Drug Possession as a Criminal Matter
In the USA, drug possession can be based on a criminal matter. This is because possession of some illicit drugs is deemed to violate several state and federal laws. According to the Federal and State laws, it is considered a crime to willingly possess some illegal drugs or substances such as cocaine, marijuana, heroin, LSD, methamphetamine.
Moreover, many people in the USA are often incarcerated for drug offenses. In this case, property and violent crime rates increased as a result of drug use among Americans of all age groups. The possession of drugs has led many people in the USA to be prosecuted and charged with drug offenses. The prosecution of drug offenses does not only lead people to short or long term imprisonment but leads to several collateral consequences. Individuals with prosecuted with drug offenses, often suffer from long-term criminal record, which prevents them from future employment, excludes them from public housing, and further leads the individuals to harsher punishment for future crimes.
Nevertheless, in some states, a conviction of drug offense leads to an automatic suspension of a person’s driving license (Bernadette n.p). This occurs regardless of whether the individual’s car was or never involved in the act. However, in other states, drug convictions people are often denied food stamps. Also, students can further lose their federal student’s aid, when convicted with drug offenses.
Eventually, criminal convictions related to drug offenses have been a driving mechanism of deporting immigrants from the United States. For instance, one out of four deportations occurred due to drug convictions between 2007 and 2012. The possession of drugs is considered a criminal act, which has led to collateral consequences to drug offenders’ in the future.
Work Cited
Bernadette, Rabuy. “Have We Gone Too Far Myth Busting Criminal Justice Reform? Drug Policy Is Still Important”. Prisonpolicy.Org, 2020, https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2016/05/23/drugs_still_matter/.