Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986
caused by
increased funds for drug war
Effectiveness
led to
Misinformation
Realism
led to failure
how to fix?
also attack supply size of drug trade
better information and lawmaking process
fix issues that lead to rampant drug use in the first place
no instant fix
Just Say No campaign
big failure
drug use and crime increased (especially among public housing developments)
incorrect thoughts about crack cocaine
affects how the US interacts w/ other countries
political stability of Latin American governments threatened
leads to supply side strategy
has incorrect assumptions
ppl thought Reagan wasn't tough enough
better ideas and the truth
balloon effect
bc
there are things outside of the control of the gov't
Cartels led to cartelitos
US also had other motives for messing w/ Latin America
Neorealism
Solutions (better techniques)
fix the underlying causes
supply and demand
problem is v complicated (no ez fix)
Scientific War on Drugs
Legalization and decriminization
cons
morals
public health
pros
decrease high profit margins from selling drugs
basically infeasible
increased criminalization
Problems in other countries
Colombia, Peru, Mexico
Drug related violence
Balloon and cockroach effects
Bad policy
US prohibitionist policy
Harm reduction
Implementing such laws will be v delayrd
Doesn't address other problems
Bad policy and negligence in Latin American countries
Unequal incarceration along racial lines
Have been proven to not be due to higher rates of drug use
Crime has not reduced
Higher rates of incarceration
Crack got wayyyyyyy higher sentences (100 to 1)
Crack and powder cocaine
Many different strategies (no instant fix)
Fair sentencing
Alternatives to prison
No mandatory minimum sentence
Prevention programs
Opioid Crisis
complications
Causes
NOT causes
Big pharma
Overprescription
Relevant problem to the whole world (especially lawmakers)
made worse by incarceration
Fueled by economical and social instability (poverty and disadvantage)
How to alleviate
focus on the patient; don't make things overarching (bring back around)
Naloxone programs (the point is to decrease number of deaths and number of those addicted)
effects
overdose is greatest cause of death among injecting drug users
pros
cheap
only available through professionals
has actually worked p well
counterclaims
non-professionals may use incorrectly
training may not prepare ppl for irl
rebuttal: trained individuals are far more likely to be able to tell in an irl situation
training doesn't take too long
trained and professionals chose the same percentage correctly
opioid agonists
buprenorphine
better than methadone for clinic (more flexible)
withdrawal symptoms aren't as bad as methadone
partial instead of full agonist
methadone
1st widely used opioid replacement therapy
retains patients
type of analgesic medication
single day doses
ODing can lead to death oof
helps decrease indicence of HIV (needle sharing)
these things can have other beneficial side effects
teaches ppl how to respond to OD
ex. Toronto POINT program
p cost effective (better than incarceration)
crappy public housing
not doing enough research, just pandering to a base
incorrect assumptions about public housing
PHAs w/ too much power
social and economic instability