Drug Use and CSA of 1970 Essay

Abuse of drug and substance has been viewed through the criminal justice perspective but it is the high time it is handled as a health issue. The best way to handle this issue is to reduce the demand of drugs and provision of treatment is the only way to do so; look the issue from a health perspective and less of a criminal issue (Pratt, 2016). The government, insurance and healthcare need to be fixed so as to reduce the rising level of drug addiction in the country. Fixing would not just help those who abuse drugs would also the save the societal funds which are used to help the addicts. One thing that has been lacking is enough treatment care for the drug addicts. It is so painful to see drug addicts back on the streets simply because the treatment is not available. The worst is when a doctor cannot save the life of an addict because there are treatment drugs.

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The recovery of most addicts depends on the prescription of the appropriate drug and counselling other than punishing them through the criminal justice system. The drug abusers cannot be assisted by jailing them, they need counselling, rehabilitation and treatment as they serve their jail term. It would, therefore, be more important to construct more health facilities and employ qualified doctors who have the capabilities to help the drug addicts. The health department should consider expanding the health centers and opening more in the areas that are less fortunate. the government should fund the health sector which could result in the health centers helping and attending to more new clients who may not have the chance to get treatment. There should be health policies and insurance plans that would reduce or cover the treatment of drug addicts because in most cases they are not able to cater to their bills.

Historically, addiction to drugs has not been seen as a health issue most probably because it is perceived to affect the minorities and less fortunate in the society. Drug addiction has always been seen as a result of bad character and this makes the people in authority not to take this problem as their own. Instead, they imprison the drug addicts and offenders. A huge difference would be seen if this issue was approached from the same approach used to handle traffic fatalities and cigarettes. They have always been treated as a health issue, why not this one too? It is inhumane to handle drug and substance abuse as a crime. The law enforcement officers got a crucial responsibility in dealing with the issue but more efforts ought to be directed towards giving support to the people who are recovering, treatment as well assisting in prevention (Chandler et al., 2009).

Michael Botticelli is an excellent example of how the drug addicts should be handled while in court. Michael found himself under arrest in a hospital bed while nursing injuries; the cause was drunk driving and to make matters worse he had caused an accident. He was presented before a judge in a court of law who gave him the freedom to choose between serving a jail sentence or seeking for medical attention to end his drinking problem. This was probably one of the best judgements ever on drug addicts because three decades later Michael has not only recovered from drinking but also helping the United States government change their approach to drugs. He is the first NDCP (National Drug Control Policy) director who converted from drug addiction and he is doing an excellent job because he is taking a different approach to resolving drug abuse. Michael is a perfect example to show that drug addiction should be treated as a health problem and not a crime.

For quite a large part of history, drug offenders who were not violent would be forced to serve minimum jail terms. This has led to the crowding of prisons with convicts who ought to have been treated in a different way. It has always been criticized that jailing the drug abusers has not done much as far as solving the issue of addiction to drug and substance is concerned. Helping the drug users to recover through treatment can create people of substance who might be of importance in future. But jailing them might end up creating people who are even worse than they were before they are jailed. The prions have a record of running the drug business and therefore, it might be impossible for the convict to recover from drug addiction. They will continue to abuse drugs and finally, the prison will give back to the society a person who is not changed at all; that means imprisonment did not serve the purpose.

The member who attended a meeting of the UN general assembly 2016 came into agreement that drug and substance abuse is a health issue with the symptoms of relapsing. It is possible to treat or prevent drug disorder and should not be seen as a behavior which is criminal; it does not result from bad morals. Most of the states have been using the punishment methods to tackle the issue of drug abuse and little improvement have been noticed since then. This creates the need for changes from treating it a criminal offence to a public health disorder; it calls for a major mentality shift by a representative in all the countries. The commission was able to achieve through the help of professional scientific researchers to advise the commission accordingly on matters related to drug addiction. It is possible for people who suffered the worst addiction level to recover if they are able to access treatment which is evidence-based and support from the society but not through incarceration (Volkow et al., 2017).

The following are some of the best ways of handling substance disorder a health problem other than punishing the offenders. People should aim at reducing isolation and stigma towards the persons affected by drug abuse but instead show compassion and support to them in their recovery process. The uses of programs that are evidence-based to prevent substance disorder since they help minimize the chances of introduction to drugs and continued use of it. These programs target the people who have certain behaviors and have a high risk of abusing substances and drugs. Research has shown that it is possible for individuals with substance disorder to recover when they are given the right medical care which is inclusive of behavior therapy and medication treatment. The scientific world should be involved in the policies related to public health because they have adequate knowledge of health issues. The government should support the scientific studies which tackle drug abuse and then publish the information for everyone to access it.

The criminal justice system and the health sector can be integrated to deal with drug abuse and would probably produce the best results. For the criminal department to help the drug user recover it must work hand in hand with the health sector because they adequate knowledge of the process to be followed to assist the patients. Once the drug use has been tackled as a health issue, that is through prevention and recovering programs it gives the individual a chance to stay away from a criminal history or even imprisonment. The drug users are given a chance to change their behaviors or recover from the disorder failure to which it will be treated as a criminal offence in a court of law. The drug offenders who have been imprisoned require medical attention for them to recover from the situation.

The CSA of 1970

The 1970 act of controlled substance is a policy which was established by the United States government to reduce and prevent the abuse of drugs. This policy is a consolidation of numerous regulations on the manufacture and distribution of drugs and substances such as stimulants, steroids, etc. (Courtwright, 2004). The core purpose of the 1970 act was to assist the United States government act in accordance with the requirements of the 1961 narcotic drugs convention treaty and psychotropic substances convention. The two treaties required that the country should come up with a system which will be used to classify or group the controlled substances and drugs in various schedules as required by the medical and scientific findings that bind the authorities of public health. Access to the controlled substances was restricted by the Congress through the enactment of the act. Only the Attorney General has the mandate to register the parties that are interested in the manufacture and distribution of drugs.

The enforcement of the CSA 1970 is carried out by DEA (drug enforcement administration). DEA which is a federal body was created in the year 1973 to be responsible for ensuring all the rules and regulations in the CSA are implemented as required. BNDD, the Dangerous Drugs and Narcotics Bureau is the agency replaced by DEA; it is currently a section of the investigation federal bureau in the justice department. The enforcement of these laws and regulations by DEA is one way of ensuring that there is enough supply of drugs and substance to the people who abuse them. It ensures that only the right number of drugs will be released to the market meant only for treatment purpose. Prevention is better than cure which well demonstrated in treating drug and substance as a medical problem. Treating substance abuse as a crime focuses more on the cure or rather punishment and forgets there is another better way that can be used to reduce the cases of drug addiction.

All the regulated drugs and substances are grouped into five schedules by the CSA. The classification of the drugs is based on the probability of addiction or abuse, the value in the medical sector and the harmfulness of the substance. The most harmful or dangerous substances that have been proven to be of no medical value are placed in the first schedule. These drugs are not safe for use even under the supervision of a doctor and there is a high probability of addiction. Such drugs include marijuana, heroin, etc. The second schedule contains drugs such as cocaine and morphine which have a high risk of abuse and dependence. A substance such as steroids is placed in the third schedule because their risk of abuse is lower than those classified in the schedule in one and two meaning that their level of addiction is a bit lower. The level of harmfulness and addiction reduces towards schedule four and five. Some of the drugs and substances placed in schedule four may also be found in schedule five but in limited quantities.

The classification of substances helps the criminal justice department to develop the criminal laws and regulations depending on the schedule other than having all the drugs listed under the regulation list. It also led to an easier or simpler way of adding and removing drugs from a certain class or schedule instead of amending the entire rules and regulations on drugs (Spillane, 2004). People will also become aware of them that they are supposed to use when in need of them. There are penalties or consequences for abuse of drugs depending on the schedule. The penalties are important to a country because they help reduce the instance of drug trafficking and abuse. People should be made aware of the rules and the consequences so that they know what is expected of them as far as drug use is concerned. This shows that before the drug abuse issue is made a criminal offence there is a lot of intervention and fixing which is needed in the health department.

There are numerous legal and medical issues which should be considered as far as rescheduling of the marijuana is concerned. Marijuana has always been classified in schedule one which makes it illegal for use outside research but for it to be used for the medical purpose it has to be rescheduled to schedule two. There have been proposals to reschedule marijuana to schedule two which have been rejected over and over again. Some argue that the motion to reschedule marijuana is not base...