War on Drugs Essay Example for Free

War on Drugs Essay Not surprisingly, cases like the foregoing generated a public backlash-perhaps the only significant one since the War on Drugs was declared in 1982. It pressured Congress into creating what is known as the innocent owner defense to such in rem forfeitures, but even that gesture of reasonableness is largely illusory. First, the defense does not redress the gross imbalance between the value of property forfeited and the personal culpability of the owner. For example, a Vermont man was found guilty of growing six marijuana plants. He received a suspended sentence, but he and his family lost their 49-acre farm. Similarly, a New York man forfeited his $145,000 condominium because he sold cocaine to an informant for $250. The law provides no limit to the value of property subject to forfeiture, even for very minor drug offenses. Second, the innocent owner defense places the burden on the property claimant to demonstrate that he or she acted or failed to act without knowledge, consent or willful blindness of the drug activities of the offender. Thus, the Federal government instituted forfeiture proceedings in the Delray Beach, Fla. , area against numerous properties containing convenience stores or other businesses where drug transactions took place, claiming that the owners made insufficient efforts to prevent drug dealings. Placing the burden on the claimant imposes expense and inconvenience because the claimant must hire a lawyer to mount a challenge to the seizure. Moreover, many cases involve the family house or car, and it often is difficult to prove that one family member had no knowledge of or did not consent to the illegal activities of another. For instance, a Florida court held that a claimant did not use reasonable care to prevent her husband from using her automobile in criminal activity; thus, she was not entitled to the innocent owner defense. A particularly cruel application of this kind of vicarious responsibility for the wrongs of another is seen in the governments policy of evicting impoverished families from public housing because of the drug activities of one unruly child. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 specifically states that a tenants lease is a forfeitable property interest and that public housing agencies have the authority to hire investigators to determine whether drug laws are being broken. The act authorizes eviction if a tenant, member of his or her household, guest, or other person under his or her control is engaged in drug-related activity on or near public housing premises. To carry out these provisions, the act funded a pilot enforcement program. In 1990, the Departments of Justice and Housing and Urban Development announced a Public Housing Asset Forfeiture Demonstration Project in 23 states. The project pursued lease forfeitures and generated considerable publicity. In passing this law, it must have been obvious to Congress that many innocent family members would suffer along with the guilty. Perhaps it was thought vital, nonetheless, as a way of protecting other families from drugs in public housing projects. As experience proves, however, even evicted dealers continue to deal in and around the projects. It is hard to take public housing lease forfeitures very seriously, therefore, other than as a symbolic statement of the governments tough stand against illegal drugs. Destructive consequences A policy that destroys families, takes property from the innocent, and tramples the basic criminal law principles of personal responsibility, proportionality, and fairness has spillover effects into other public policy domains. One area in which the fanaticism of the drug warriors perhaps is most evident is public health. Drugs such as marijuana and heroin have well-known medical applications. Yet, so zealous are the anti-drug forces that even these therapeutic uses effectively have been banned. Marijuana, for instance, has many applications as a safe and effective therapeutic agent. Among them are relief of the intraocular pressure caused by glaucoma and alleviating the nausea caused by chemotherapy. Some AIDS patients also have obtained relief from using cannabis. Yet, marijuana is classified by the Attorney General of the U. S. , not the Surgeon General, as a Schedule I drug-one having a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medicinal use, and lack of accepted safety for utilization. It thereby is deemed beyond the scope of legitimate medical practice and thus is not generally available to medical practitioners. The only exception was an extremely limited program of compassionate treatment of the terminally or seriously ill, but even that has been eliminated for political reasons. Assistant Secretary James O. Mason of the Department of Health and Human Services announced in 1991 that the Public Health Services provision of marijuana to patients seriously ill with AIDS would be discontinued because it would create a public perception that this stuff cant be so bad. After a review caused by protests from AIDS activists, the Public Health Service decided in March, 1992, to stop supplying marijuana to any patients save the 13 then receiving it. There also are beneficial uses for heroin. Terminal cancer patients suffering from intractable pain generally obtain quicker analgesic relief from heroin than from morphine. Many doctors believe that heroin should be an option in the pharmacopeia. Accordingly, in 1981, the American Medical Association House of Delegates adopted a resolution stating that the management of pain relief in terminal cancer patients should be a medical decision and should take priority over concerns about drug dependence. Various bills to accomplish that goal were introduced in the 96th, 97th, and 98th Congresses. The Compassionate Pain Relief Act was brought to the House floor for a vote on Sept. 19, 1984, but was defeated by 355 to 55. Although there were some concerns voiced about thefts from hospital pharmacies, the overwhelming concern was political and symbolic a heroin legalization bill could not be passed in an election year and, in any event, would send the public the wrong message. The final and perhaps most outrageous example in this catalog of wrongs against public health care is the nearly universal American refusal to permit established addicts to exchange used needles for sterile ones in order to prevent AIDS transmission among intravenous drug users. In 1991, the National Commission on AIDS recommended the removal of legal barriers to the purchase and possession of intravenous drug injection equipment. It found that 32% of all adult and adolescent AIDS cases were related to intravenous drug use and that 70% of mother-to-child AIDS infections resulted from intravenous drug use by the mother or her sexual partner. Moreover the commission found no evidence that denial of access to sterile needles reduced drug abuse, but concluded that it did encourage the sharing of contaminated needles and the spread of the AIDS virus. Notwithstanding the commissions criticism of the governments myopic criminal justice approach to the drug situation, the prevailing view is that needle exchange programs encourage drug abuse by sending the wrong message. Public safety is sacrificed when, nationwide, more than 18,000 local, sheriffs, and state police officers, in addition to thousands of Federal agents, are devoted full time to special drug units. As a result, countless hours and dollars are diverted from detecting and preventing more serious violent crimes. Thirty percent of an estimated 1,100,000 drug-related arrests made during 1990 were marijuana offenses, nearly four out of five for mere possession. Tax dollars would be spent better if the resources it took to make approximately 264,000 arrests for possession of marijuana were dedicated to protecting the general public from violent crime. The intensive pursuit of drug offenders has generated an enormous population of convicts held in prison for very long periods of time as a result of excessive and/or mandatory jail terms. It is estimated that the operating cost of maintaining a prisoner ranges from $20,000 to $40,000 per year, depending upon the location and level of security at a particular prison. With more than 800,000 men and women in American correctional facilities today, the nationwide cost approaches $30,000,000,000 per year. This is a major diversion of scarce resources. These financial burdens are only part of the price incurred as a result of the relentless drive to achieve higher and higher arrest records. More frightening and damaging are the injuries and losses caused by the early release of violent criminals owing to prison overcrowding. Commonly, court orders impose population caps, so prison authorities accelerate release of violent felons serving non-mandatory sentences in order to free up beds for non-violent drug offenders serving mandatory, non-parolable terms. For example, to stay abreast of its rapidly growing inmate population, Florida launched one of the nations most ambitious early release programs. However, prisoners serving mandatory terms most of them drug offenders, who now comprise 36% of the total prison population are ineligible. As a result, the average length of sentence declined dramatically for violent criminals, while it rose for drug offenders. Murderers, robbers, and rapists often serve less time than a cocaine mule carrying a kilo on a bus, who gets a mandatory 15-year term. A Department of Justice survey showed that 43% of state felons on probation were rearrested for a crime within three years of sentencing. In short, violent criminals are released early to commit more crimes so that their beds can be occupied by nonviolent drug offenders. Civil libertarians are not heard often defending a societal right to be secure from violent criminals, much less a right of victims to see just punishment meted out to offenders. In this they are as shortsighted as their law-and-order counterparts. The War on Drugs is a public safety disaster, making victims of us all. However uncomfortable it may be to admit, the undeniable reality is that drugs always have been and always will be a presence in society. Americans have been paying too high a price for the governments War on Drugs. As Federal judge William Schwarzer has said, It behooves us to think that it may profit us very little to win the war on drugs if in the process we lose our soul. http://www. serendipity. li/wod. html

Powerful Theme and Allusions to Sex in Andersons Womanhood :: Anderson Womanhood Essays

Powerful Theme and Allusions to Sex in Anderson's Womanhood    Catherine Anderson's poem "Womanhood" tells about a young girl and her transition to womanhood.   In this intricately woven poem the reader will learn very little about the girl.   Neither she nor her mother are ever named, and no information is given about them or their family life.   What the reader does discover is what lies ahead for her as she begins her first day sewing rugs.   The poem begins a few moments before she enters the gates of the sweatshop that symbolizes her entry into womanhood.   Anderson uses metaphor within this poem to dramatize the difference in what lies ahead for her.   She should be looking forward to a bright and cheerful future, instead, she is faced with the drudgery of a life working in a sweatshop sewing rugs.   Anderson has woven this poem together so there is a link created between the first and second stanzas of the poem.   Each line in the first stanza, describing the carefree attitude of the young girl correlates with a line in th e second stanza illustrating how her life will be far different after she enters the gates of the factory and womanhood.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Within this poem there are many references or allusions to sex.   Most women are considered to have entered womanhood when they have their first sexual experience with a man.   Anderson plays up this aspect of becoming a woman in the poem to symbolize the girl's losing her innocence and youth to work in the sweatshop.   In essence, she is losing her virginity to that same sweatshop.   The first of these allusions to sex is in the opening lines of the poem; "she slides over/the hot upholstery" (1,2).   The young girl is described as sliding over hot upholstery, like girls sometimes do to snuggle up next to their boyfriends when driving a car.   This verse can also be seen as a metaphor for the hot young skin of a beautiful young girl.   Another example of these references is when Anderson describes the girl   as "loves humming & swaying to the music" (5).   This can be seen as the act of sexual intercourse itself.   The rhythmic swaying of bodies can be seen as little else especially when paired with line 25, "rocking back and forth"(25).   This is further emphasized by Anderson by her use of the ampersand signs (&) which she only uses in these two lines.

New System Proposal Essay

Riordan Manufacturing is a global plastics manufacturer employing 550 people with projected annual earnings of $46 million. The company is wholly owned by Riordan Industries, a Fortune 1000 enterprise with revenues in excess of $1 billion. Its products include plastic beverage containers produced at its plant in Albany, Georgia, custom plastic parts produced at its plant in Pontiac, Michigan, and plastic fan parts produced at its facilities in Hangzhou, China. The company’s research and development is done at the corporate headquarters in San Jose. Riordan’s major customers are automotive parts manufacturers, aircraft manufacturers, the Department of Defense, beverage makers and bottlers, and appliance manufacturers. As you can see Riordan is a large company with offices worldwide and communication and travel can be a major expense for the company especially when implementing new lines and technology at one of their facilities. Future statements made by Riordan, We will maintain an innovative and team oriented working environment. By assuring that our employees are well informed and properly supported, we will provide a climate focused on the long term viability of our company. We must be focused in achieving and maintaining reasonable profitability to assure that the financial and human capital is available for sustained growth. As Riordan moves forward with their mission statements the cost of implementing new technology and training employees to operate and manage these new systems costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. The company’s most recent expansion took place in 2014 when it opened its operations in China. At that time, the entire fan manufacturing operation was moved from Michigan to China and the Pontiac, MI facility was retooled for the manufacture of custom plastic parts. During the first quarter of the  expansion travel costs alone just for the training of the ongoing systems integration project surpassed one hundred thousand dollars. We know that Riordan will always be on the forefront of applying new technology and systems to keep up with market trends in the future. This is why implementing the creation, deployment, and support of effective interactive distance learning and communication systems to improve business, is crucial to the ongoing success of the company. The CADE system will reduce thousands of dollars of travel expenses directly related to the training required with each new system at all of the company’s facilities. Developing a distance learning system that will allow Riordan to provide effective training through teleconferencing from their headquarters in San Jose CA to facilities all over the world will reduce expenses by millions of dollars over the long term. The Need for Training and Communication The cornerstone of a competitive organization is its highly trained workforce. In today’s market, product life-cycles are shorter, more complex. The available time for training is greatly reduced. Many companies are downsizing and the responsibilities of those that remain are increased, jobs are consolidated. Corporate communication and training needs have never been more important†¦ Time becomes one of the most limited resources. Regardless of the industry, many of these issues are very much the same: (Velocedge Inc, 2014). High cost and increased difficulty of travel Inability to reach all employees anywhere, anytime High cost of training, continuing education Lack of qualified instructors or presenters Time it takes to get a message to all employees Expensive to develop effective training and communication programs Loss of productivity when employees take off work for travel, training, or meetings Difficulty in transferring knowledge throughout the organization The CADE System The Communications And Distance Education (CADE) system is designed to  facilitate live, interactive programs over a satellite, Internet, or streaming video network as well as capture those programs for later playback. Interactive Satellite Delivery During an interactive broadcast, the instructor or presenter can ask multiple choice, true/false, yes/no, numeric, and multiple selection questions and participants can respond with either wireless remote controls in a classroom setting or through a personal computer. The PC at each remote location collects participant responses from the wireless remotes and transmits them back to the presenter over an intranet or Internet connection. Participants may also speak with the presenter, using voice over IP, PBX, or standard telephone line, and everyone in the broadcast can listen to that conversation. Interactive Web Delivery With CADE eTutor, interactive training and communication programs can be delivered over the Internet/Intranet. It provides the same capabilities of the satellite delivery system, as well as a few extra features, in a desktop version using highly compressed audio and video over IP. Capture All Interaction Participant responses are captured, time-stamped, and stored in a web-based learning management system. In addition to capturing the satellite based information, the CADE system also supports web based training, classroom, paper based, and is fully SCORM compliant. All data in the CADE system is created, managed, and accessed through this web-based portal to the database. CADE System Components The CADE system is comprised of a number of software applications. These applications include: Studio Control System – The instructor or presenter’s interface Virtual Classroom – The remote site control program eTutor – The web-based interactive delivery system Learning Management Web – The web-based learning management system New System Flow Diagram for CADE System at Riordan Manufacturing The new CADE is a free standing system that has virtually no effect or interaction with any of the present Information systems or processes currently in use by Riordan Manufacturing. The CADE system is designed to facilitate live, interactive programs over a satellite, Internet, or streaming video network as well as capture those programs for later playback. CADE is primarily a software based product but it represents a new paradigm in software development, utilizing an effective integration of world-class software components and Internet technologies in an adaptive architecture. To keep pace with today’s rapidly changing world, CADE was designed to incorporate change as quickly as an organization realizes the need for change. Corporate management faces many issues that can keep an organization from being as competitive and profitable as it needs to be†¦ CADE won’t be one of them. As a new or better technology solution is identified, an idea to improve a feature, or a new function desired, that change can be easily incorporated into the CADE products keeping your system continually up to date, meeting each new requirement, and keeping your investment protected. Satellite -Live -On-demand -Prerecorded Interactive Web Training Audio/Video -Live -Prerecorded Web Courses SCORM Classroom Video On Demand Desktop Classroom CADE Advantages to Riordan Interactive Distance Learning Even though there is a lot of talk about distance education, over 90% of all formal training continues to use classroom delivery. The major cost driver of training is delivery. Satellite or web based, Interactive Distance Learning (IDL) provides the benefits of classroom without the large cost. (Velocedge Inc, 2014). . Faster Deliver to more people in less time, Concept to delivery time in hours or days, Cut classroom delivery time in half, Deliver to entire target population in one broadcast Cheaper Fewer experts needed to deliver message, Deliver to more people with less cost, Low cost to develop and deliver content, Incalculable cost savings: time off work, travel, per diem, etc. Better Over 25% improvement in student retention, Most consistent message delivery, one voice Standardized design , Utilize only the most qualified instructors, Provides detailed tracking and reporting (Velocedge Inc, 2014). Presently Riordan’s first quarter number’s pertaining to the General & Administrative line item is over budget one hundred thousand dollars due to travel and per diem expenses related to emergency training of the new systems that have been added. By incorporating the new CADE system to provide long distance training this will eliminate any additional over budget expenses caused by the new systems and also provide low cost long distance training for any future systems that are put in use by the company. The new CADE system will reduce company expenses in many ways: reducing or eliminating travel and per diem costs, reducing course development costs, reducing the number of trainers, reducing the time off work, reducing the time to develop a course, and many other ways. Pricing is based on the number of remote sites you have and the Presentation Studio System that is specified. However, the cost is a fraction of what you are spending now to train your employees. References Velocedge Inc. (2014). velocity and knowledge. Retrieved from http://www.velocedge.com/ Learn.net. (2014). The CADE System. Retrieved from http://www.velocedge.com/CADEnew/Products/index.htm

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