Week 3 Post

I must say I was not very happy about having to create a blog. It large part it is because I have never created one or ever even posted to a blog before. It simply pushed me out of my comfort zone. This has added to my learning experience beyond the educational information provided about drug, alcohol and tobacco use. We had a great group of students in this class that provided very insightful points of view. The degree of artistic design and very thought provoking information provided was very impressive. I will continue to post and dialog until further notice. Thank you all for this opportunity.

How Can We Reduce Demand?

The United States must reduce the market demand for illegal narcotics by reducing the number of Americans who cannot read or perform basic math. Increasing the number of young people who graduate from high school and move on to college is an investment in the future of our country. College is not for everyone, trade schools for progressive high paying jobs are also needed. Our foreign policy should include a more powerful stance on narco-terrorism. It is such a significant risk to the United States that it requires the attention of the President, both houses and the Supreme Court. It has also blurred the line between the military, federal and state law enforcement agencies. Enemies of the United States use the financial proceeds to support terrorist activities here in the United States and throughout the world. This is more than just a local issue. It requires full national involvement. Securing the nation’s borders and aggressively going after the heads of the drug cartels should take the same level of aggression as hunting Al Qaeda with the same level of lethality.

Smoking

Smoking is estimated to be attributed to 440,000 premature deaths per year (Hart, pg. 238). This has been a political flash point on a number of fronts. Legislation has been passed to increase the cost of tobacco products and prohibit the use of tobacco products in public buildings and locations. You really have a greater appreciation for our smoking restrictions when you travel abroad. My son went to Europe this past summer and he was so relieved to be back stateside. He said the smoking was so bad, he felt sick, nauseated and had a headache the entire time he was there. Not being a smoker, do you feel we are infringing on a person’s rights by imposing tax penalties and restricts on a person who smokes? Additionally, individuals who smoke are also more likely to be sick and miss than a non-smoker. Should an employer be able to disqualify a potential applicant because they are a smoker? Resource: Hart, C., Ksir, C. 2013. Drugs, Society & Human Behavior. Fifteenth Edition. McGraw Hill Companies, Inc., New York, NY.

Expansion of the Methamphetamine Trade

Global problem that now includes remote areas all over the world. Drug cartels are outsourcing the manufacturing of methamphetamine into other countries such as countries in Asia, Africa, and war torn areas of the Middle East. The Mexican drug cartels are operating in foreign markets such as Malaysia. The three Mexican national brothers are currently on trial for working in a factory that was mass producing methamphetamine. A total of 15 million dollars in methamphetamine was seized during the arrest. The penalty for drug trafficking in Malaysia is death by hanging (Sin, Lai, April 27, 2011, Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). When you view each of the cases individually they may appear to be isolated events that have no relevance or connection with one another, however when you look at them collectively, the incidents are clearly interrelated. Methamphetamine is being produced in very large quantities, the drug cartels are expanding production to other countries. Precursor drugs are being shipped to these other countries for the manufacturing of these drugs. At the street level we see the effects of the meth problem in property crimes, identity theft and assorted violent acts carried out by meth users and violent acts performed by gangs. In the course text I thought it was an interesting fact when it stated that 5.3 million Americans admitted to using cocaine while surprisingly only 850,000 Americans admitted to using methamphetamine in 2010 (Inaba, 2011).I would have thought that the methamphetamine use was much higher. Resource: Inaba, D., Cohen, W. (2011) Uppers, Downers, All Arounders. Physical and Mental Effects of Psychoactive Drugs. Seventh Edition. CNS Productions, Inc. Medford, OR.

Perceived Risk and Risk

A very interesting point made in the course text about marijuana use was that use is often tied to teenager perception of if marijuana is harmful to them or not. When high school aged students were interviewed during the peak of marijuana use in the United States in 1979, 18% of high school seniors believed marijuana use posed a health risk to them. Marijuana use in 1992 declined considerably and when surveyed, 40% of high school seniors believed that marijuana posed a great health risk to them. Availability of marijuana has remained consistent. Will the current national move towards liberalizing and minimizing associated health risks result in increased use by the youth in our country? Are we potentially setting ourselves up for future social issues we will need to address? Resource: Hart, C., Ksir, C. 2013. Drugs, Society & Human Behavior. Fifteenth Edition. McGraw Hill Companies, Inc., New York, NY.

Prison Over Population and Drug Offenders

The issue of drugs and crime is not only a state issue, but has been discussed on the national level as well. Recently the Supreme Court has ruled that the State’s (CA) prisons are so over populated, that it is violating the 8th amendment rights of the inmates. The Eighth Amendment provides protection against cruel and unusual punishment. As a result of this decision, Governor Brown signed AB 109 into law which instructed the state prisons to release “non-violent” prisoners down the county jails. Suspects who would previously been receiving state prison sentences up to three years are now being pushed down to the county jails. The county prosecutors are now issuing shorter jail sentences or giving no time at all. What impact this will have on property crimes that are normally associated with drug dependency. It is also believed that this will result in an increase in violent crimes as well. Changes in the states marijuana law may make criminal drug enterprises diversify and move them more to other drugs like methamphetamine. The result may be a reduction in prison population and state prison expenditure in the short run, but will have an overall increase in overall crime and eventual upward swing in the state prison population as career criminals who are currently categorized as “non-violent offenders” either commit violent crimes or have to be removed from society because of their continued criminal activity.

Marijuana Culture

The recent liberalization of marijuana laws has come with mixed responses. Not being a smoker myself, the fears I have as a parent are that potential increase in availability encourages a broader use of the drug. Additionally that marijuana use can potentially be a gate way drug to more illicit drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine use which we all know to be very dangerous and addictive. Marijuana use is the highest drug used behind alcohol (not including cigarettes) when it comes to drug use. Past statistics have not shown a significant increase in marijuana use associated with the ability of high school aged teenagers ability to gain access to it (Hart, Ksir. 2008). The media also tends to create a perception of topics both good and bad. The idea that if your college age son or daughter might sit around and eat cereal while watching cartoons instead of attending class if they use marijuana can often be the fear. Or that they will be completely unmotivated and living in your garage asking for hot pockets at age 35 is a parental nightmare. The reality is that many people use pot much the way normal drinkers have alcohol. In moderation and not to the point that it inhibits their lives and normal daily function. I for one am not motivated to support marijuana use for economic reasons (taxes) which many are. The secondary concern is the impact it may or may not have on crime and organized gangs which have used the drug trade as their financial cash cow. If it comes down to legalizing marijuana and the term "this bud is for you" takes on a new meaning however dismantles the street drug trade, it will be choosing the lesser of two evils.