Parker 1

Harsher Drug Sentencing

Christian Parker
Mrs. CaStle
English IV Honors
November 21, 2016

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Harsher Drug Sentencing

Thesis: Sentencing for those found guilty of drug use should be harsher because their actions

help to create unsafe neighborhoods, to reflect societys view of the consequence for the offense
of using drugs, and to act as a deterrent for future potential users.

I.

Creates unsafe neighborhoods

A. Drug users
1. Fought more, took more risks which predisposed them to assault, and were
assaulted more both at school and outside school supervision.
2. Aggressor may also be the victim, and that illegal drug/alcohol use is
related to victimization.
B. School
1. lack of enforcement of school rules and the presence of unsafe places in
and around the school influenced adolescent drug use directly and
indirectly through their effects on violence victimization.
2. Youths who reported being under the influence of drugs while at school at
least seven times within a year were 10 times more likely than other
students to bring weapons to school.
C. Adults
1. Residents of a disadvantaged neighborhood drink more heavily than
residents of more affluent neighborhoods.

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2. Positive association between neighborhood disorder and heavy drinking is

largely mediated by anxiety and depression.
II.

To reflect societys view of the consequence for the offense of using drugs.
A. View of marijuana
1. Society sees early cannabis use having a casual role as a risk factor for
other drug use and for any drug abuse or dependence.
2. The Woodlawn Study of a community cohort of urban African Americans
say that heavy adolescent marijuana use may lead to drug and property
crime and criminal justice system interactions.
B. View of Alcohol
1. The Social and Cultural Aspects of Drinking Document says On a
cultural level it seems to be the negative consequences of alcohol that hold
most powerful sway of our thinking.
2. The Social and Cultural Aspects of Drinking Document says The
cumulative evidence on culture, chemistry and consequences seems to
indicate that alcohol policies designed to change beliefs and expectations
are likely to be more beneficial than attempts to reduce overall
consumption.
C. view of Crystal Meth
1. People caught importing the precursors of methamphetamine without a
license can have a jail sentence up to eight years.

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2. Manufacturing, importing, dealing, and possession for supply can lead to a

full life sentence.
III.

To act as a deterrent for future potential user

A. Marijuana Deterrent
1. Employer drug-testing are a deterrent to marijuana use, according to data
comparing self reported pot smoker at companies with and without
testing.
2. Glen R. Waddell says School-imposed penalties as a deterrent to
adolescent drug use
B. Alcohol Deterrent
1. Parents with a solid and Healthy relationship with their children are taking
huge strides to deterring them from alcohol abuse.
2. For girls, the parental focus should be on building an emotionally-solid,
close relationship to help avoid problems with alcohol.
C. Methamphetamine Deterrent
1. Pseudoephedrine is found in many cold medicines to treat colds, but
because it is used by some people to manufacture methamphetamine, more
restrictions are in place at pharmacies to try and prevent drug abuse.
2. With Nexafed, Acura said its ability to block meth making will help ease
that hassle for pharmacists and customers. The company said in-depth
testing has shown the drug works just as well as other products currently
on the market.

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Chris Parker
English 3 Honors
Mrs. CaStle
October 18th 2016
Harsher Drug Sentencing

In America, today, societies are slowly gaining even more drug users. Users are making
innocent youth and adults become drug users themselves. Whenever drug users want to they can
ruin innocent teens lives by making or influencing them to do drugs. Most of the societies that
are good will turn bad because of that and the drug use rate will keep expanding if harsher
actions are not taken. Yes, the drug users do get imprisoned, but once they come out of it they go
right back to ruining their lives and innocent lives. So the imprisonments for drug users today are
not really helping them stop the habit of using drugs. That is why sentencing for those found
guilty of drug use should be harsher because their actions help to create unsafe neighborhoods, to
reflect societys view of the consequence for the offense of using drugs, and to act as a deterrent
for future potential users.
The reasons why neighborhoods are unsafe today is because of drug users, schools, and
adults. People who are drug users and use drugs on a regular basis tend to fight more and take
more risks which predisposed to assault, and were assaulted more at school and outside school
supervision. The aggressor themselves could also be a victim to someone else and that illegal
drug and alcohol use is related to that victimization. Victimization could ruin a persons life
because either the person could be killed or they could be severely damaged to the point where it
takes them a couple months to recover. Even societies today have innocent children or teens

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being killed or injured because of someone that is under the influence of a drug or multiple drugs
at once. These results show that the sentences for drug users today are short and it does not help
them stop their habits of doing drugs or getting another innocent victim to do it. So the drug
users today that are or need to be imprisoned, their sentences needs to be harsher, so it can teach
them a lesson to do the right things and stop using drugs.
People in todays society say that strict or harsher sentences are not needed for drug
abusers. They say instead of harsher sentences the authority should take them out of
imprisonment and put them all in rehabilitation to where they can get help to stop the abuse and
live a better life. Some people want to give drug abusers the minimum sentence they can get and
not the maximum. In the Article Are they really criminals? Drug users should be rehabilitated
not punished, Mackenzie Yaryura said, Harsh drug sentencing guidelines create a blatantly
unequal racial distribution of punishments within Americas judicial system (Yaryura).
Mckenzie also said, The laws subjecting drug abusers to years in prison may be
well-intentioned, but their consequences are counterproductive. They further marginalize
low-income minorities, dramatically increase the number of incarcerated persons in our prison
system, and usually fail to rehabilitate drug abusers (Yaryura). Mackenzie Yaryura basically
wants the justice system to stop imprisoning drug abusers and to stop giving them harsher
sentences and give them to drug rehabilitation centers to help them. Mackenzie says minimum
sentences and drug rehabilitation can help society in an economic standpoint. She is saying that
for rehabilitation treatment outside of prison will result in $8.87 in return for every dollar they
invested. The rehabilitation programs for drug users will do more than help reduce relapse rates
and the substance use. She said, Graduates of these programs are more likely to be employed

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than they were before entering the program. From an economic standpoint, they can contribute to
economic growth while no longer being a cost to society (Yaryura). Instead of people staying
in prison for the smallest drug abuse they have done, Mackenzie wants them to go through a
rehabilitation treatment and she also wants them to successfully graduate out the program, so
they can become a factor to society and to help the economy in a way they have never done
before while they were in prison.
The Sentences for drug abusers need to be harsher because once they go through
rehabilitation they come out of that they could go back to using drugs and selling them in
neighborhoods. Majority of the people that go through rehabilitation and come out will have a
relapse and go back to abusing drugs and ruining their life and will end up back in prison. If the
sentences are not harsher for drugs abusers some of them will roam the streets of a neighborhood
causing problems to adults, other teens, schools, and maybe even authority. If there is more than
one drug user in a particular spot they could cause trouble and start some fights or even worse.
The crime rate, drug rate, and death rate in a neighborhood that is surrounded by drug users
could eventually go up in the future if they are not dealt with properly with a harsher sentence
than usual. Schools and adults go together in a way to create an unsafe neighborhood. Schools
lack the enforcement of school rules and the presence of unsafe places in and around the school
influenced adolescent drug use directly and indirectly through their effects on violence
victimization. If there is no teachers or principals or anybody around the students that do drugs,
they will continue to do drugs and will start influencing other students. If more students are
influenced by other drug users it can the school's rating, test scores, and students grades to go
down tremendously. Some recent youths have been reported being under the influence of drugs

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while at school at least seven times within a year were 10 times more likely than other students
to bring weapons to school What could lead to that is parents not really caring that their kids are
doing drugs, but the parents could be doing drugs themselves.
Some of the adults themselves that live in a disadvantaged neighborhood drink more
heavily than resident in a more affluent neighborhoods. Also there is a positive correlation
between neighborhood disorder and heavy drinking and the cause of those things come from
anxiety and depression. That can lead to more heavy drinking adults being drunk and driving
causing more on-road accidents in the neighborhood. There are people in society out there now
that have been drinking and driving and have not gotten a sentence or penalty for it or for
causing the death of someone. In a little article Gabrielle Bluestone said, Paul reportedly failed
a sobriety test and declined a blood test.Officers tell LEX 18 that Paul was given a citation and
not arrested because that is standard protocol when a defendant is hospitalized (Bluestone).
Hospitalized or not Paul should have gotten imprisonment and a harsh sentence because for one
he was drunk while driving. Now, if there was a little kid, an adult, or a teenager in his way
while he was driving they could have gotten severely injured or maybe even killed. People that
are drug users should not be out on the streets of society because they will cause damage.
Secondly, societys view of the consequence for the offense of using drugs. Societies
view Cannabis, Alcohol and Crystal Meth differently. Society sees early cannabis usage having a
casual role as a risk factor for other drug use and for any other drug abuse or dependence. If
cannabis leads to any other drug usage whoever is using it is in jeopardy of doing other drugs
that can harm them or harm other people and it could spread around society. The Woodlawn
Study of a community cohort of urban African Americans say that heavy adolescent cannabis use

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may lead to drug and property crime and criminal justice system interactions. If it leads to them
interacting with the criminal justice system then whatever they have done they should be given a
harsher sentence than normal to show them that is not the right thing to do.
The Social and Cultural Aspects of Drinking said, On a cultural level it seems to be the
negative consequences of alcohol that hold most powerful sway of our thinking (The Social and
Cultural Aspects of Drinking). Society sees that alcohol consumption needs to be taken care of
because alcohol can control ones mind and it could affect what they do or what happens to them
in terms of being drunk. also The Social and Cultural Aspects of Drinking said, The cumulative
evidence on culture, chemistry and consequences seems to indicate that alcohol policies designed
to change beliefs and expectations are likely to be more beneficial than attempts to reduce
overall consumption (The Social and Cultural Aspects of Drinking). Based on those findings,
society has different alcohol polices that are expected to change the consumption of alcohol.
That will not happen because people that are in the depression state of their body will depend on
the alcohol to make them feel happy and not depressed anymore and doing that could lead to
problems on the streets or accidents. Society sees that the consequence of importing the
precursors of methamphetamine without a license should have a jail sentence up to eight years.
The Government should change that from eight years to a full life sentence like importing,
dealing and possession for supply of it. Eight years will not do anything to them because they
could be importing and exporting meth out of prison or once they come out of imprisonment they
could have a friend that has been running the business for them and then they could go right back
to importing the meth or they could be importing meth. Societies have found deterrents for
Cannabis, Alcohol, and Methamphetamine abuse. Tamara Lytle has stated in her magazine that

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Employer drug testing are a deterrent to marijuana use, according to data comparing self
reported pot smoker at companies with and without testing (Lytle). Employees could easily find
a way to hide the drug usage inside of them for testing so they could pass and get a job. The
could get their non-drug using friend urine and make it pass as their own. Glen R. Waddell stated
in his paper that School-imposed penalties as a deterrent to adolescent drug use (Waddell 1).
Yes the school can impose the penalties, but it will not help the students stop using cannabis.
Once the student leaves the school the could get drugs from a friend and continue to use it. At
most times the kids parents could even be influencing their own child and for that they should
get a harsh sentence if caught because they are supposed to be helping their child not help them
ruin their own life.
Parents that have a healthy relationship with their children are taking chances to stop
them from alcohol abuse. Children that have already been drinking will not listen to the parents
to stop abusing it. They will keep depending on the alcohol to keep them calm and that could
lead to a terrible situation. Now children that have only took one drink could sooner or later do
the same thing as other people and start abusing it more and ruining their life. People say for
girls, the focus should be on building an emotionally-solid, close relationship to help avoid
problems with alcohol. There is a possibility that could work, but if the parent and the girl have a
relationship issue and the girl gets mad she could go do something without thinking and she
could go out with her friends that night and start to drink. But if the girl is not mad she could
randomly meet an alcohol abuser and that said abuser could try to influence her or even make her
drink by spiking it or slipping a roofie in her drink, so that abuser needs to be dealt with in a
harsh way for trying to make her drink.

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Casey Vaughn and Diana Watson have said, Pseudoephedrine is found in many cold
medicines to treat colds, but because it is used by some people to manufacture
methamphetamine, more restrictions are in place at pharmacies to try and prevent drug abuse
(Vaughn and Watson) and With Nexafed, Acura said its ability to block meth making will help
ease that hassle for pharmacists and customers. The company said in-depth testing has shown the
drug works just as well as other products currently on the market (Vaughn and Watson). The
pharmacies could prevent them from getting the stuff they need, but the person that is making it
could have a friend that has the ingredients and then they could get it from them to make the
meth and still produce it. the authority needs to find a better way to crack down on the meth
makers and users and then give them a harsher imprisonment for it. Authority should start doing
house checks just in case if they see a house they are suspicious about and if they find meth and
anybody associated with the making of it or if it is just in their household should get a harsh
sentence to prevent them from spreading it out into the society they live in.

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Works Cited
Rationis, Vox. "Social and Cultural Aspects of Drinking." SIRC. SIRC 1997-2014, n.d.
Web. 20 Oct. 2016.
Vaughn, Casey. "New Cold Drug Claims to Deter Meth Abuse." Fox Carolina. 2015,
WHNS; Greenville, SC., 31 Jan. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2016.
Waddell, G.r. "Adolescent Drug Use and the Deterrent Effect of School-imposed
Penalties."
Bluestone, Gabrielle. "Rand Paul's Son Cited But Not Arrested for DUI." Gawker.
Gawker, 22 Apr. 15. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
Lytle, Tamara. "What Do State Marijuana Laws Mean for Employers Drug Policies?"
Society for Human Research Management. 2015 SHRM, 21 May 2014. Web.
3 Oct. 2016.
Economics of Education Review 31.6 (2012): 961+. Glen R. Waddell, July 2010.
Web. 10 Nov. 2016.
Yaryura, Mckenzie. "Are They Really Criminals? Drug Users Should Be Rehabilitated,
Not Punished." The Stanford Review. Stanford, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 2 Oct. 2016