Premium Essay

Drug Reform

In:

Submitted By emorton60
Words 2657
Pages 11
Drug Policy Reform

Eric L. Morton

Urban Policy/UST 458

Cleveland State University

Abstract

In the United States the prison population has increased from 300,000 in 1972 to 2.2 million

people today. One in 31 adults in the United States is in jail, prison, on probation or parole.

The American government currently spends over 68 billion dollars a year on incarceration.

Drug Policy and the incarceration of low-level drug offenders is the primary cause of mass

incarceration in the United States. Forty percent of drug arrests are for simple possession of

marijuana. Growing evidence indicates that drug treatment and counseling programs are far more

effective in reducing drug addiction and abuse than is incarceration.

Drug policies most often refer to the government's attempt to combat the negative effects of drug addiction and misuse in its society Governments try to combat drug addiction with policies which address both the demand and supply of drugs, as well as policies which can mitigate the harms of drug abuse. Demand reduction measures include prohibition, fines for drug offenses, incarceration for persons convicted for drug offenses, treatment (such as voluntary rehabilitation), awareness campaigns, community social services, and support for families.
Policies which may help mitigate the effects of drug abuse include needle exchange and drug substitution programs, as well as free facilities for testing a drug's purity. Political parties, the general public, interest groups (public/special), and the media are all

actors in public policy agenda setting. Policy comes about when there is a convergence of

ideology, beliefs, and interest applied through the medium of political power upon or by

policymakers, public interest groups, and/or the media to create a political climate

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Justice

...prohibition. -child welfare Child welfare was a reform that people didn’t see to clearly because they would leave their kids to do the work of a grown person. There were many problems with that parents would have very tired kids that have been working all day which cause them to miss school and other kid things. A few people and places that helped make this better were Lillian Wald on Henry street settlement in New York. The federal children’s boreal helped keep the children out of these sweat shops. -Prohibition Alcohol was a major part of woman getting beaten up by there husbands. The woman’s christen temperance union (wctu) were one of the main people to help stop the sell buy and producing of alcoholic beverages. Frances Willard was the head of the wctu from 1879 to 1898 which made the wctu force for temperance and for the rights of women -civil rights Many people were not allowed there rights such as being a girl and being able to work. African Americans fought for some of the same rights as white people such as ending poverty expanding child welfare. The national association of colored women was one of the largest organizations of African American women which were founded in 1896. By the 1916s the organization had more than 100,000 members and campaigned against poverty and segregation and, lynching. To conclude my presentation of one of the three most important reforms Id like to state that the prohibition reform was the worst one because people would get abused...

Words: 292 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Logical Falasies

...intelligent well educated athletes. There are just as many athletically talented academics. Either/Or 3. Any change in healthcare will lead to socialism; we don’t want to live in a socialist country, so we can’t reform health care in any way. To say that reforming healthcare would completely change how society operates is a giant leap. There can be healthcare reform without creating a socialist United States. Slippery Slope 4. All teenagers’ text while they drive, therefore we should raise the driving age to 21. To say all teenagers is an inaccurate generalization. To raise the driving age to 21 would solve the problem of teen texting while driving is not logical. Hasty Generalization 5. If we don’t all drive hybrid cars, the world will end in the next decade of environmental damage. There is no evidence to support a claim that the world will end in 10 years if we do not all switch to hybrid vehicles. The statement goes straight to the most dramatic result conceivable however unlikely it is. Slippery Slope 6. Senator Range has been seen entering a strip club; therefore his economic reforms are not plausible Though perhaps immoral to some, such action has no bearing on the ability of the Senator to create plausible economic reform. One of these actions is part of personal life, the other is an action specific to professional life. Red Herring 7. Everyone else is getting rid of TV therefore we should too. The only argument presented is...

Words: 490 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Documentary

...influential ways to make a difference, and there truly is a way for everyone to express their feelings. There’s art, literature, videos, photography, giving each person a way to be artistically heard. Media gives an individual who may feel like a speck in the world, a bullhorn so they can be heard by millions. Media doesn’t just reach to the people who it was originally directed to, it can reach to many different groups of people and eventually the world, making it an empowering way for your opinion to be heard. It seems like whenever there is a political debate or the news is on, issues regarding schools are constantly brought up. School reform is something that our government is always trying to regulate, but are these politicians always the best qualified to make the decisions about schools? Students are never asked their opinions on the reforms and laws that are directly impacting their education and consequently their lives. Documentaries are frequently made regarding issues in schools, but they are from the point of view of people not directly involved in the issue, giving it an outside clear view on what the issue truly...

Words: 255 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Book Report

...During the turn of the 19th century, Toronto became part of the industrialization and urbanization phase. With that came the migration of single women to the city, women who left their small towns in order to find paid jobs in the city of Toronto. These were young single women who broke free from the unpaid working women of the past, although their freedom to work came with a price. While these young working girls were trying to make into the world, many discouraged such notions of working in the city factories and shops due to the idea that these women would jepordize their shift into a housewife or motherhood. This idea was known as the girl problem, a delimma that needed to be dealt with because of the cross between exploiting women for cheap labor or creating women who would be healthy, respectable mothers someday. While these women worked to stay alive, they were given low wages, while men who worked were paid much higher. Their freedom as working women who spent their time working during the day and shopping and entertaining themselves was looked upon as suspicious. Due to suspicions of women working, the police developed a way of monitoring what women did in the public sphere. Also an oganizaiton known as YWCA became over-seerers of women, they began to deecide wh was a retspectable women or who was a deviant in society. Many of these women just wanted to have the same freedoms that a single man might have, they face discrimintation in the workplace and were serverly...

Words: 872 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Should Immigration Laws Be Reformed

...Maitri A Shah English 4/12/2016 Should immigration laws be reformed Promising freedom and opportunity, the United States attracts individuals to come to the USA. But the current immigration system in the united states is broken: families are isolated, immigration workers are exploited, people die trying to cross the border, and there is rampant discrimination. The government should be for reforming immigration laws because it keeps families together and creates rational process of citizenship for new Americans etc. The first reason why immigration should be reformed is economy benefits by immigration reforms. Immigration reform would increase U.S. GDP by at least 0.84 percent. According to the American immigration council, “This would translate into at least a $1.5 trillion cumulative increase in GDP over 10 years, which includes approximately $1.2 trillion in consumption and $256 billion in investment”. Second, immigration system can uphold children’s basic human rights and ensure access to critical public services, programs, and economic supports for children and their families. It can ensure that children receive legal representation before all immigration authorities and, for all unaccompanied children, the appointment of an independent child advocate from the moment of detention throughout the course of any immigration or other related court proceedings. The other reason is it keeps family together Under today’s broken immigration system, many...

Words: 364 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Pfizer-Wyeth

...Acquisition Abstract The board of Pfizer, the world’s largest drug maker, has agreed to acquire a long-time rival, Wyeth, for $68 billion. The Pfizer-Wyeth merger will create a prescription pharmaceutical company of extraordinary scale. Despite long-term patent and marketing challenges, most industry observers believe Pfizer has little choice but to engage in some type of major acquisition, especially given the recent loss of income on Lipitor. Pfizer needs to reassure its investors that it can get back on track. With having to freeze its dividends, hundreds of layoffs, and stock prices falling, it is imperative to convince the stakeholders that Pfizer will come out of this economic dilemma on top. The acquisition with Wyeth will reduce Pfizer’s negative sales outlook; however, there is only one route to delivering profit growth to investors, and that is by buying growth and cutting costs. Pfizer has announced that it expects to create savings of $4 billion by the third year after closing the acquisition. This is in part due to the 15% reduction in Pfizer-Wyeth’s combined workforce. After the merger, Pfizer will operate through a patient-centric business units in two major areas, biopharmaceuticals and diversified businesses. Its biopharmaceutical business units are emerging markets Where as Pfizer currently has one of the largest sales forces in the industry, Wyeth’s antibiotics and specialty drugs will not require a lot of marketing to consumers, and Pfizer may...

Words: 604 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Health Care Refrom

...The rising cost of healthcare in today’s economy is in desperate need of reform. The cost of healthcare has affected the number of people able to receive medical care. Individuals are suffering more than ever because of the inability to receive medical attention when it’s needed. First, the rising cost of healthcare is going to continue to rise year after year. This is making it harder and harder on working class to receive medical care. It is even harder on the unemployed. As President Obama is urging congress for a stimulus this year, many feel that medicine is the best stimulus. America needs a healthy economy. After all, healthcare isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. Today the healthcare deduction is getting bigger and bigger. Despite a huge amount of complaints about “over insurance”, the amount people pay for healthcare out of pocket has risen tremendously. The Commonwealth Fund recently completed two massive surveys showing that the proportion of adults younger than 65 with health insurance who spent more than 10 percent of their income on health care out of pocket (5 percent for low-income adults) skyrocketed fro 13.8 million in 2003 to 21.8 million in 2007. (Jacob S. Hacker, Co-Director of the Center for Health, Economic and Family Security at UC Berkeley). This is in response to the hike in deductibles and co-payments in health plans. There are 40 percent of the working-age populations in an immediate economic bind because of medical costs. Second, because of the rising...

Words: 987 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Health Care

...In the United States there are approximately three American that die every hour,72 Americans die every day, 500 Americans die every week and 2, 175 Americans die every month due to the lack of health insurance. These numbers speak volumes on how many Americans are dying for coverage. Health care reform has been an ongoing battle between policymakers and legislation for years and with the promise of a new President there seemed to be relief on the way. One March 23, 2010 President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act is said to be the biggest overhaul in the United States healthcare system since Medicare and Medicaid in 1965 (“HealthCare.gov”, 2012). This recent health care reform has expanded access to care in numerous ways and will continue to improve up until the 2014. The new health care reform will improve the quality of health care for American’s as well as more affordable. The Affordable Care Act guarantees that individuals, small business owners and families will have access and control of their own health care (“HealthCare.gov”, 2012). Cutting the cost of premiums for families and small business owners by providing billions of dollars in tax relief, this is said to be the biggest tax cut for middle-class families in health care history (“HealthCare.gov”, 2012). The act will also reduce out-of-pocket expense and preventive care will be fully covered without out-of-pockets expense for families. Individuals that that do not have health...

Words: 1088 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Health Care

...Rural Health Care By: Lurhonda Maxwell, Amanda Hacko, Laura Bottom, Patricia Delaughter, Tamara Boyd and Ta Rhonda Thomas HCS/440 Professor: Chuck Sigmund Due: September 12, 2011 Individuals and families of rural populations are confronted and struggling with the same challenges and care issues as everyone else in the nation-such as large numbers of uninsured and underinsured, high rising health care costs, and overextended health care infrastructure. Jon Bailey states that, “there are numerous unique health care issues facing rural people and rural places. Despite an array of health care differentials between urban and rural people, there is evidence that the ultimate health status of rural people has much to do with health insurance coverage and the type of health insurance coverage”. Evidence show people in rural areas with health insurance provided by there employers get more or less costly health care provided services then those who have purchased health insurance privately. Insurance that was purchased at lower cost resulted in health care services that were presumably regular and better. As discussed, people in rural areas lack coverage. People in rural areas are being denied coverage and have higher premiums because of their existing...

Words: 718 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Five Myths of the Chinese Health Care System

...there is no shortage of nurses, as the majority of care is provided at home. Finally, it is commonly believed that China’s health care issues are different from those of the United States. Exploration of these myths provides us with a better understanding and an improved ability to engage with this emerging economic global leader. Key words: China, Complimentary Therapies, Nursing, Traditional Chinese medicine, Western Medicine HINA’S EMERGING PRESENCE in the global economy has been accompanied by significant shifts in the country’s domestic policy, especially in the area of health care. Erosion of the socialist ideology that shaped China’s political landscape after the World War II is clearly apparent in the country’s market reform...

Words: 8043 - Pages: 33

Premium Essay

Health Care Utilization

...limits on what insurance will cover, lowered the cost of drugs for seniors on Medicare, caused 13 million consumers to get premium rebates totaling some $1.1 billion, and expanded access to free preventive care for patients of all ages. Last summer it survived a challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court. But all that is prelude to the transformation coming in 2014, when almost all Americans will have access to affordable health insurance that covers essential care.  By Oct. 1, 2013, every state will have an insurance exchange—an organized marketplace where individuals and small-business owners can select from among the entire qualified private health plans available in their area. It’s expected that most consumers will shop on their state’s marketplace online, but they can also shop by phone, through brokers, or with the personal assistance of trained helpers called Navigators. There will also be help available for consumers who don't speak English. The health care law was intended to expand the government-run health program for low-income Americans to cover up to 16 million more people with household incomes up to 133 percent of the poverty line. That includes many at or below the poverty line who aren’t currently eligible. However, the decision on whether or not to expand Medicaid in this way was handed back to the states as part of the Supreme Court's 2012 ruling upholding the constitutionality of the health reform law as a whole. While many states have announced they will...

Words: 1332 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Healthcare Reform

...The Need for Health Care Reform HCA 410 Professor Henry O’Lawrence December 8, 2011 The Need For Health Care Reform Health care system is now faced with many problems such as high cost of insurance, high cost of medical services, significant numbers of people lack any form of healthcare insurance, and many more people are underinsured. Heath care is not affordable and easy to obtain anymore. With the rising of health care cost, reforms are needed to be more affordable with high quality and efficiency. There are over “46 million people lacking health insurance, but also for those who have insurance the economic downturn is a chilling reminder that under current system, virtually anyone facing a run of bad luck could be quickly wiped out by medical bill collectors”. State Healy, Bernadine M.D. (2009). Providing health insurance for people uninsured and low-cost insurance are major problems need to consider and take it seriously. The number of people uninsured is too high. There are many factors leading to be uninsured including poverty, the economic downturn leading to high rated of unemployment and some working families who cannot afford coverage because too expensive, besides, earn too much to be eligible for many programs which the state's healthcare provider. Offering the healthcare options with advantages for the uninsured with affordable price is needed to take to consideration. Many low income people cannot afford health insurance usually don’t go seek for medical...

Words: 1670 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Healthcare Spending

...the United States? Health Care spending in the United States comes from several sources such as physician service, patient treatment, prescription drug treatment, administration cost, Medicare, Medicaid and hospital spending, These sources are just a very few of the sources of spending on healthcare in the United States. On March 23, 2010 President Obama passed the healthcare reform bill to help citizens with receiving affordable healthcare. Even though health care spending has improved over the years, health care is something that everyone needs and there is a possibility that this could change over the years to come. According to Santiago (2009), the goal of healthcare reform is to make healthcare more accessible and available to American citizens. Currently, the national health care expenditures are at a struggle but yet continue to grow. According to Foreman (2011) National health expenditures reached $2.1 trillion in 2006, after further revisions and a 6.7% increase from the previous year. This translated into $7,026 per person and 16% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Foreman, 2011). These expenditures include but are not limited to those sources such as physician service, patient treatment, prescription drug treatment, administration cost, Medicare, Medicaid and hospital spending. The Obama Reform is a reform that has been transmitted to make healthcare available for those who currently need healthcare. Hospital spending makes up 31% of healthcare spending...

Words: 1037 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Current Health Care Concerns in Arizona

...care market. It seems that there is a plethora of concerns about the delivery of health care that adds to the burden community health centers face. Health Reform (Affordable Care Law), Physician Assisted Suicide, Medical Errors, Universal Health Coverage, Medicaid/Medicare Expansion, just to mention a few. There are some issues that stand out as requiring more attention than others. Health Care Expenditures Health Care Expenditures measure spending for all privately and publicly funded personal health care services and products to include: hospital care, physician services, nursing home care, prescription drugs, clinical and ancillary services, equipment, etc. Expenditures vary by state. Hospital spending is included and reflects the total net revenue (gross charges minus contractual adjustments, bad debts, and charity care). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the United States spent more on health care per capita ($8,608), and more on health care as percentage of its GDP (17.9%), than any other nation in 2011. Costs such as insurance program administration, research, and construction expenses are not included in the GDP total. You would think that a country that has spent the most money in the entire world on health care, still has health delivery and affordability issues. Health Care Reform Health Reform has been, and continues to be more political than economic. “The United States is the only western industrialized nation...

Words: 1288 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Health Care Utilization Paper (Option a)

...Paper (Option A) Tammy Zoch Instructor Rebecca Loth Luetke HCS/235: Delivery of Health Care in the U.S. 29 April 2013 Thesis Statement The Health Care Reform is a complex issue and is a hot topic nationwide that has the government, health care facilities and providers, insurance companies, health care employees and Americans talking about the law with its advantages and disadvantage affecting the delivery of health care. Health Care Utilization Paper (Option A) The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010, along with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 signed on March 30th. The Act is a product of the health care reform efforts of the Democratic 111th Congress and the Obama administration (Wikipedia, Health Care Reform,2013), putting in place comprehensive reforms that improve access to affordable health coverage for everyone and protect consumers from abusive insurance company practices. The law allows all Americans to make health insurance choices that work for them while guaranteeing access to care for the most vulnerable, and provides new ways to bring down costs and improve quality of care (The White House, 2013), to take effect and be completed in 2014. According to the website www.healthcare.gov, the Health Reform is already making a difference by increasing access to affordable care, making care more affordable, strengthen Medicare, holding insurance companies accountable...

Words: 2260 - Pages: 10