Advocating for laws that promote treatment for drug addiction as Research Proposal

Advocating for laws that promote treatment for drug addiction as opposed to incarceration - Research Proposal Example ortant to note that use of drugs leads to intoxication that in return holds the possibility of impairing the judgment of a person leading to criminal behavior, violent actions or limited anger management. That in return leads the drug users to commit other criminal behaviors rather than drug abuse alone that is equally illegal. It is therefore evident that over half of the offender in the U.S correctional system had used drugs prior period before they committed the crime. Focusing on treatment measures as opposed to incarceration for drug users is more beneficial for both the affected individuals and the society in general. Drug offenders are affected with the struggle of substance abuse and it serves better to provide such victims with treatment as opposed to imprisonment. Right from the onset, the role of prison is to serve as a correctional system for offenders with the officers charged with the role of controlling the system utilizing disciplinary and reform measures for offenders. However, unlike other criminals, drug offenders suffer partly different problems and discipline and reform programs are not the best measures for them. Borrowing from a proposal presented by the Drug Policy Alliance in 2010 after the organization studied the effects of incarceration to persons under substance abuse, treatment serves as the best practice as opposed to jail term (Zezima, 2014). The proposal identified community-based treatment as the best form to address the issue citing that it enhances public safety through reducing drug-related crime while in the same time ensuring preservation of the space of prisons a nd jails for other violent criminals. Such a process will not only improve the welfare of the community, but equally ensure a reduction of costs in the correctional systems used while dealing with drug offenders. Sending drug offenders to prisons presents more security risks to the public because whenever the drug offenders are sent to prison, they mix with other