Posted: June 28th, 2022

Drug Abuse in America

Explain the problem of drug abuse in America. Discuss the criminal justice response and problems that law enforcement may encounter combating illegal drugs. Identify how drug abuse is affecting your own community and how your police department can deter this type of criminal activity. Your police Department is New Jersey Port Authority or New jersey State police department if you can’t find info for the other. Use APA in-text citation and reference section for both the information and images you use.

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Drug Abuse in America

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Drug Abuse in America
Drug abuse in America is a health concern and an issue that has affected America is several ways. The community has been affected as a result of the increase in addiction to drugs. Drug abuse is a major health concern in America, following the increase in the cases of cancer, heart disease, and HIV/AIDS. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), tobacco contributes to 11-30% of cancer death related cases. Children who are at their adolescent stage have high chances of abusing the drugs and therefore become a concern in America. The crime rates have increased as a result of abuse of drugs, and a study published in NIDA indicated that 60% of adults are in prison due to cases of drug abuse.
The criminal justice system of the US has been fighting against drug abuse by arresting the individuals and implementing the policies and other legislation that helps fight against the illegal trafficking of drugs. The drug policy that was implemented by the federal governments focused on treatment prevention and enforcement procedures while reducing the spread of drugs. The laws under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) have provided a strong background for the federal government to enforce the drug laws and hence becoming an important part of the criminal justice system. The majority of the cases involving drugs are dealt at the federal level. According to the reports published by Sacco (2014), the US under Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) arrested 30,476 suspects at the federal level and 1,328,457 arrested by the state and local law enforcement. However, concerns have been raised about the criminal justice system because it targets people of color. The law enforcement agencies may operate in a discriminatory way; the illegal drug is not a border issue but extends to different countries (US Department of State, 2020). There are issues of corruption reported especially linked to individuals working in the judicial service system.
Illegal drugs or drug addiction is a major problem in New Jersey. The effect has led to increased criminal gangs and making the area insecure. The common drugs abused are cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, and opioids. Data from NIDA indicated that there were 67,367 deaths recorded as a result of overdose in 2018. The year recorded the highest number of overdoses. The New Jersey State Police has intensified its effort against the fight of illegal drugs through the analysis of drugs and making arrests. The police department analyzes over 40,000 drug cases each year.

References
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2020). Magnitude. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Archives. https://archives.drugabuse.gov/publications/drug-abuse-addiction-one-americas-most-challenging-public-health-problems/magnitude
Sacco, L. N. (2014). Drug Enforcement in the United States: History, Policy, and Trends. Federation Of American Scientists – Science for a safer, more informed world. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43749.pdf
US Department of State. (2020, November 2). Addressing illicit drug challenges. United States Department of State. https://www.state.gov/addressing-illicit-drug-challenges/
New Jersey State Police. (2020). Drug analysis. https://www.njsp.org/division/investigations/drug-analysis.shtml