac<strong>to</strong>rs that help <strong>to</strong> mitigate such problems. This research, much of which hasbeen conducted by scholars from <strong>the</strong> University of Washing<strong>to</strong>n, is helping <strong>to</strong> guide <strong>the</strong>design of more effective strategies <strong>to</strong> prevent substance abuse among our youth. 49Risk Fac<strong>to</strong>rsChildren and adolescents are exposed <strong>to</strong> risks in many different domains, includingin <strong>the</strong>ir homes, at school, with <strong>the</strong>ir friends and in <strong>the</strong> larger community. The variousidentified risk fac<strong>to</strong>rs for substance abuse and o<strong>the</strong>r problem behaviors have generally beensegregated in<strong>to</strong> those domains for better analysis and policy planning: 50Community Domain 51- Availability of drugs- Norms favorable <strong>to</strong> drug use- Economic and social deprivation- Community disorganization- High level of neighborhood transition and mobilityFamily Domain 52- Parent-child conflict- Family substance abuse and/or mental illness- Family management problemsSchool Domain- Early and persistent anti-social behavior (kindergarten <strong>to</strong> 3 rd grade)- Poor academic performance in late elementary grades- Low commitment and attendance- Dropping out of high school32
Page 7: KING COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATIONDRUG POL
Page 10 and 11: KING COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATIONDRUG POL
Page 12 and 13: IntroductionThe King County Bar Ass
Page 14: Conclusions and RecommendationsEFFE
Page 17 and 18: DRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT (cont.)sym
Page 19 and 20: 11. Opiate-replacement the<
Page 21 and 22: DRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT (cont.)17.
Page 23 and 24: Assessing the Effe
Page 25 and 26: Current Drug Policy Reforms• Citi
Page 27 and 28: ___________________________________
Page 29 and 30: Formal research studies of adolesce
Page 31: methodological difficulties in esti
Page 35 and 36: Protective Factors
Page 37 and 38: 3. The Promise and Perils of Drug A
Page 39 and 40: Prevention strategies have been des
Page 41 and 42: Universal prevention programs gener
Page 43 and 44: The programs implemented under <str
Page 45 and 46: SECTION IIDRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT:
Page 47 and 48: 2. Society is justified in offering
Page 49 and 50: 4. Treatment is an effective respon
Page 51 and 52: 5. Some basic principles should inf
Page 53 and 54: “11. Possible drug use during tre
Page 55 and 56: There are currently drug courts in
Page 57 and 58: “become almost illusory.” <stro
Page 59 and 60: ___________________________________
Page 61 and 62: levels” for some drug offenses 16
Page 63 and 64: treatment, drug testing and o<stron
Page 65 and 66: to the</st
Page 67 and 68: and especially considering
Page 69 and 70: Those with problems are heavily con
Page 71 and 72: Just as it is difficult to<
Page 73 and 74: The federal criminal justice system
Page 75 and 76: A core principle of Washing
Page 77 and 78: Rehabilitation is the</stro
Page 79 and 80: Damaging Collateral Effects of <str
Page 81 and 82: have been so overwhelmed with drug
Page 83 and 84:
creates a conflict of interest that
Page 85 and 86:
The links between illegal drug prod
Page 87 and 88:
convicted.” 351 Proposition 36 al
Page 89 and 90:
non-violent offenders facing length
Page 91 and 92:
is still supervised by the<
Page 93 and 94:
emedies may be appropriate, and <st
Page 95 and 96:
___________________________________
Page 97 and 98:
have shown less promise, especially
Page 99 and 100:
Unique Opportunities in Washing<str
Page 101 and 102:
State of Washingto
Page 103 and 104:
This program provides to</s
Page 105 and 106:
way.”9 According to</stro
Page 107 and 108:
Best states: “ They are basically
Page 109 and 110:
4, pp. 590-593, who state that <str
Page 111 and 112:
109 For a summary of the</s
Page 113 and 114:
Profile report is available on line
Page 115 and 116:
to anothe<
Page 117 and 118:
program of drug treatment that begi
Page 119 and 120:
237 No deaths have ever been record
Page 121 and 122:
290 A special exception to<
Page 123 and 124:
Following the pass
Page 125 and 126:
Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol.
show all

Is It Time to End the War on Drugs? - King County Bar Association

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?