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The article explores the potential impact of drug decriminalization and gun criminalization on the African American population with regard to racial justice issues in the U.S. Topics discussed include the history and enforcement of drug laws in the country, the prosecution and conviction of African Americans for drug offenses, and the way gun control measures may help promote safer interactions between law enforcement personnel and African Americans.

Drugs--conspiracy--approach to sentencing--youth and immaturity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An enduring legacy of the war on drugs is a law enforcement emphasis on arresting low-level drug offenders. Policymakers assert that drug arrests reduce subsequent drug offending; yet, scant research assesses the specific deterrent effects of drug arrest. Likewise, little research examines the collateral consequences of drug arrest on measures of social bonding. NLSY97 data were used to examine the effect of drug arrest on drug offending (marijuana use, hard drug use, drug sales) and social bonding (highest grade, weeks employed, annual income). Results indicate that drug arrest did not reduce any measure of drug offending but had considerable negative consequences on blacks’ employment outcomes. These findings suggest that recent policy proposals to de-emphasize low-level drug arrests are unlikely to increase drug offending and may reduce the negative collateral consequences of drug arrest at least for blacks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports the decision of the British Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) in the case 'R. v Burton (Norman)' concerning drug trafficking laws. It informs that the court convicted the appellant of conspiracy fraudulently to evade the prohibition on the importation of a Class A drug, namely cocaine.

The article explores ways to overcome societal challenges to reduce opioid overdose fatalities in the U.S. and discusses the Maryland's opioid overdose response programs aimed to reduce the number of opioid overdose fatalities in the cases when emergency medical services are not available.

The article reports the decision of Great Britain Court of Appeals in case R. v. Sidlauskas (Emesias), in which defendant Emesias Sidlauskas was pleaded guilty for fraudulently evading the prohibition on khat, Class C drug importation. Topics discussed include claims charged under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, judgment issued by the court for rejection of a suspended sentence option and the Great Britain Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

The article reports the decision of the British Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) in the cases "R. v Knights (Secretary of State for Justice intervening)" concerning issues like possession of drug with intent to supply.

The article reports the decision of the British Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) in the cases "R. v Shahadat (Zaydene)" concerning issues like possession of drug with intent to supply.

The author discusses Great Britain Divisional Court of Appeal case R. v Dang (Manh Toan) wherein appellants was convicted for production of controlled drug cannabis under Great Britain Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Topics discussed include conspiracy about supplying hydroponic and other products for assisting others to grow cannabis plants, conspiracy about producing cannabis, and consideration of statutory conspiracy in case of mere selling of equipment whose uses might be unlawful.

The paper presents the results of an empirical survey conducted in order to identify Czech drug policy actors' perspectives on illicit drug use and related problems. Q methodology was used to uncover three independent factors representing three different perspectives in a sample of 24 participants. A perspective that emphasizes pragmatism predominated in the sample of participants. It differs from the other two perspectives in lower perceived importance of the drug problem and a more sceptical view of drugs' illicit status and related drug enforcement. The other two perspectives are to some extent complementary in that one rather prefers prohibition and the other puts more emphasis on prevention. Nevertheless, both agree on many general as well as specific aspects of drug policy such as the perceived importance of the problem, the active role of the government in addressing it, and the rejection of any form of illicit drug legalization or normalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article discusses the utility of racial impact statements in the U.S. and the potential obstacles to state implementation. It describes the racial inequalities in the American prison system and discusses their implications. It also explores the various approaches taken by the states and policymakers to alleviate such imbalances. In addition, it provides an overview of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 (ADAA) and policies and legislation mandating the utility of racial impact statements.

The now-infamous "War on Drugs" campaign of the 1980s culminated in the adoption of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which included a provision for a one-hundred-to-one sentencing ratio of powder cocaine to crack cocaine. This ratio provides that the penalty for a crime involving five or ten grams of crack cocaine is equivalent to the sentence for a crime involving five hundred or one thousand grams of powder cocaine. This structure has led to a racial disparity in sentencing because African Americans are more often charged with a crack cocaine offense than Caucasians, who are usually indicted for powder cocaine possession. Despite importunate pleas from various social justice groups, Congress has not amended the statute, causing courts to grapple with addressing the flaws of the Act. The result is a split among US. courts of appeals regarding not only the meaning of the Act but also the policy behind the penalty scheme. This Note addresses the unresolved circuit split and courts' policy disagreements with the sentencing structure, ultimately advocating for a joint legislative and judicial solution that permits courts to embrace a modern comprehension of the drug problem in the United States while achieving a consistent federal policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The War on Drugs has mostly been analyzed through. (i) the race, class and gendered nature of the crusade, and (ii) the utility of this domestic criminal justice agenda for broader US. imperial ambitions. A third aspect, however, is the convergence of drug war legislation with that of immigration policy and the production of a transnational population of U.S. deportees. In this article, based on six years of ethnographic study with deported subjects in both New York and Santo Domingo and using the concept of social bulimia, we describe and analyze the ways in which the war on drugs has directly and indirectly influenced deportees' lives, severely limiting their life chances and finally banishing them for life. We focus on five periods in their life course: (i) settlement in the US.; (ii) pathways to the criminal justice system; (iii) the US. prison experience; (iv) deportation; and (v) resettlement in the Dominican Republic. We conclude that the drugs war has had durable impacts on the most vulnerable communities in our society and that its collateral effects now stretch around the globe and across generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heroin, a derivative of opium, was first created in 1874 and was marketed in 1898 as a cough medicine by a German pharmaceutical company. In Britain, the dispensing of heroin was initially restricted to pharmacists under the general pharmacy and poisons legislation. Just 22 years later, the Dangerous Drugs Act 1920 made it a criminal offence to manufacture, sell, distribute or possess heroin for non-medical purposes. This article attempts to explain this major shift in the regulation of heroin by drawing on David Garland's influential book Punishment and Welfare. Garland traces the fundamental transformation in social regulation that occurred at the turn of the twentieth century, arguing that a new penal-welfarism emerged which was to underpin the welfarist politics that held sway until the 1970s. It is argued that by locating the shift in heroin regulation in this wider context of social change, some new insights are revealed. In conclusion, some implications of this argument for contemporary approaches to heroin are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports the decision of the British Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) in the case 'R. v Chaplin (Cheraldo)' concerning sentencing laws. It informs that the court approved the appeal against a sentence of 18 months' imprisonment following a guilty plea to an offence of cultivation of cannabis, contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

The article reports the decision of a British Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) in the case "R. v Bakewell (Jeffrey)" concerning sentencing laws. Topics discussed include acquisition cannabis and cocaine; sentence length for possession of drugs with intent to supply; production of drugs; and sentencing guidelines in drug abuse cases.

The article mentions general practice case notes from the High Court and Federal Courts in Australia, as of July 2014. Topics discussed include decision of the High Court in Attorney-General (NT) v. Emmerson case on the Misuse of Drugs Act and Criminal Property Forfeiture Act in Northern Territory, decision of the Federal Court in the SPI PowerNet Pty. Ltd. v. Commissioner of Taxation case on income tax and decision of the Federal Court in Smith v. Repatriation Commission case on repatriation.

The article presents abstracts on topics concerning sociology which include the construction of the Finnish working class, the habit of smoking of white-collar and blue-collar workers in Finland, and Finnish drug policies.