Deck 12: Drug Law, Drug Treatment

Question 1

The administration of President Barak Obama has:

A) intensified the "War on Drugs."
B) maintained the "War on Drugs" more or less unchanged the way his predecessor had.
C) moderated or tempered the "War on Drugs" somewhat.
D) been inconsistent about the "War on Drugs"-prosecuted ruthlessly in some years and abandoned it, tolerating illicit drug use, during other years.
E) prosecuted the "War on Drugs" in a clandestine, secret, unknowable fashion.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Under federal law, marijuana:

A) may be used, by prescription, for medicinal purposes.
B) is a Schedule I drug and may not be used for any purposes whatsoever (except extremely rarely granted experimental purposes).
C) is decriminalized.
D) is legalized.
E) none of the above.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which U.S. president renewed President Richard Nixon's "War on Drugs"?

A) Gerald Ford
B) Jimmy Carter
C) Ronald Reagan
D) Bill Clinton
E) George Bush

Answer 3

C

Question 4

MacCoun and Reuter calculate that for which of the following substances is the elasticity index the greatest-that is, there is the greatest decrease in purchases, given a 1 percent increase in price?

A) heroin.
B) cigarettes.
C) marijuana.
D) MacCoun and Reuter argue that calculating the elasticity index is impossible because such an outcome as drug purchases, given price, cannot be known.
E) none of the above.

Question 5

The disparity in rates of incarceration is:

A) greater for men versus women than for blacks versus whites.
B) greater for women versus men than for blacks versus whites.
C) about the same for men versus women as for blacks versus whites.
D) unknown-and unknowable.
E) none of the above.

Question 6

Methadone is:

A) a stimulant that is used to treat methamphetamine abusers.
B) a barbiturate that is used to treat alcoholism.
C) safe, nonaddicting, and without euphoric effect at any dosage.
D) a narcotic that is used to treat opiate addiction.
E) none of the above.

Question 7

Roughly nine out of ten inmates in state prisons are:

A) white.
B) black, or African American.
C) men.
D) women.
E) none of the above.

Question 8

In the past several decades, ________.

A) both the crime rate and the number of persons incarcerated in prison have increased
B) the crime rate has increased, but the number of persons incarcerated in prison has decreased
C) the crime rate has decreased, but the number of persons incarcerated in prison has increased
D) both the crime rate and the number of persons incarcerated in prison have decreased
E) none of the above

Question 9

According to the National Household Survey, between the late 1970s and the more recent survey, the use of cocaine by the American population:

A) has increased.
B) has decreased.
C) has remained stable.
D) has fluctuated wildly and erratically from year to year.
E) remains unknown and unknowable.

Question 10

More than half of all inmates in state prisons were convicted and incarcerated for which of the following offenses?

A) drug offenses
B) weapons, explosives, arson
C) immigration offenses
D) property offenses
E) violent offenses

Question 11

Evaluations of drug treatment programs have demonstrated a failure rate of:

A) 0 percent-all programs are 100 percent effective.
B) roughly 10-20 percent.
C) roughly 50 percent.
D) roughly 70-90 percent.
E) 100 percent-no program successfully treats any of its patients.

Question 12

In Drug War Heresies, drug experts Robert MacCoun and Peter Reuter argue that it is plausible that decreasing drug penalties will:

A) substantially increase illicit drug use.
B) substantially decrease illicit drug use.
C) not substantially increase use.
D) have an unknown impact on drug use.
E) none of the above.

Question 13

The number of inmates incarcerated in jail and prison in the United States between 1980 and the early 2000s:

A) has increased.
B) has decreased.
C) has remained stable.
D) has fluctuated wildly and erratically from year to year.
E) remains unknown and unknowable.

Question 14

Approximately what percentage of the federal prison population is made up of drug offenders?

A) none-drug possession and sale are not federal offenses
B) a minority, though a substantial minority-about 20-25 percent
C) about half (roughly 50-55 percent)
D) a substantial majority-about 75 percent
E) all of them (100 percent)

Question 15

MacCoun and Reuter also argue that outright legalization might:

A) substantially increase illicit drug use.
B) substantially decrease illicit drug use.
C) not substantially increase drug use.
D) have an unknown impact on drug use.
E) none of the above.

Question 16

The current federal law that penalizes drug possession and sale is referred to as the:

A) Harrison Act.
B) Marihuana Tax Act.
C) Drug Control Act (or Controlled Substances Act).
D) Punitive Drug Strike Law.
E) Richard Milhous Nixon Anti-Drug Law.

Question 17

Drug courts:

A) sentence drug offenders to the maximum possible mandatory prison terms.
B) are criminal courts that are instituted to penalize drug dealers.
C) divert drug offenders into treatment programs.
D) were set up to serve an unknown function.
E) none of the above.

Question 18

Alcohol is:

A) not mentioned anywhere in the Controlled Substances Act.
B) classified as a Schedule I drug.
C) classified as a Schedule II drug.
D) classified as a Schedule III drug.
E) none of the above.

Question 19

In the short run, that is, after 2000, the race to incarcerate offenders of all crimes and drug offenders specifically:

A) has accelerated.
B) has slowed down.
C) remains the same.
D) fluctuates wildly and erratically from year to year.
E) remains unknown, and unknowable.

Question 20

Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are:

A) not mentioned anywhere in the Controlled Substances Act.
B) all classified as Schedule I drugs.
C) all classified as Schedule II drugs.
D) all classified as Schedule II-V drugs.
E) none of the above.

Question 21

Some observers argue that the passage and enforcement of the American drug laws have worked to control drug abuse in the United States, while others have argued that they have been a clear-cut failure. Cite evidence on both sides of the argument. Which side seems to you to be a stronger argument? What does that imply for current and future drug policy?

Question 22

Summarize the four modalities of drug treatment.

Question 23

What are drug courts and how effective are they?

Question 24

Do you see increasing the price of cigarettes and alcohol to almost prohibitive levels as the solution to the legal drug problem? What about a return to alcohol prohibition-with the addition of prohibiting the sale and distribution of cigarettes? Is this a wise policy?

Question 25

Has the recent abuse of prescription narcotics added to the drug abuse problem or simply switched the abuse of one narcotic for another? Be detailed and specific in your answer.

Question 26

Regardless of the evidence supporting one or the other side of this argument, what do you think will be the actual drug control policy during the coming decade or two?

Question 27

This chapter detailed two substantially different punitive or deterrence arguments. What are they and how do they differ? Why is this distinction important when evaluating how effectively criminalization deters drug use and distribution?

Question 28

If drug courts are as effective as their supporters claim, why haven't they substantially reduced drug abuse to a minor social problem?

Question 29

Describe the drug war ideology.

Question 30

Predict what you believe the U.S. drug policy will look like a century from now.

Question 31

What factors limit law enforcement's capacity to eradicate drug use and distribution?

Question 32

Decades ago, the typical or most common narcotic addict was an urban minority male. How has the picture changed in the past 10 years or so?

Question 33

Which of the various substance treatment programs currently in practice is the most effective one overall? If there is no single best overall problem, which ones work for which sectors of the abusing population?

Question 34

Should methadone be administered to all narcotic addicts? Why or why not?

Question 35

Which is the best drug treatment policy-the same program for all clients ("one size fits all") or a different program for different clients? Or is the truth somewhere in between?

Question 36

The available evidence suggests that:

A) drug treatment programs are a failure-they cost the taxpayer too much money and they don't work.
B) the longer a client remains in a treatment program the greater the likelihood of improvement.
C) all clients who go through a program show measurable improvements.
D) methadone maintenance clients evidence a huge improvement in rates of employment and alcohol consumption.
E) cocaine abusers demonstrate no declines in levels of alcohol consumption.