Download Annotated Bibliography

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Vanessa Pratt
Professor Overcash
CAP 402
30 September 2016
Drug Courts: The Cure for the American Legal System’s Addiction to Punishment
Annotated Bibliography
Belenko, Steven. "Research on Drug Courts: A Critical Review." National Drug Court Institute
Review 1.1 (1998): n. pag. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
(CASA) At Columbia University. Web. 28 October 2016.
This article reviewed evaluations from drug courts across the United States and
drew conclusions on the effectiveness of drug courts based on these reviews. The
main conclusions drawn were that the drug court program, in the short-term, is
more cost effective than incarceration of drug offenders, criminal behavior in
participants is lower after drug court graduation, and drug courts provide a more
comprehensive and closer supervision of participants than any other form of
probation. Overall, this article will be used to create a parallel between the close
supervision and comprehensive care of the drug court program with the care
suggested, in other sources, for drug addicts to be successful.
Caulkins, Jonathan, and Sara Chandler. "Long-Run Trends in Incarceration of Drug Offenders in
the United States." Crime and Delinquency 52.4 (2006): 619-41. Qatar National
Research Survey. Web.
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This article provides statistical data and discussion regarding the number of drug
offenders incarcerated in the United States. It breaks down the offenders into
categories depending on their charge, differentiating between dealers and abusers.
The conclusion of the article does not make an argument regarding the
effectiveness of incarceration; however, it provides some statistical information
that can be used as a counter-argument to determine that incarceration can be a
substantial deterrent for drug offenders. However, the bulk of the statistical
information from this article provides evidence that incarceration is not an
effective deterrent for drug offenders.
Finigan, Michael, et al. The Impact of a Mature Drug Court Over 10 Years of Operation:
Recidivism and Costs: Final Report. Portland, OR: NPC Research, 2007. Web. 28
October 2016.
This book examines a drug court program in Portland, Oregon over a ten-year
period from 1991 to 2001. It discusses the recidivism rates under different
circumstances as well as a cost-benefit analysis of the drug court program.
According to the results of the examination, there was a significant reduction in
recidivism rates for drug court participants, even up to 14 years after entry into
the program, when compared to addicts who did not participate in the drug court
program. In addition, because of the decrease in recidivism, there was an
estimated 79 million dollar saving to the city over the ten-year period. It also cost
the taxpayers approximately $1,400 less to support the cost of a drug court
participant than to support the cost of incarcerating the addict. This source also
contains information, such as statistics for years in which the drug program
performed poorly and had low recidivism rates, which could be used to support a
counterargument.
Heshmat, Shahram. Addiction: A Behavioral and Economic Perspective. New York: Routledge,
2015. Print.
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This book provides background information about addiction, including specific
information about how addiction affects brain function. Also included is
information regarding how the addiction process takes over a person’s cognitive
functioning and controls further decision-making processing. There is also
information about who is most likely to become addicted to substances, people
with mental health issues being the most prevalent drug abusers, due to selfmedicating behaviors. Overall, this book will be a good source for background
information regarding the addiction process and can be used to support the
argument that people with addiction need treatment, rather than punishment for
drug offenses.
Hoey, Nicole M. Van. "Trends and Statistics: Illegal Drug Use." Addictions & Substance Abuse.
Ed. Robin Kamienny Montilvo. Hackensack: Salem, 2012. n. pag. Salem Online. Web.
28 October 2016.
This article discusses the measurement of illegal drug use across the United
States. According to the findings, approximately 60 million people admit to
having a history of drug abuse before adulthood. In addition, approximately six
percent of the total population, ages twelve and older, admitted to being current
illegal drug users. This article will be beneficial to demonstrating there is a
substance abuse issue in the United States and may help prove the argument that
the current system of punishment is not working to curb the prevalence of
abusers.
Huddleston, C. West, Douglas B. Marlowe, and Rachel Casebolt. "Painting the Current Picture:
A National Report Card on Drug Courts and Other Problem-Solving Court Programs in
the United States." National Drug Court Institute 2.1 (2008): n. pag. Bureau of Justice
Assistance. Web. 28 October 2016.
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This article provides a substantial amount of information on a significant number
of drug court programs across the United States. There are personal stories from
drug court graduates, as well as specific charts and data regarding recidivism,
costs to taxpayers, and the current number of drug courts in the United States.
Also included in this article is information regarding the number of drug court
clients across the United States, which in 2005, was reported to be at least 70,000
people. This article will be very helpful in making the argument that drug court
programs are making a significant impact on drug abusers and benefiting the
United States as a whole.
Lessenger, James E., and Glade F. Roper. Drug Courts: A New Approach to Treatment and
Rehabilitation. New York: Springer, 2007. Web. 28 October 2016.
This book offers a comprehensive overview of not only drug court programs but
also about addiction, discussing the psychological, biological, and sociological
basis for drug and alcohol addictions. After the comprehensive overview of drug
court programs, there is a complete chapter dedicated to relapse rates, which will
be helpful for my paper because it will provide statistical data regarding how
effective drug programs can be. Also included in this book are multiple sections,
including information about other solutions to addictive behavior, such as
counseling, self-help, and life skills training. These sections may be useful to
provide a counter-argument against why drug court programs should not be used,
because there are already existing programs in place to help rehabilitate addicts.
Robbins TW, and Everitt BJ. "Drug Addiction: Bad Habits Add Up." Nature 398.6728 (1999):
567-70. Web. 28 October 2016.
This source is a biological explanation of what occurs in an addict’s brain when
they engage in drugs. In provides in-depth detail of how drugs and their addictive
effects impact brain function. It discusses what stimuli can bring about relapse, as
well as common addictive substances. Overall, this source will provide in-depth
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background information on what drug addiction looks like and why it is so
difficult to overcome, which will in turn, provide the framework for rehabilitating
drug offenders, rather than incarcerating them.
Speck, et al. "Vulnerable Populations: Drug Court Program Clients." The Nursing Clinics of
North America 43.3 (2008): 477-89. Web. 28 October 2016.
This source provides background information regarding drug court programs
including facts about the first drug court program in Miami Dade, Florida. It also
identifies the three phases of the drug court program in Miami Dade, which was a
model for subsequent drug court programs. The end of the article discusses the
positive outcomes of the drug court program and compares the cost of the drug
court program to the cost of incarcerating the drug addicts. Overall, this source
provides a detailed account of the history of the drug court program as well as the
positives associated with having a program.
Wu LJ, et al. "Predicting Drug Court Outcome among Amphetamine-Using Participants."
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 42.4 (2012): 373-82. Web.
This source provides specific information regarding amphetamine addiction and
how addiction to amphetamines can be more severe to addiction to other
substances. It provides a small section discussing the history of the drug court
programs in the United States, beginning in Miami Dade, Florida. Included in the
background information about the drug court programs, there is a short paragraph
discussing the societal and participant level success and benefits of the drug
program. The bulk of this article performs a case study to compare and contrast
the success of drug court participants who are addicted to amphetamines versus
participants addicted to other substances, concluding that amphetamine users were
less likely to graduate from drug court programs, when compared to people
addicted to other illegal substances.