Drug Abuse
Grace McLaughlin
Background
All drugs should be illegal and banned unless they are being prescribed by a doctor.
The issue that the group is targeting is overdosing on drugs.
As a group, we would want to reduce the amount of drugs that are being used by people and spread awareness about the dangers
The Amount of deaths have increased due to drug overdosing
“According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) National Survey on Drug Use and Health,1 23.5 million persons aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol abuse problem in 2009 (9.3 percent of persons aged 12 or older)" (Drug Abuse).
Many people that use drugs will deny that they overdose. They have the symptoms that other people can see, but they don’t believe them.
“Only 2.6 million—11.2 percent of those who needed treatment—received it at a specialty facility" (Drug Abuse).
Solutions
- Producing a drug that would reverse their feelings. It would make them be less addicted to drugs which would decrease the number of deaths per year.
“What is unique to this epidemic is that we possess a drug capable of reversing opioid overdoses. With the appropriate public policy, we can curb the opioid overdose death rate. Naloxone is a drug that can reverse both opioid analgesic and heroin-induced overdoses. With basic training, non-medical personnel can administer it — either through the nose or by muscular injection" (NY Daily News).
- If someone sees another person doing drugs, than they have to report them to the police so they can get help. They have to go to rehab for a couple of weeks to month based on the drug and see a therapist.
Action Plan
“Drug overdose deaths are now the leading cause of accidental death in the United States for people aged 25-64, killing more than 38,000 people in 2010. Some 16,000 of these deaths are attributed to prescription opioid analgesics such as Oxycontin, Vicodin and Percocet.”
Social Conflict
Green Party
The Green Party would Support this because they are aiming towards the banning of drugs but understand that they will always be apart of the society.
“At the same time, we recognize that drug use will never be entirely eliminated. Our policies would aim therefore to minimise the social, psychological and physical harm to those who use drugs and to society at large. Green policies on drugs will be directed towards accepting the reality of drug use and will strive to minimise harm, both to the user and to society at large. This will require a more pragmatic approach to the issue of recreational and cultural use and should highlight the broader socio-economic forces which drive people towards escapist use" (Green party).
Cites
"Treatment Statistics." DrugFacts:. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/treatment-statistics>.
"A Drug Overdose Solution, in Reach." NY Daily News. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/drug-overdose-solution-reach-article-1.1738359>.
"Drug Use." The Green Party News RSS. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <https://policy.greenparty.org.uk/du.html>.