Criminal Addiction- America’s Social Crisis Essay

The United States boasts some of the finest medical knowledge in the worldly concern is known for its charitable help to third world countries and yet theres an pestiferous that it chooses to ignore and even vilify. Drug addiction, to both illegal and legal doses, is on the rampage. In 2001, 16. 6 cardinal cases of dose addiction were reported- thats 7. 3% of the population. Our emergency rooms are overflowing with drug associate emergencies and our jails are packed with criminals charged with drug related crimes.The American medical society can be partially blamed for our national addictions. From heroin and cocaine in the early 1900s, to tranquilizers and diet pills in the 60s and 70s to todays highly addictive pain killers, doctors have pushed pills at us , toting them as miracle cures, and the like. Americans are a society that is always looking for forward-looking ideas and new ways to solve troubles, and these instant solutions always take onm like a good thing- and commonly arent (King, 2006). alas, doctors are less inclined to treat those they addict- they would rather ignore the worry or chalk it up to a weak will, than face the fact that without their overzealous marketing, the majority of these sight would never have become addicts. Those doctors that wish to help their patients are met with little choice if the patient has no insurance, there are very few treatment centers. Its the middle and lower class addicts that match the most- due to lack of money, influence and insurance.One the other side of addiction- namely street drugs, we again see the want for a miracle cure. Many kids experiment out of curiosity, but the majority that become heavy drug users usually start using drugs as an escape and because they see their parents do drugs too. They also see drugs as a way of making quick money and to escape the poverty they live in (Addiction, 2002). Unfortunately for either type of user, there is no escape. Drugs often lead to death- w hether suicide, accidental overdose, fighting between dealers, or the various diseases that can come from chronic drug use.At least one spell of immurement is guaranteed for the street drug user- usually for dealing or violence related to dealing. Conversely, prescription drug addicts usually end up in incarceration for various crimes to support their habits- crimes that are usually more civilize such as theft and forgery. Either way, however, these addicts end up in jail- in a establishment that is only there to make sure they serve a sentence- rather than help them to overcome the problem (Addiction, 2002).A movement to change drug addiction from a crime to a public wellness problem is beginning in America. This approach has already been tried in the Netherlands with results showing a tag reduction in the number of heroin addicts over a two-year period. There, drug traffickers are prosecuted, and drug addicts that commit other crimes such as theft are punished for those crimes , but are not charged with possession. Instead rehabilitation is ordered and received. (Bertran, Sharpe, Andreas, 1996)In 2007, the Second Chance Act was put in the beginning Congress. This bill will allow funds to be allotted to State governments to set up intoxicant and substance abuse programs for inmates. It also authorizes the creation of drug treatment and rehabilitation centers as alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders. composition this is still in the legislative process, it is a step toward changing the futures of many Americans. Conclusion Its cadence for Americans to step back and take a long look at their attitudes about drug addiction.Its obvious from our jails and morgues that our current policies and ideas are not working. References King, Rufus (2006) The Drug Hang Up, Americas Fifty-Year Folly retrieved from http//www. druglibrary. org/ peculiar(prenominal)/king/dhu/dhu5. htm Drug Addiction is an Illness, not a Crime (2002) retrieved from http//w ww. drug -addiction. com/addiction_is_illness. htm Bertran, Eva Sharpe, Kenneth Andreas, Peter (1996 )Drug War regime The Price of Denial University of California Press retrieved from http//books. google. com /books? id=baWsThZgBaQC&printsec on January 31 2009.