Decriminalization, drug maintenance and harm reduction Essay

Decriminalization, do drugs maintenance and harm lessening - Essay ExampleThus it is time to seek alternative surface in combating drug ab habit. Among such alternatives ar decriminalisation, harm reduction, and drug substitution and maintenance.Decriminalization is the process of do an action no all-night a criminal act in the relevant jurisdiction. While decriminalized acts are no longer crimes, they may still be the subject of regulation for example, the licensing and regular medical exam of prostitutes, or a m sensationtary penalty in place of a criminal charge for the self-control of a soft drug. (Decriminalization, 2006). The decriminalization of drugs is a complicated issue embracing numerous distinct good/ethical and practical strands which can, possibly, be summarized thus (a) Whose body is it anyway Where do I start and the judicature begins What gives the state the right to intervene in decisions pertaining only to my self and contravene them (Valnin, n.d.). Howe ver, most studies shoed that decriminalization could the best weapon against drug abuse. For example, in the case of marijuana, findings from dozens of government-commissioned and academic studies published over the previous(prenominal) 25 years overwhelmingly affirm that liberalizing marijuana penalties will not caused an increase in marijuana utilization or influence a teenager perception of drug use. Since 1973, 12 state legislatures -- Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, red-hot York, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon -- have enacted versions of marijuana decriminalization. In each of these states, marijuana users are no longer jailed when caught possessing marijuana (Marijuana Decriminalization & Its Impact on Use, 2002). Harm reduction An separate alternative would be to replace unsuccessful laws and policies with harm-reduction strategies, which center on reducing the societal costs of drug abuse and other drug use. Techniques inclu de education to avoid overdose, needle exchange programs to reduce the spread of blood-borne diseases. Addressing drug use as part a public health issue rather than a criminal one would be beneficial in the long run (Zinberg, 1984 Drug Abuse, 2006). The central idea of harm reduction is the recognition that some people always have and always will engage in behaviors which pick out risks, e.g. casual sex, illicit substance use. Harm reduction aims to lessen the potential harm linked with these behaviors without attempting to annihilate the behaviors. Therefore, no one should be denied of health care services simply due to the fact that they fuck off risks. Furthermore, harm reduction seeks a social justice response to il sanctioned drug use, in verso to a criminalizing one (Harm reduction, 2006). Drug substitution and maintenanceAnother alternative to unsuccessful laws and policies is drug substitution and maintenance. These approaches have a long history however. The logic behin d is that of harm reduction if some people are unavailing to quit using drugs, both users and society at large benefit if these users, i.e., addicts, are able to replace from black market drugs of indeterminate quality, purity and potency to legal drugs, of known purity and potency, obtained from physicians, pharmacies and other legal channels (Drug substitution