Motivations for the Establishment

1. Describe briefly our society's underlying motivations for the establishment of governmental regulation and the control of drugs and drug use, differentiating between regulating drug use and taking a laissez-faire approach.

Laws in developed societies to regulate the production, supply, possession and use of drugs. In earlier years our government was lacked and had a Laissez-faire approach with no laws governing the sale or use of drugs. Today, our government has laws to help protect people. We have laws prohibiting tobacco and alcohol use to people under twenty-one. The government also has laws that limit the amounts of drugs to be dispersed to a person to keep them from becoming addicted and limiting them to giving it to others.

2. Comment on the nature and usefulness of drug use data provided by the DAWN system, addressing in your response the limitations as well as the benefits derived from this reporting system.

DAWN collects data on the demographic characteristics of substance abusers and the specific drugs involved in each drug-related Emergency Department visit or death. Emergency room visits that involve any type of drug (up to six are recorded) whether or not the drug actually caused the accident and drug related deaths The detail available on specific drugs is not matched by any other data system. The DAWN system benefits hospitals to be aware of the patients history of drugs and look at why they are really here; if a true emergency or simply drug seeking. The hospital can either help the person, or at least not add to their addictions and can monitor any possible dangerous withdrawal symptoms.

3. Are so-called needle exchange programs (NEPs) medically, socially, and ethically justifiable? Why do some critics object to NEPs?

Whatever one thinks of drug use, morally or ethically, intravenous drug users are not some sub-human class of people. They are our family members, friends, and neighbors. NEPs could decrease the transmission of HIV by increasing the probability that injected drug users use uninfected syringes and refer injected drug users who have little or no contact with the public health system normally.

People against needle exchange programs contest these encounters will increase drug

use in the community, and condone drug use.

4. Provide several personal insights into the nature of crime and drug use, specifically in the context of heroin addicts and their relationship to criminal behavior. Now, show evidence of your understanding of the relationship between alcohol use and violent crime.

Heroin derives from morphine and like most drugs has several street names such

as smack, black tar, or dope. Heroin addicts concluded that the user engaged in not violent crime, but crime to obtain money to support the high price of the