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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 11:41 am
Time: 11:41 am
Results for drug addicts
2 results foundAuthor: Gotsis, Tom Title: Illegal Drug Use and Possession: Current Policy and Debates Summary: Government policy to address illegal drug use and possession is an ongoing topic of debate both in Australia and internationally. One part of the debate surrounding illegal drug use and possession involves the question of whether or not recreational drug use should be decriminalised, as has occurred in overseas jurisdictions such as Portugal. Another, and more immediate, part of the debate concerns the harms that have resulted from illegal drug use at music festivals. The NSW Government is reviewing the regulation of these events but has rejected options put forward by some stakeholders, including allowing pill testing and amnesty bins. The suggestion by drug law reform proponents that ice users be allowed to attend a medically supervised smoke inhalation room is also on the public agenda. An upcoming forum for discussing illegal drug use and possession is the Parliamentary Cross-Party Harm Minimisation Roundtable, to be held on 11 August at the NSW Parliament. This paper seeks to inform the current debate by discussing: - rates of illegal drug use and the harms of illegal drug use; - current Government policy and laws in relation to illegal drug use; - the use and effectiveness of harm reduction measures, such as the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre; - illegal drug use at music festivals; and - arguments for and against prohibition and decriminalisation, with examples and evidence from Australian and overseas jurisdictions Details: Sydney: NSW Parliamentary Research Service, 2016. 96p. Source: Internet Resource: Briefing Paper No. 4/2016: Accessed August 29, 2016 at: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/researchpapers/Documents/Illegal%20drug%20use%20and%20possession%20current%20policy%20and%20debates.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/researchpapers/Documents/Illegal%20drug%20use%20and%20possession%20current%20policy%20and%20debates.pdf Shelf Number: 140076 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Abuse PolicyDrug AddictsDrug OffendersIllegal Drugs |
Author: Kane-Willis, Kathleen Title: Patchwork Policy: an evaluation of arrests and tickets for marijuana misdemeanors in Illinois Summary: Nationally, the conversation around marijuana has changed significantly. More than 75% of Americans support measures that would end criminal sanctions for those in possession of small amounts of marijuana. According to polling data released in 2014, 63% of Illinois voters support a marijuana decriminalization bill. Despite these changing attitudes, Illinois's dubious distinctions in terms of marijuana possession arrests is evident in nearly every metric when compared with other states and the national average: - Illinois ranked 5th nationally in the number of arrests for marijuana possession in 2010; - Of the 5 states with the largest number of marijuana possession arrests from 2001 to 2010, Illinois' rate of arrest increased the fastest, by nearly one-third ; - Illinois tied with Texas for 1st place for the proportion of marijuana possession arrests (97.8%) compared to all marijuana arrests and including sales, manufacturing, and delivery arrests; - Illinois ranked fourth in the nation for the rate of arrests for marijuana possession per 100K; - Illinois's marijuana possession arrest rate is more than 150% higher than the national average; - Illinois ranked third in the nation for the black to white racial disparity of marijuana possession offenders, despite the fact that marijuana use is the same between these two groups; - In Illinois, African Americans were about 7.6 times more likely to be arrested than whites; - Cook County made the most marijuana possession arrests of any county in the nation with 33,068 arrests in 2010 and also had one of the worst racial disparity rates in the nation; - Illinois' estimated spending for marijuana possession ranged from $78 million to $364 million per year on marijuana possession arrests and adjudications. In Illinois, 84% of all marijuana arrests are for misdemeanor possession and these arrests represent a sizable portion of arrests within the state. For example: - Three year averages for marijuana misdemeanor arrests from 2010-2013 are over 41,000 per year; - In comparison to FBI index crimes, arrests for marijuana misdemeanors were equivalent to 50% of arrests for all index crimes, that is serious and violent crimes; - Compared to all drug arrests, marijuana misdemeanor arrests make up 39% of drug arrests - including sales and possession of controlled substances - in the state of Illinois; - Of marijuana misdemeanor arrests, 85% of arrests were for possession of cannabis totaling less than 10 grams. As part of these changing attitudes, over 100 Illinois municipalities have passed ordinances that provide ticketing alternatives for small amounts of marijuana. Arrests however, can still be made under state law allowing law enforcement personnel to choose between arresting or ticketing individuals in possession of marijuana. An analysis of pre and post ordinance implementation arresting patterns found: - Of the four municipalities reviewed, Chicago had the smallest decrease in arrests, with arrests declining by only 21% while Evanston had the largest decrease (46%); - Marijuana misdemeanor arrests decreased by 40% in Urbana and by over 32% in Yorkville. In order to understand the level of ticketing to arrests within each municipality, we calculated the ratio of tickets to arrests in six municipalities. Large differences were found between cities: - Countryside had the highest level of implementation, with 88% of marijuana possession violations resulted in tickets; - In Champaign, 75% of marijuana misdemeanor offenders received a ticket instead of arrest; - In Evanston, 69% of misdemeanor marijuana possession violations resulted in a ticket; - Urbana was slightly more likely to arrest than administer a ticket for marijuana possession (59% v. 41%); - In Chicago, 93% of misdemeanor marijuana possession violations resulted in an arrest and in only 7% of cases a ticket was issued; Since ticketing has been identified as a way of possibly reducing the negative impact of disproportionate minority contact (DMC), we assessed municipalities that provided race and ethnicity data: - Study results indicated no real change in DMC after ticketing ordinances were implemented; - Individuals receiving the tickets appeared to be a subset of those arrested; - Yorkville showed little disproportionate minority contact prior to and after ticketing, while Evanston demonstrated high levels of DMC. Arrest and ticket rate per 100,000 individuals was calculated in order to formulate accurate comparisons between municipalities of varying population sizes: - Chicago had the highest arrest rate of any municipality in the study, even after the ordinance was implemented, with nearly 590 arrests per 100,000 individuals; - Chicago was the only municipality studied with a marijuana arrest rate higher than the state rate, specifically 150% higher than the state average; and more than 230% higher than the U.S. rate; - Evanston had the lowest arrest rate with 128 arrests per 100,000 individuals; The sizable difference between Chicago's arrest rate and the rates of other municipalities warranted additional analyses. The number of arrests made in Chicago for marijuana misdemeanors drives state totals: - In 2011, Chicago's misdemeanor arrest comprised almost 50% of the state total; - Despite the decrease from 2011 - 2013, the number of arrests was still disarmingly high in 2013, comprising 38% of Illinois total misdemeanor arrests; - Additionally, the decrease in arrests did not represent a fundamental shift - both in 2001 and 2002, marijuana misdemeanor arrests were lower than in the most recent year (2013). Arguments for the ticketing ordinance were focused on police time and costs. We calculated the amount of time and costs spent on marijuana arrests after the ticket was implemented and found: - In 2013, Chicago police spent from 24,000 hours to 63,000 hours arresting marijuana misdemeanants; - In 2013, the costs associated with misdemeanor marijuana arrests ranged from $25 million to upwards of $115 million dollars after the passage of the ticketing ordinance; - If misdemeanor arrests were reduced by half, potential costs savings range from $12.5 million to $57.9 million; if the number of arrests dropped by three quarters, estimated costs savings range between $18.8 million to $86.9 million per year. The low number of tickets given in Chicago in 2013 (only 1,100) resulted in a significant amount of lost revenue: - The amount of revenue generated for 2013 from marijuana tickets was small, around $416,250; - If half of the number of arrests were charged as tickets, the revenue generated would be closer to $2.9 million and if three-quarters of arrest resulted in tickets, the revenue generated would be more than $4.5 million per year. Marijuana misdemeanor rates within community areas prior to and after the implementation of the Chicago ticketing ordinance were also analyzed: - Geographic disparity by community area was found even after the ticketing ordinance was implemented, with marijuana possession rates that are more than 1100% above the national average; - After the ticketing ordinance was implemented, disparities in neighborhood arrest rates increased, for example Fuller Park, East Garfield Park, and West Garfield Park had arrest rates that were 7 times higher than the city of Chicago's average rate; - Compared to the Edison Park (the neighborhood with the lowest arrest rate), neighborhoods such as Fuller Park, East and West Garfield Park had marijuana arrest rates that were more than 150 times higher after implementing the ticket ordinance; - Neighborhoods with a large African American population were found to be predictive of high arrest rates for marijuana misdemeanor arrests (p < .001). Findings Inconsistencies in the implementation of ticketing legislation are the result of disparities in ticket administration from one community area to the next. Discrepancies in the application of the tickets by geography create a patchwork system of policy resulting in an unequal application of justice. Because a two-tiered system still exists, police retain discretion and can choose who to ticket and who to arrest. Geography, not justice, determines whether marijuana possession results in a fine or an arrest. Details: Chicago: Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy, 2014. 79p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 15, 2016 at: https://www.roosevelt.edu/CAS/CentersAndInstitutes/IMA/ICDP.aspx Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://www.roosevelt.edu/CAS/CentersAndInstitutes/IMA/ICDP.aspx Shelf Number: 147873 Keywords: ArrestsDrug AddictsDrug OffendersMarijuanaMisdemeanors |