Sociology of Crime and Deviance (Sociological Theories/Post Modernism)
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Introduction
According to a study conducted by victimless crimes, they are presently outside the law but have no readily identifiable victim. Such cases have been found to account for nearly half of the matters handled in the United States courts. This has been found to include habits that show illness and require therapeutic medical attention. Since such cases amount to the largest number of cases in the court, it would be less of a burden if eliminated. Moreover, the people caught with deviant behavior should be given help instead of being imprisoned. In his speech, Scott Morrison asserts that the use of drugs and alcohol can hinder personal development in life. He further adds that it is crucial to test the sewerage in an area to find drugs. Moreover, Morrison believes that such people should be helped instead of being imprisoned as the use of drugs is more of a mental issue than a criminal activity. He elaborates on this by saying that people who use drugs may find it hard to get jobs, be responsible in their daily activities, and be prone to poor judgment throughout their lives.
According to the strain theory by Robert K. Merton, society exerts pressure on people to achieve the socially accepted goals even though the said people lack the means. It is for this reason that people find themselves in activities that are regarded as a crime, such as selling illegal drugs. Merton thus argued that society could be a significant encouragement towards deviant behavior among its individuals. This theory compares different organizations and concludes that there are different levels of deviance in other communities. This is usually propagated by the meaning of success within the said society and the means of getting to this success. Mostly, some societies do not care, which means one uses to achieve the set goals. This forms the basis for discussion in this article where drug-taking is a victimless crime; it should instead be decriminalized and adequately regulated.
Drug Taking as a Victimless Crime
The Crime Victim’s Rights Act (CVRA) sets the standards for a victimless crime. This is after people had a lot of contradicting ideas as to what this term means. The act describes a crime victim as a person who has been directly or proximately harmed due to a federal offense or an offense in the District of Columbia. Moreover, victimless crime is described as a crime that does not pose any harm to society. However, this has spurred many debates on whether there is any type of crime that does not affect people in the community. For a long time, drug-taking has been the leading topic in this discussion. The court system is still struggling with individual cases to determine whether drug-taking is indeed a victimless crime. According to courts, whether a person is a victim of a crime is mainly determined by the cause. In this case, drug-taking only affects the person who is using drugs. In most cases, such people are withdrawn from normal societal activities and thus require help to get back to their everyday life.
However, other scholars argue that people who take drugs have proven to cause both psychological and physical unrests to those around them. This has not been proven to all drug-taking individuals, and the court guideline on determining this, there must be a provision of who was harmed and by whom to maintain justice and fairness. It is believed that educating people who take drugs and helping in prevention and treatment is the surest way of combating drug use crimes, whether they are victimless or have victims. About the strain theory, where individuals are supposed to achieve a particular level of achievement within the society, for instance, the American dream, those who regard themselves as failures or may not have any way of reaching the set targets may fall into the use of drugs. In most cases, such drug-taking is usually victimless.
Decriminalization of Drug Taking
A recent study by (XXX) indicates that drug-taking decriminalization has been considered in various countries in the U.S and across Europe. This study further reveals that decriminalization is not the same as legalization;. Simultaneously, some drugs such as marijuana might be legalized for medicinal and recreational purposes in different countries; it is still a point of concern about how decriminalization will affect the general population. Some argue that this will lead to high drug addiction rates, which will worsen the current situation. However, this has been proven not to be the ideal truth. In the Portuguese country, all drugs were decriminalized in the year 2001. This did not mean that all the drugs were legal as the selling or distribution of such drugs is still charged as a criminal offense. However, the possession and taking of these drugs are handled as a public health problem rather than an illegal activity.
Cases of drug-taking are not handled by police or prison wardens; they are attended to by psychologists, counselors, and social workers. Through this process, drug addicts can get help without having to enter the penal system. Decriminalization does not imply that drug abuse is a free-for-all as people are not allowed to get high in public areas. Users are also not allowed to buy and sell chemicals to any person they please without the fear of being prosecuted. It only changes the way society responds to drug taking from treatment and legal perspective. It is intended to offer help to the users instead of putting them under the pressure of prison and court proceedings without considering the next step they will take after all is done. Portugal is an exemplary illustration showing how decriminalization reduces the rates of drug-taking since it has practiced the process for more than a decade.
Positive implications of Drug Decriminalization
The country’s statistics indicate that drug-taking has been reduced by half compared to how it was before due to the positive outlook imparted to the users through psychological therapies. Moreover, the cost of rehabilitation and treatment is less expensive than incarceration, and individuals suffering from the problem of drug addiction are much more likely to recover in the rehabilitation centers than in jail. When people are taken to rehabilitation centers, there is a high likelihood of them being better citizens than the convicted felons. The country also recorded a reduced number of drug-related violence as it cites the help of educating such people on the importance of peaceful coexistence within society. This is similar to drug trafficking cases, which also reduced in great numbers. Since drug use was erased from court issues, there has been plenty of time to focus on much more important matters other than drug-taking. The attitude of society towards drug use changes when people begin to see it as a health issue rather than a criminal offense.
Appropriate Regulations for Drug Taking
When drug-taking is decriminalized, it is essential to put inappropriate regulations that will ensure that the war against drugs is fought with a much more positive outlook and at the same time reduces its adverse effects. The policymakers involved are supposed to ensure that people do not take advantage of decriminalization. It is vital to ensure that all individuals are aware of the health, emotional, and psychological implications of using drugs. Regulation must include the participation of the public rather than overreliance on policymakers. The public should be involved in the production of guidelines and the aftermath of drug-taking. Civic education should be allowed for the people to fully aware of what will happen to a person when drugs are used. Concerning the strain theory, it is essential to ensure that the people of a particular society know that the means towards one’s success matters. Recognition should not only be to those who are considered successful but also those who are struggling in legitimate ways to reach societal standards. It is these means that lead to the use of drugs due to issues such as frustrations and fear of failure.
Australia, which is one of the leading countries in terms of drug usage, asserts in its statistics that most of the people using drugs are doing so due to economic conditions. On the one hand, there is a group of people who take drugs due to the availability of money and the need for recreation. In contrast, the other group only uses drugs because they want to avoid the pain of their reality that they have not achieved the success of the expectation of society. The growing social and economic inequality has made it difficult for those considering themselves as less fortunate to live happily without drugs. Currently, the country seems overwhelmed with the number of people abusing drugs and thus introducing new methods of dealing with the issue. However, research shows that the government has relaxed how it approaches the problem and does not channel a lot of funds into it. Decriminalization is of great essence in Australia; this will reduce the number of people using drugs, as is the case with Portugal. The use of drugs will be considered a health issue rather than a criminal matter.
Conclusion
Decriminalization of drug-taking is an essential factor in reducing drug abuse cases as it enables society to view the issue as a health problem rather than a criminal offense. About the strain theory, people find themselves in drug addiction problems due to the pressure within their society to achieve higher goals in life. In most cases, this success is measured in terms of the money at a person’s disposal. This theory, therefore, helps in determining why certain groups of people use drugs. In Australia, where drugs are consumed at a high rate, there is a gap between the people with a lot of money and those who do not have money. The people with money use drugs for recreational purposes while those without money abuse drugs due to hopelessness. Like the Portuguese, countries such as Australia are encouraged to decriminalize drug-taking as this has positively worked in the country. The number of people using drugs has reduced, and the rehabilitated individuals do not have to go through lengthy incarceration processes; it is easier to stop using drugs through rehabilitation than through serving a jail term.
Decriminalization does not mean that drugs are a free-for-all. It only implies that society has a different way of dealing with the issue of drug-taking. It helps to stop seeing drug users as criminals and people with health, psychological, and social problems who need help. Decriminalizing does not mean that drug takers should get high in the public or buy and sell drugs according to their wish without the fear of prosecution. It is different from legalization, and while some countries may choose to legalize particular drugs such as marijuana in Canada, others only decriminalize to help addicts become productive individuals. Decriminalizing is cheaper than incarceration, and its implications are much more favorable to society. It is easier for an individual to heal positively than in a challenging and harsh environment.