Theory and Prevention:
Consider the three categories of criminological theory (biological, psychological, and sociological) and their explanations for illicit drug use. Select the individual criminological theory within one of these three categories that you think best explains drug use and support your selection.
Explain why you selected this theory rather than one of the other theoretical explanations for illicit drug use.
Explain how drug policy could be shaped from this theoretical explanation for drug use.
Notes:
https://www.dea.gov/drug-information/csahttps://www.dea.gov/drug-information/csa
https://www.dea.gov/drug-information/drug-schedulinghttps://www.dea.gov/drug-information/drug-scheduling
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/content/house-i-live-in_timeline-html/http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/content/house-i-live-in_timeline-html/
This week you are introduced to the history of drugs and drug control in the United States (U.S.). There are many factors that influence which drugs are legalized, which ones are regulated, and which ones are criminalized. Explanations for these changes range from concern over public health to public safety, especially if a particular drug is associated with an increase in crime. As public attitude towards a drug changes, we often see legislative changes to reflect these new sentiments. The end of the prohibition against alcohol in 1933 is one of the most prevalent examples. A more current example is reflected in the decriminalization of marijuana in several U.S. states.This week you are introduced to the history of drugs and drug control in the United States (U.S.). There are many factors that influence which drugs are legalized, which ones are regulated, and which ones are criminalized. Explanations for these changes range from concern over public health to public safety, especially if a particular drug is associated with an increase in crime. As public attitude towards a drug changes, we often see legislative changes to reflect these new sentiments. The end of the prohibition against alcohol in 1933 is one of the most prevalent examples. A more current example is reflected in the decriminalization of marijuana in several U.S. states.
A timeline of the major laws that have shaped U.S. drug policy can be reviewed at House Rules: A Timeline of U.S. Drug Policy (pbs.org) http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/content/house-i-live-in_timeline-html/http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/content/house-i-live-in_timeline-html/. Drug legislation began with a tax on opium and morphine in 1890, and continued with a ban in 1923 on all legal drug sales.
The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD) was first introduced in 1968; the BNDD was the predecessor to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The “war on drugs” was declared in 1971 by President Nixon, largely in response to the increasing number of heroin addicts in the United States. By 1973, the Drug Enforcement Administration was established. President Bush created the Office of National Drug Control Policy in 1986 and named William Bennett his first “drug czar.” The U.S. Sentencing Commission produced a report acknowledging the disparate impact of drug laws on racial minorities in 1995, with particular focus on the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine sentencing. In 2010, President Obama signed into law the Fair Sentencing Act, minimizing (but not eliminating) this disparity. As these changes reveal, drug laws are subject to change with new political leadership and new social attitudes toward drugs (PBS, 2017).
The Drug Enforcement Agency established by President Nixon maintains the federal drug schedule that outlines how drugs in the United States are classified. The drug schedule can be viewed on the DEA website Links to an external site..A timeline of the major laws that have shaped U.S. drug policy can be reviewed at House Rules: A Timeline of U.S. Drug Policy (pbs.org) https://www.dea.gov/drug-information/drug-schedulinghttps://www.dea.gov/drug-information/drug-scheduling
