Introduction
Drug addiction has become a menace in America and worldwide. As death tolls are gradually increasing daily and annually, there is a need to establish measures and strategies to help combat this pandemic before it wipes out the entire young and working population of America. A large population of Americans is exposed to drug and substance abuse. However, only a minimal percentage can acquire treatment and rehabilitation programs to help in fighting this harmful compelling behavior. The federal government needs to establish proper and effective measures to mitigate the selling and supply of the narcotics within the American borders. This research paper shall be an educational research paper that shall provide insights on how the government needs to streamline its medical programs to incorporate the drug addicts. The document shall also highlight the newfound role of the criminal justice system in America in terms of drug offenders. This is through the introduction of drug courts and, finally, various opioid treatment models that have been developed to prevent its detrimental impact on the users and help them recover fully from this epidemic.
Issues Addressed
The research paper shall define the fight against drug addiction in America in three distinct ways. The first part of the objective shall focus on making treatment for drug addiction affordable and accessible in America. There shall be deep insights on how the current treatment programs operate and suggest effective measures to help in streamlining the treatment in America. The second part of the objectives shall focus on the role of criminal justice systems in curbing drug addiction. This part shall highlight on the new treatment approach implemented within the drug courts to help drug offenders reform and integrate back into the community. The final phase of the research objective shall focus on the efficiency and effectiveness of the medication-assisted treatment for opioid treatment. Various models of medication-assisted treatment shall be discussed, exploring the advantages and disadvantages of every model in treating drug offenders and addicts.
Research Question
The research question for this study is
- What can be done to fight against the epidemic of drug addiction in America?
Position Statement
The position of this research paper is to take action against drug addiction in America in the following ways. Firstly, increasing the availability, affordability, and accessibility to drug treatment programs. Secondly, it shall address substance abuse measures undertaken within the criminal justice and the healthcare systems.
Discussion for Purpose
The research shall discuss the various ways and sectors that can help in eradicating drug addiction in America; it shall explain the healthcare system, criminal justice system, and its evolution towards establishing a treatment approach towards drug offenders. Finally, it shall highlight how medication-assisted programs are implemented towards opioid substance abuse disorder patients.
A Review of Literature
Various past researches and literature shall be utilized in deriving relevant information to help establish feasible details for the study. A research carried out by Hall in 2014 speaks about the compulsory treatment plans for the patient's best interests. The research highlights the need for detoxification of the patients to establish clarity in thinking and functionality. The study also highlights the complete integrated care for drug addicts (Hall et al., 2014). However, there are no defined measures outlined on how the American care system has been developed to treat patients with substance use disorders. Another research was undertaken by Pokrajac in 2016 focused on the stigma, drug addicts undergo, and the treatment. The study focuses on improving psychosocial treatment to ensure efficiency within the patient's body before medication administered (Pokrajac et al., 2016). However, the research does not clearly describe how the healthcare system helps in curbing stigma among drug patients.
In another research this year 2020, Askari speaks on treatment for opioid use disorder treatment and specialty outpatient programs. The study highlights various models such as hub and spoke model, collaborative opioid prescribing model, etc. and how effective the models have been implemented towards treating opioid substance users (Askari et al., 2020). It clearly describes the advantages and disadvantages of these models and their relevance in curbing opioid abuse. Kaplan undertook a study in 2019 that focuses on treatment through medications for opioid substance disorder patients. The research integrates medications utilized in the treatment program such as buprenorphine and naltrexone and their effects (Kaplan, 2019). However, there are no clear effects of the medicines on the prefrontal cortex and other brain parts.
Another key research is Hoffman's research in 2017 regarding drug court programs. The study provides deep insights into the strategy of drug court programs in decreasing recidivism among drug offenders (Hoffman, 2017). There is also a description of the key principles incorporated within the drug court systems. Another study by Mei in 2019 focuses on the collaborative framework in the mechanism of the drug court model. The study highlights the integrated collaborative framework and its contribution to the integration of efficient treatment programs of the drug courts (Mei et al., 2019). It discusses effective communication, shared knowledge and resources, and strengthened relationships among the offenders and judges.
General Search Idea
The paper shall incorporate data collection through secondary sources such as peer-reviewed journals, past researches on combating drug addiction in America. This involves intensive research and information gathering from recent studies and interpretation of the appropriate course of action to be implemented to enhance the treatment of drug addicts. This project is expected to undertake approximately one month for full data collection, analysis, and writing.
Key Challenges
Some of the primary challenges anticipated during this research study are outdated information from scholarly journals and peer-reviewed articles. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, it shall be very difficult to collect first-hand data collection methods such as interviews and questionnaires from drug institutions such as the National Institute on Drug Abuse(NIDA). Therefore, feasibility of the research findings may be questionable.
