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Moral Analysis of Drug Addiction

r those on the right politically tend to favor "zero tolerance" policies and those designed to "reduce supply" (Heymann and Brownsberger 18). Liberals tend to favor "harm reduction" policies and those aimed at "reducing demand" (Heymann and Brownsberger 18). The views of conservatives dominate contemporary U.S. policy toward drug use, with those on the right favoring "supply reduction and drug law enforcement over prevention and treatment" (Heymann and Brownsberger 18).

Prior to the 1980s, during the Richard M. Nixon administration, the Hughes Act was established by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The core of the Hughes Act was the belief that rehabilitation and treatment work to cure substance abuse. As Hunsicker (5) notes, the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) argues "Addiction treatment works, that much we know." Similarly, Dr. Barry Stimmel (3) argues in Alcoholism, Drug Addiction, and the Road to Recovery that substance abuse is "a complex, serious and treatable condition." Many individuals point to criminal sanctions for drug use or addiction as immoral, primarily because it is ineffective and is imposed on addicts by those with their own set of moral codes.

Nicholson (280) points to prohibition in the U.S. as evidence of the inability of criminal sanctions to resolve substance use and addiction and also as evidence of the moral agenda behind punishment strategies. Other scholars argue that criminal justice approaches to controlling illegal drug use has been "largely ineffective and counterproductive" (Nicholson 280). Others argue that legalizing drugs would be a "liberating opportunity" for rehabilitation efforts and prevention programs would become more readily available (Duncan 317). Duncan (317) argues that because drug use or addiction is, in many cases, a "criminal act," the medical profession and healthcare delivery systems are ofte...

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Moral Analysis of Drug Addiction. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 14:07, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/2000139.html