Drug Court
Today’s American society is replete with drug abuse cases among various age and social groups. Being a severe health issue, drug abuse is also a threat to people due to its illegal nature. The drug epidemic leads to high levels of imprisonment for several reasons. First of all, people who consume drugs are breaking federal law by abusing or possessing the substance. Secondly, addiction sometimes makes people commit crimes like burglary to get enough money for a dose.
Thus, millions of Americans are imprisoned because of drug-related crimes. However, since 1989, the US federal system has been providing the majority of drug abusers with proper treatment or education with the help of a drug court option (Gonzales, 2020). Such an option implies the federal court is assigning rehabilitation instead of imprisonment since jail is not capable of treating drug dependence.
Although this system is considered to be quite effective, there are still some pitfalls concerning the system of drug courts. First of all, people who are assigned to this program are often misled in terms of its seriousness because they only think about avoiding prison (Fulkenson, Keena, & Longman, 2016). Secondly, the algorithm of defining who exactly among the drug abusers should be given a chance for improvement is sometimes uncertain.
For example, people who need medical and psychological support are often left behind due to their lack of courage to ask for help. Drug court is, by all means, a major step towards an inclusive democratic society where everyone is heard, valued, and allowed to become a better version of themselves. Hence, with improvements in terms of this opportunity equality, drug court options will continue empowering drug abusers to create better lives for both themselves and their families.
Detoxification
Any case of drug consumption is a severe stress for the human body, as it has to cope with an alien substance that tries to modify its structure and habits. For this reason, different medical establishments and specifically created addiction centers now deal with detoxification – a process of removing these harmful substances from the body under the doctor’s surveillance (Levinthal, 2014).
The cases of “detox” are quite frequent nowadays among both licit and illicit drug abusers due to their availability and popularity among the state residents. However, nowadays, people who voluntarily ask for help in such establishments sometimes refuse the procedure, as they are told their intoxication level is acceptable for the process. Such situations, to my mind, happen because of a lack of proper education on drug prevention when people underestimate the potential consequences of the addiction.
To combat the issue, drug abusers should fully realize the responsibility of drug abuse and its effect on their behavior and organism. Moreover, people have to acknowledge that home-based detoxification will never be nearly as effective as the one provided in medical facilities (Elkins, 2020). Even if the drug rates are relatively low for the human body, detoxification is only one step towards full patient rehabilitation from dependence.
Hence, there is no need to reconsider the amount of substance in the blood to persuade people to continue the treatment. They should, first and foremost, be properly informed on the subject of any drug intoxication. In such a way, patients with the slightest signs of alcohol or illicit drug abuse will be eager to receive help to prevent dangerous implications.
References
Elkins, C. (2020). Medical detox. Web.
Fulkenson, A., Keena, L., & Longman, A. (2016). In or out: the drug court dilemma. Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society, 17(2), 34-45.
Gonzales, M. (2020). The history and effectiveness of drug courts in the U.S. Web.
Levinthal, C. F. (2014). Drugs, behavior, and modern society. London, UK: Pearson Education.