War on Drugs and Prison Over Crowding

(Cohen , 2005 ) such as murder theft , property damage , rape , assault and the like . Because of this , a clear message emerges- because drugs are causing prison overcrowding , a public menace and the other associated ills , workable solutions not to prison overcrowding , but the root cause of prison overcrowding- illegal drugs needs to be explored , and legalization is not the answer

Workable Solutions to the Problem

All is not hopeless in this situation there are options that Florida and the other states facing prison overcrowding due to The War on Drugs ' can put

in place as effective remedies

DRUG TREATMENT AND MONITORING FOR NON VIOLENT OFFENDERS-As a general statement , many of the drug offenders nationwide are not violent offenders , but rather drug abusers whose poor judgment and choices landed them in the hands of law enforcement ( Holden-Rhodes , 1997 . For these offenders , a combination of drug treatment programs and house arrest with monitoring of all activities and progress in treatment , as well as verification that drugs are not being used by the inmate ' can alleviate prison overcrowding and affords a chance for freedom from drugs for the individual . As demand for drugs goes down , theoretically so too would the sale of drugs , making less arrests necessary and easing prison conditions . Statistically , if the average population of Florida prisons is around 90 ,000 inmates , and about 60 ,000 of those are drug offenders , even a 10 reduction in drug offenders behind bars would relieve the correctional system of 6 ,000 inmates monthly , reducing crowding and saving millions of dollars monthly as well

SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION INSIDE OF PRISONS- Sources cite that many people are introduced to drugs after going to prison , and once released these drug addicted people add to the size of The War on Drugs (Early , 1996 . Therefore , substance abuse prevention within...