Assignment 16- Eli Flomenhoft

“I have absolutely no pleasure in stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge.” Edgar Allan Poe's words are important to consider when addressing drug addiction. Addiction is a disease not a choice. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse “drug use can lead to brain changes that challenge an addicted persons self-control and interfere with their ability to resist intense urges to take drugs.” Many people believe that addiction stems from a choice, but the fact is that the continued use of addictive drugs, in many cases, is not a choice but is due to a disease, addiction. This abuse of addictive drugs is growing in the United States. The current drug problem in the US is much greater than in Europe. A study found that cocaine is used more in the US per 1000 people than any European nation besides Spain. Cocaine, Opioids, and Amphetamine stimulants use are all greater in the US. Drug arrests and overdoses are higher too. We must address this growing problem in the US. Over 20 million americans over the age of 12 have an addiction, that is 6 percent of the population. 115 people a day die from drug overdoses, a rate that has tripled over the past 20 years. And due to stigmatization and incarceration many substance abusers will not or cannot get treatment. Today I will discuss the historical context for stigmatization, how the US currently addresses the drug problem, and a potential solution.

Recreational alcohol use has been a part of American culture since its inception. Colonists introduced native americans to it, which in turn led to rampant alcoholism in many young native american men. But the negative view of alcohol, and later on drugs, was largely influenced by temperance, the subsequent Prohibition era and the War on Drugs. The refusal to see alcohol and drugs as anything but a criminal issue led to a view of drug addicts and alcoholics as morally corrupt and weak willed. According to a 2014 study conducted by the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health a majority of americans still believe that people addicted to drugs or alcohol should not be covered by insurance, housing, and employment policies that would benefit their rehabilitation. Clearly, even in this progressive era, america is still rife with stigmatic views. Furthermore writer and journalist Johann Hari, who focuses on the War on Drugs, traveled the world for three years interviewing addiction researchers and addicts . Through his research he found that people who are shown love and form bonds with others are less likely to use or abuse drugs. But we cannot form these connections with recovering addicts if we do not change our current view of drug addiction. The problem of drug addiction requires a shift in public opinion.

But it also requires a shift in government policy. Currently the federal government's solution to illicit drugs involves time in jail, federal  prisons, heavy fines, house arrest, and other forms of confinement. The severity of the punishment is defined by the amount of illicit substance, the type, and how many previous encounters with the law enforcement you’ve had. And no matter the severity of these crimes the arrests and sentencings still show up on criminal records, which can affect the ability to get a job, vote, and get approval for college loans. So while the number of people incarcerated for drug related crimes is enormous, the number of people negatively affected by federal drug policies is larger yet. The number of people nationally incarcerated for drug related crimes grew from 40,900 as of 1980 to 450,345 as of 2016. That is a 1000% increase. These people, and many other arrested for their addiction, are hindered in their ability to find a job, struggle to find housing, and struggle to survive in a competitive society. Some might say that the consequences are justified because these “drug addicts” committed a crime. But if we assume that drug addiction is a disease, then people are being incarcerated because of disease. It’s illegal to arrest someone or discriminate against them based on their race, something they can’t help, but people are allowed to discriminate against people who have a disease they cannot help in a country that is unwilling to help them? Since people who are addicted are likely to keep using an addictive substance, even after an encounter with the law enforcement,  the likelihood of jail time increases as well. Addiction is a disease which requires treatment. A treatment the US needs to make more available support its citizens.

One solution to this drug problem is the decriminalization of drug abuse. An example of this decriminalization success is Portugal. Portugal had a terrible heroin problem in the 90s with almost 1% of their population having a heroin addiction. As of now the US reportedly has 1,000,000 people with a heroin addiction. The solution to Portugal's problem? Decriminalizing all drugs, and instead offering treatment to every addict and offering rehabilitation in order to reintegrate them into society. The citizen in question, if found to have no more than a 10-day supply of a drug, would be sent to a board consisting of a psychologist, a social worker, and a legal advisor and would be given a treatment plan. Throughout this whole process jail is never involved. This radical new idea has worked wonders for Portugal. A report from the Cato Institute revealed that teenage drug use dropped five years after the passing of this law. HIV infections from sharing needles dropped and the number of people seeking treatment doubled. But this solution cannot be copy and pasted to the US. For one our population is much higher, and two our society is much too conservative at the moment to consider mass decriminalization of all drugs. But even a similar solution would be beneficial. For example the US could decriminalize some Class 1 drugs and provide treatment similar to Portugal. Or the US could decriminalize abuse of Class 4 drugs, which can be prescribed, and instead provide treatment for abusers. Whatever the solution one thing is clear, our biased views of drug addicts needs to change.

Works Cited

“Addiction Statistics - Facts on Drug and Alcohol Addiction.” AddictionCenter, Delphi Behavorial Health Group, 19 Nov. 2018, www.addictioncenter.com/addiction/addiction-statistics/.

Benham, Barbara. “Study: Public Feels More Negative Toward People With Drug Addiction Than Those With Mental Illness.” Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, John Hopkins University, 1 Oct. 2014, www.jhsph.edu/news/news-releases/2014/study-public-feels-more-negative-toward-people-with-drug-addiction-than-those-with-mental-illness.html.

“Criminal Justice Facts.” The Sentencing Project, The Sentencing Project, www.sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/.

“Drug Addiction Treatment in the United States.” National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH, Jan. 2018, www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/drug-addiction-treatment-in-united-states.

Hari, Johann. “Everything You Think You Know about Addiction Is Wrong.” TED
         Talks. TEDGlobal London, June 2015, London.

“History of Rehab Facilities.” Dual Diagnosis, Foundations Recovery Network, www.dualdiagnosis.org/drug-addiction/history-rehab-facilities/.

“How Does Drug Use Differ from the US to Europe?” RecoveryBrands, Recovery Brands, recoverybrands.com/drugs-in-america-vs-europe/.

“How Other Countries Deal with Addiction and Treatment.” Desert Hope, DesertHope, deserthopetreatment.com/drug-abuse/other-countries-treatment/.

“Understanding Drug Use and Addiction.” National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH, June 2018, www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/understanding-drug-use-addiction.