Research tagged with Drug policy

Finding Direction: Expanding Criminal Justice Options by Considering Policies of Other Nations: Amanda Petteruti, Justice Policy Institute, Apr 20, 2011; Amidst a fiscal crisis and dropping crime rates, policymakers in the U.S. ought to consider looking outside its borders for examples of effective criminal justice policies.
Addicted to Courts: How a Growing Dependence on Drug Courts Impacts People and Communities: Nastassia Walsh, Justice Policy Institute, Mar 22, 2011; Report investigating the phenomenon of drug courts and providing alternatives to better address substance abuse issues.
Bearing Witness: Baltimore City’s Residents Give Voice: Apr 1, 2009; Bearing Witness is the culmination of interviews with people from Baltimore City about their experiences with the criminal justice system. Compared to the rest of Maryland, Baltimore City faces a concentrated impact of the criminal justice system.
Judging Maryland: Baltimore Judges on Effective Solutions to Working with Substance Abusers in the Criminal Justice System: Scott Ehlers and Kevin Pranis, Mar 4, 2008; In 2004, Maryland lawmakers enacted a set of reforms designed to expand options available to judges, prosecutors, and the state’s parole commission for placing addicted defendants in community-based treatment rather than prison.
Substance Abuse Treatment and Public Safety: Justice Policy Institute, Jan 16, 2008; Community-based substance abuse treatment reduces crime rates and helps states reduce corrections costs. The sooner substance abuse is treated, the bigger the cost savings and increases in public safety.
The Vortex: The Concentrated Racial Impact of Drug Imprisonment and the Characteristics of Punitive Counties: Phillip Beatty, Amanda Petteruti and Jason Ziedenberg, Dec 4, 2007; Since 1970, the U.S. has experienced a large and rapid increase in the rate at which people are housed in federal and state correctional facilities. Currently, the U.S. incarceration rate is 491 per 100,000.
Effective Investments in Public Safety: Drug Treatment: Justice Policy Institute, Feb 2, 2007; Whereas in 1980 only about 8% of federal and state prisoners were incarcerated for a drug offense, in 2003, 55 percent of the federal prison population and 20 percent of prisoners in state facilities were incarcerated for drug offenses.
Progress and Challenges: An Analysis of Drug Treatment and Imprisonment in Maryland from 2000 to 2005: Kevin Pranis, Sep 1, 2006; In 2004, Maryland lawmakers enacted a set of reforms designed to expand the options available to judges, prosecutors, and the state’s parole commission for placing addicted defendants in community-based treatment rather than prison.
Proposition 36: Five Years Later: Jason Ziedenberg & Scott Ehlers, Apr 1, 2006; While the United States still carries the dubious distinction of leading the world in imprisonment, recent changes to sentencing in a number of states may signal that the country is turning the corner.
Disparity by Design: How Drug-Free Zone Laws impact Racial Disparity-and Fail to Protect Youth: Judith Greene, Kevin Pranis and Jason Zeidenberg, Mar 1, 2006; Thanks to the work of concerned policymakers and reform advocates across the country, public discussions have been sparked in many states about the fairness and efficacy of drug-free zone laws.
Efficacy and Impact: The Criminal Justice Response to Marijuana Policy in the United States: Jason Ziedenberg and Jason Colburn, Aug 25, 2005; There is no clear relationship between drug arrests and drug use, and the impact of increased arrests, convictions and incarcerations of people for marijuana offenses has significant and measurable “collateral consequences” on communities and individuals.
Racial Divide: California's 3 Strikes Law: Scott Ehlers, Vincent Schiraldi and Eric Lotke, Oct 1, 2004; California’s Three Strikes law has been plagued with questions about racial fairness since the beginning.
3 Strikes & You're Out: An Examination of the Impact of Strikes Laws 10 years after their Enactment: Eric Lotke, Jason Colburn & Vincent Schiraldi, Sep 10, 2004; In 1993, the state of Washington passed the nation's first "Three Strikes and You're Out" law by voter initiative.
Swing States: Crime, Prisons and the Future of the Nation: Eric Lotke, Deborah Stromberg & Vincent Schiraldi, Aug 1, 2004; There are nearly 7 million people under correctional supervision in America, more people than in our eight least populous states combined. Organized differently, these people would have 16 votes in the United States Senate.
Still Striking Out: Ten Years of California’s Three Strikes: Scott Ehlers, Vincent Schiraldi and Jason Ziedenberg, Mar 1, 2004; While other states’ “Three Strikes” laws only applied to serious or violent offenses, California’s required sentences to be doubled for any felony.
Treatment or Incarceration: National and State Findings on the Efficacy and Cost Savings of Drug Treatment Versus Imprisonment: Doug McVay, Vincent Schiraldi, and Jason Ziedenberg, Jan 30, 2004; This policy brief will survey research that shows that, on the whole, providing drug offenders with treatment is a more cost-effective way of dealing with substance addicted drug and nonviolent offenders than prison.
Treatment or Incarceration: National and State Findings on the Efficacy and Cost Savings of Drug Treatment Versus Imprisonment: Doug McVay, Vincent Schiraldi, and Jason Ziedenberg, Jan 30, 2004; This policy brief will survey research that shows that, on the whole, providing drug offenders with treatment is a more cost-effective way of dealing with substance addicted drug and nonviolent offenders than prison.
Cost and Benefits? The Impact of Drug Imprisonment in New Jersey: Vincent Schiraldi and Jason Ziedenberg, Oct 1, 2003; Of the country’s 2 million prisoners,450,000 are incarcerated in prison or jail for drug offenses—more people than the European Union, an entity with a 100 million more people, has in prison for all crimes combined.
Drug Policies in the State of Michigan—Economic Effects: Nancy E. Walker, Francisco A. Villarruel, Thomas Judd, Jessica Roman, Apr 1, 2003; At a cost of approximately $28,000 per person, the State of Michigan currently spends in excess of $160 million dollars each year to incarcerate drug offenders.
Drugs and Disparity: The Racial Impact of Illinois' Practice of Transferring Young Drug Offenders to Adult Court: Jason Ziedenberg, Apr 1, 2001; As a result of laws passed in the mid-80s, 99% percent of the youth in Cook County, Illinois transferred to adult court for drug crimes are African-American or Latino.
Poor Prescription: The Cost of Imprisoning Drug Offenders in the United States: Vincent Schiraldi, Barry Holman, and Phillip Beaty, Jul 1, 2000; Americans will spend nearly $40 billion on prisons and jails in the year 2000. Almost $24 billion of that will go to incarcerate 1.2 million nonviolent offenders.

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