The Criminal Justice’ and the Drug Policy’ Relations

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Discuss how drug enforcement has reshaped the criminal justice system. For example, how have police officers’ roles changed since the introduction of the war on drugs?

There is no other aspect that has reshaped the criminal justice system than that of the national drug policy in the recent past. The war on drugs, which was formally announced during the nineteen eighties, has been attributed to the great development of the prison system in American society. National drug policies are critical on imposing punishment and have changed the manner in which the U.S views crime timely, during mistrust towards some communities. The anti-drug laws have reshaped the criminal justice system since there are strengthened efforts to improved anti-drug laws and trials and heavy penalties that are imposed as a result. The increasing offenders being incarcerated have continued to serve their sentences due to drug charges (Mauer & King, 2007).

Following these processes, a number of criminal laws have been drafted and enacted through the federal and state government regarding trafficking and processing illegal drugs. Heavier sentences are being imposed, and the anti-drug war is attributed to the development of the prison system in the US (Cole & Smith, 2006). The responsibility of the police officers, on the other hand, has modified since they are now more engaged to enforce the law against illegal drugs. They have worked for hand in hand with state and federal institutions to structure multijurisdictional antidrug laws.

The police officers have a role in maintaining and enforcing the laws hence; they have continued to arrest drug offenders in every part of the U.S. As a result, the police have made more arrests, which have tripled since the last twenty-five years adding up to 1.8 Million in two thousand and five ((Mauer & King, 2007). Drug offenders have augmented since nineteen eighty in state and federal prisons. This has been approximated to be 41,100 during the 1980s to close to half a million today (Mauer & King, 2007). These statistics emphasize the increased role that has faced the police officers.

The text argued that marijuana legislation was largely shaped by ethnic bigotry. Agree or disagree with this assertion and presentation logic in support of your stance.

Marijuana use has become increasingly used in the U. S, which was especially accelerated by the influx of immigrants, especially the Mexicans. Marijuana was used as the bases for Americans to reject Mexicans since they were afraid of losing jobs to them, sharing resources as well as social institutions. In 2005, close to 42.6 percent of total drug arrests were related to marijuana as being attributed to 79% of the rise in drug arrests during the nineteen nineties (Mauer & King, 2007). The recognition of marijuana for the ethnic minorities resulted in the application of racism to oppose marijuana. Anti-marijuana legislation was drafted as a result of racism since it was common among the Mexicans. Users of marijuana were said to be involved in criminal activities, especially property offenses, irrationality, aggressiveness, and use of violence. This illegalized marijuana use.

However, in my opinion, legalization of marijuana would prove significant in crime reduction in the United States since it would accessible, inexpensive, and affordable and, therefore, no need for related cartels to thrive. Related arrests would decline, and related tax revenue would be used for infrastructural development. Marijuana lawfulness, both medically and socially, is dated in the beginning of the twentieths century but increased during 1930s when regulations were drafted to control marijuana in all states via Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act. During 1970s, it was discriminated, imposing civil fines and rehabilitation centers for those caught in hold of marijuana especially in District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Maine (Thornton, 2007).

There was tension among the western as well as southwestern states due to the rising Mexican immigrants in the U.S. Mexicans smoked marijuana socially to relax after long day of working in the plantations (Gerber, 2004). Tension increased for small and big plantations, which utilized the inexpensive Mexicans to work in the farms. During the Great Depression, job opportunities were becoming rare. As a result, California enacted the initial state prohibition regulation in nineteen thirteen, which illegalized hemp use and related products. Several other sates followed suit such as Wyoming in nineteen fifteen, Texas in nineteen nineteen, Arkansas, Oregon, Lowa , Washington as well as Nevada in nineteen twenty three, followed by Nebraska in nineteen twenty seven (Gerber, 2004).

Discuss marijuana’s potential as a gateway drug. Be sure your answer includes reference to the three main hypotheses of sequencing, association, and causation.

When prohibition started until now, the critics continue to assert that a crucial marijuana risk is its potentiality of acting as a gateway to hard drugs such as cocaine. This concept has served as the basis to justify and advocate for prohibition although, it cannot be scientifically proven. The past decades have been marked by prohibitionist criticizing marijuana as a gateway to hard drug as marked for instance by Gabriel Nahas whose gateway theory points that chemical alterations triggered in the brain by marijuana causes craving for intake of drugs. Users end up experimenting with other drugs, which poses a danger to transit from marijuana use to other hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine (Kalat, 2008).

However, it has been proved that marijuana intake is related to neither morphine, nor cocaine or heroin addiction and if such scenarios exist, they are very scarce. Being regarded as gateway drug, different studies reveal mixed results with some maintaining that the gateway effect is attributed to the drug being illegal in many nations. Some maintain that marijuana is classified together with black market hard drugs in the legal system, which results to marijuana users trying other ‘similar’ drugs (Morgan & Zimmer, 1995).

The anti-marijuana campaign has been timely on the war on drugs where it is said that curbing marijuana use will be essential in curbing other hard drugs as well. This is based on the hypothesis of socialization where users of marijuana interact easily with other hard drug users since they might share a common market or get to it through experimenting especially for high school teenagers. Therefore, instead of illegalizing marijuana, it is recommendable to legalize it such that it is openly sold everywhere where other drugs are illegalized.

This way, socialization hypothesis will be nullified as evidenced by other nations which use legal marijuana such as Jamaica. Therefore, the gateway theory is not valid since studies have indicated that it is cocaine user that also uses marijuana and not marijuana user who use cocaine. This is because it has been noted that increase in marijuana use has not been proportional to that of cocaine (vise versa is also true) according to reports by the federal government (Kalat, 2008).

How did the film “Reefer Madness” impact the public’s awareness of marijuana and foster public support for criminalizing marijuana?

The American film is a critique of marijuana use, which is very common in the United States and must be put into a stop since it has been spreading fast. Awareness is created to the parents as they are advised to learn some aspects in which they could apply to their children to prevent them from using marijuana. The parents are worried about their children use of drugs in school as Dr Carroll advices them that the addictiveness of marijuana exceeds that of opium, heroine, and morphine. He insists that marijuana results to hallucinations, violent conduct as well as sexual misbehavior. He says that these are real facts, which can be illustrated due to widespread use of marijuana. The film is an expose on a serious message of curbing the use of marijuana.

Melodramatic events occur as Dr Carroll Illustrates the story of some guests to an apartment of marijuana dealers Mae Coleman together with Jack Perry. He reveals that they have been using teenagers in the black-market, which brainwashes their young mind (Schlosser, 2003). They also lure other individuals such as Jimmy Lane, Bill Harper, Jimmy’s sister and Bill’s Girlfriend where they become hooked. Mae ‘s preference of customers is those whom they are age mates but Jack prefers school students whom they sell marijuana to together with Ralph Wiley and Blanche. Marijuana users are portrayed as being overexcited over small issues, through wild laughter, dances and rape.

Addiction is an issue as seen by Jimmy and users have problems while driving, thus Jimmy causes an accident to a pedestrian, who dies later. Some of the users even end up committing suicide, which eventually results to total madness. It also triggers many killings and users are only suit for criminally insane centers since they are dangerous not only to themselves, but most importantly, to the society at large. The film has moral themes especially to parents on risks associated with marijuana as Dr. Carroll concludes by asserting that “the next tragedy may be that of your daughter’s….. Or your son’s…… or yours, or yours…” (Gasnier, 1936)

Describe four (out of the possible eight) drug smuggler profiles used in identifying commercial airline smuggling.

Drug profiling is an investigative means used by law enforcers for to evaluate unknown lawbreakers for criminal apprehension. Commercial airline drug smugglers have mostly been evidenced to be identified along racial and ethnic lines. These aids in evaluating suspicious individuals for instance, many drug smugglers have been noted to be African Americans and Latinos. Drug smugglers can also be identified thorough a there phase developmental smuggling model (DSM). Profiling has been utilized by drug enforcement agencies to determine physical as well as behavioral traits to identify smugglers.

For instance behavioral traits such as being the first, last or having efforts to blend with others may create suspicion and is often used as an identity for smugglers. Courier profiles have been identified to be using public means for transport like cabs for departure from airport or making immediate phone call after alighting. They have been profiled based on “typical luggage, Typical flight arrival and departure times, typical airlines used, and typical behavior and demeanor of possible couriers” (Levinson, 2002 p. 555).

Recently, the profiles have included racial and gender distinction as proven that “The typical drug courier was then identified as a Latina female in her twenties or thirties” (Levinson, 2002 p. 555). Besides, according to the national Narcotics Intelligence Consumers Committee, “Distribution groups were comprised chiefly of African-American street gangs and Dominican, Cuban, Haitian, Jamaican, Mexican and Puerto Rican criminal groups that controlled cocaine and crack sales at retail level” (Levinson, 2002 p. 555). Commercial airline drug smugglers are critical on Hispanic and blacks.

Importantly, individuals in flight from narcotic- source towns e.g. Miami or Detroit are a good profile (Bovard, 1999). The Drug Enforcement Agency identifies drug smugglers in commercial airlines through profiling irrespective of it being criticized of racial prejudice. Many drug smugglers are also vulnerable and desperate people who emanate from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, these serve as an intensive labor source for the rooted drug networks but they have been a target by drug enforcement agencies to facilitate the anti-drug war.

References

Bovard, J. (1999). “Drug-Courier Profiles: Or, Why We Are All Guilty.” Freedom Daily. Web.

Cole, G. F and Smith, C. E (2006). The American System of Criminal Justice. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

Gasnier, L. (1936). “Reefer Madness.” The exploitation film circuit. DVD.

Gerber, R. J. (2004). Legalizing Marijuana: Drug Policy Reform and Prohibition Politics. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Kalat, J. W. (2008). Introduction to Psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Levinson, D. (2002). Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment, Volume 4. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Mauer, M. and King, R. S. (2007). “A 25- Year Quagmire: The War on Drugs and Its I mpact on American Society.” The Sentencing Project Research and Advocacy for Reform.

Morgan, J. and Zimmer, L. (1995). Exposing Marijuana Myths: A Review of the Scientific Evidence. New York: Open Society Institute.

Schlosser, E. (2003). Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Thornton, M. (2007). The economics of prohibition. Auburn, Alabama: Ludwig von Mises Institute.

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The Criminal Justice’ and the Drug Policy’ Relations

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