Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Drugs and Alcohol

Good Essays
738 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Drugs and Alcohol
Drugs and Alcohol

1 Introduction
The connection between youth offending and drug and alcohol use cannot be denied. Drugs and alcohol are part of the personal stories of most young offenders in New Zealand. International criminological and drug literature supports the view that those young people who use illicit drugs are more likely to engage in criminal activity.

1 Further investigations show a clear link between the age at which a young a person first tries marijuana and the likelihood that they will engage in an antisocial behaviour

.2 Worryingly, the age at which young people in New Zealand are using cannabis for the first time is dropping.

2 Drugs, alcohol, and young offenders
His Honour Judge John Walker estimates that 80% of young people appearing in the Youth Court have alcohol or drug dependency or abuse issues that are connected with their offending.7 Judge Walker believes that, by the time these 15 and 16 year olds come to court, their dependency is already well established, with many presenting histories of drug and alcohol use that started when they were as young as 10 years old. These young people are often in households where drug and alcohol use is a normal part of life; where parents and siblings are responsible for supplying teenagers with alcohol and drugs and modelling behaviour and attitudes that promote binge drinking and substance abuse.

Judge Walker labels drug and alcohol problems amongst young offenders as an underlying cause of offending. In his view, responding to this issue in order to reduce youth crime requires a multidisciplinary, interagency, whole of community attack!

Cannabis is also widely used by young offenders appearing in the New Zealand Youth Court. There is evidence of new hybrid strains of cannabis are appearing, which, together with new growing techniques, and the reinvigoration of sensemilla,12 has meant a significant increase in the potency of this drug. Also, the age at which cannabis is first used in the population is dropping, and the numbers of young people aged 13 to 16 using cannabis for the first time is increasing.

Fortunately, methamphetamine is not yet a widespread problem facing the Youth Court. 'P' has been seen only sporadically in the Youth Court thus far, and it is our view that any increase in young people using the drug would signal a major social catastrophe.

The Youth Court response

One significant Youth Court initiative designed specifically to address the effects of drugs and alcohol on the process of youth justice, is the Christchurch Youth Drug Court. This is a specialist court, based on principles of therapeutic jurisprudence, and designed to enhance the opportunities for collaborative multi-agency work with young offenders. Young people with moderate to serious substance issues are screened by on-site specialists, and referred to the Youth Drug Court. The Drug Court Judge spends more time with the young person in each Court appointment, and takes a more active role in monitoring the young person's progress through their treatment and community work plans. The Court has shown good results in terms of reduced reoffending, and reduced drug and alcohol use.

5 Conclusion
The use and abuse of drugs and alcohol is a major issue for the majority of young people appearing Court. While the link between drugs and offending is difficult and not always causal in an obvious way, the use of illegal drugs like cannabis is a nonnegotiable source of concern for the youth Court. For the Youth Court, the debate between "harm minimisation" and "total abstinence" is rather "academic". Youth Court judges cannot resile from their duty to eliminate illegal drug use by young people, and to assist in the elimination of the illegal supply of alcohol to young people by family and friends.

Beyond that, our mission to oversee joint processes of accountability, restoration and rehabilitation for each young person will only succeed if comprehensive, youth specific drug and alcohol services are made more widely available. If the enacting of healthy drug laws were enough to ensure that dependent young people received all the treatment they needed to return to society in a positive way, then the Youth Court could rightly be seen as the last word in therapeutic jurisprudence. The reality is, however, that the Court desperately needs the support of other agencies and community providers to give young offenders the best chance of not completing the graduation to the adult courts.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    These days there are a number of social issues in the community, such as drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is rampant in today’s society, Australian Drug Foundation states that, “Alcohol is the most widely used psychoactive, or mood-changing, recreational drug in Australia.”(Healey, 2002, p. 11). Underage drinking and binge drinking are some of the problems associated with alcohol abuse.…

    • 1574 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    4. (2007). National Institute on Drug Abuse. Monitoring the Future. National Results on Adolescent Drug Use. Overview of Key Findings 2008. (http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugpages/MTF.HTML). Bethesda, MD. NIDA, NIH, DHHS. May 2007. Retrieved June 2009.…

    • 2109 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    According to a 2012 Monitoring the Future study, marijuana is the illicit drug most likely to be used by teens (Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey). Marijuana comes from the plant Cannabis Sativa and appears as a green/brown mix of flowers, stems, and leaves (Teens Health 1). Marijuana is also known as pot, weed, MJ, Mary Jane, reefer, dope, ganja, herb, and grass. Marijuana is most often smoked in cigarettes, hollowed-out cigars, pipes, or water pipes, but is sometimes mixed into food or tea (1). Why are there concerns about teen use of marijuana? During adolescence, many developmental changes are occurring and poor choices could affect a teen’s future (University of Washington ADAI). As a result of teen marijuana use, teens engage in problematic behavior, neglect their education, and risk their health.…

    • 1334 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Do you agree that drug abuse among young people is a serious problem that we need to be more concerned about? In the United Kingdom, there are several recent studies released which show an increasing statistical trend in drug abuse affecting young people. Due to the Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) in 2006, 23% of 13-year-old teens and over 53% of 15 year-old teens reported that they had ever used illegal drugs in their lives. From the above statistical information, we can know drug abuse in teenagers is becoming more of a problem each year as our culture changes.…

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    For many years in the past, marijuana has been made to look like a dangerous drug, linked to crime and addiction. In the early 1920s and ‘30s most people still did not know what marijuana was or had even heard of it yet. Those who had heard of it were largely uninformed. The drug rarely appeared in the media, but when it did it was linked to crime and even thought to be murder-inducing. A 1929 article in the Denver Post reported a Mexican-American man who murdered his stepdaughter was a marijuana addict (Baird 2011). Articles such as this began to form a long-standing link between marijuana and crime in the public’s mind. Soon, laws against marijuana began coming into place. In 1970, Congress classified marijuana as a Schedule I drug, meaning it had no medical utility.…

    • 2054 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Rebellon, Cesar J., and Karen Van Gundy. "CAN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL DELINQUENCY THEORY EXPLAIN THE LINK BETWEEN MARIJUANA AND OTHER ILLICIT DRUG USE? A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSlS OF THE GATEWAY HYPOTHESIS." Journal of Drug Issues 36.3 (2006): 515-39. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 26 Jan. 2011.…

    • 2222 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    the use of marijuana has been connected to a rise in criminal activity in some communities,…

    • 2188 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are strikingly regular patterns in the progression of drug use from adolescence to adulthood. Because it is the most widely used illicit drug, marijuana is predictably the first illicit drug that most people encounter. Not surprisingly, most users of other illicit drugs used marijuana; we could go back in 1940 – from now? In fact, most drug users do not begin their drug use with marijuana—they begin with alcohol and nicotine, usually when they are too young to do so legally.…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The uses of marijuana amongst teenagers has increased over the years making it the most accessible drug in America as well as one the most beneficial due to its medical uses. According to the article of Marijuana Use Among Youths Is a Serious Problem, written by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) (2004), stated that the uses of marijuana has impacted the youth in many ways due to the unknown factors of marijuana such as admittance to treatment facilities, and being admitted into emergency rooms. The CASA took the con side of the argument dealing with the issues of marijuana use with teenagers. The second article Marijuana Should Be Decriminalized, written by Lynn Zimmer (1998), stated that the uses of marijuana amongst teens can help with medical conditions such as cancer patience, glaucoma, multiple – sclerosis, and individuals with AIDS. Examining both articles the public will see the benefits and the potential harms of marijuana use.…

    • 2705 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Psychologist Gunter Swobota works with adolescent patients with drug and alcohol addictions. While they are able to obtain drugs, such as cocaine, with ease, Swobota feels the biggest problem among teenagers currently is alcohol abuse, which he says is reaching crisis proportions. Swobota, whose research statistics are primarily out of Australia, says that up to 30% of the adolescent population binge drinks at some point, and nearly 75% of those cases have been potentially harmful. He also says this closely compares to adolescents in southern California (Jones, 2009).…

    • 2164 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Annotated Bibliography

    • 377 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The article explains the dangers and addictive nature of marijuana, and why some teenagers now view marijuana as a “safe” drug.…

    • 377 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The adoption of an "adversarial" court system found in ordinary courts often worked against the rehabilitative needs of the young offender. Under the JDA, a team including the judge, probation officers, and a Youth Committee consisting of volunteers worked together to find the best solution for the juvenile delinquent. Under the Young Offenders Act, the Crown attorney's job was to convict the young offender. It was not his responsibility to examine underlying socioeconomic or other factors that may have contributed to the crime. The young offender was dependent on defense counsel – often appointed by Legal Aid – to defend his…

    • 2297 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Australia, during 2010 there was approximately 38 young people incarcerated per 100,000, and this is why many believe the incarceration of youth to be one of the biggest issues in Australia. While these figures have dropped dramatically since 1981, many believe it can be lowered further. South Australia’s youth are prosecuted in accordance to the Young Offenders Act of 1993, which applies to youth between the ages of 10-17. This act aims to maintain social cohesion and progress, and it attempts to do this by assisting young people at risk from becoming involved in criminal activity, and to prevent reoffending through the provision of appropriate services and programs. Many members of the public believe, that the incarceration of the youth is not only ineffective and unnecessary, but also damaging the youth and causing recidivism, and instead we should follow…

    • 1142 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Drug Use and Delinquency

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages

    References: Brunelle, N., Cousineau, M., & Brochu, S. (2005). Juvenile Drug Use and Delinquency: Youths ' Accounts of Their Trajectories. Substance Use & Misuse, 40(5), 721-734. doi:10.1081/JA-200055404…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Policy Paper

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages

    * Three circumstances on the likelihood that a teenager would engage in some form of substance abuse:…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays