Deck 37: The Debate Over Legalization Appendices Glossary References Index

Question 1

Research has shown that of the money seized by federal authorities under the forfeiture laws comes from people who are never indicted for a drug related offense.

A) 10 percent
B) 25 percent
C) 50 percent
D) 80 percent

Answer 1

80 percent

Question 2

Your text argues that the "war on drugs" can also be viewed as

A) an attempt to control the mass public through the media's portrayal of illicit drug abusers.
B) a "war" on those who wish to alter their consciousness in ways deemed inappropriate by the government.
C) a conflict between those who want all drugs legalized, and those who wish to suppress the use of illicit compounds.
D) a way to reduce the demand on the health care system.

Answer 2

a "war" on those who wish to alter their consciousness in ways deemed inappropriate by the government.

Question 3

In the minds of many, the medicalization of marijuana is

A) justified since medical research supports this use of marijuana.
B) the same as the legalization of marijuana.
C) appropriate for the reasons approved by the federal government.
D) an excuse to make all illicit drug use legal.

Answer 3

the same as the legalization of marijuana.

Question 4

Interdiction efforts

A) intercept the majority of the illicit drugs sent to this country.
B) intercept only a small percentage of the illicit drugs sent to this country.
C) result in a small number of low-level dealers being arrested while higher-level dealers escape.
D) produce widespread shortages of the targeted product.

Question 5

The "Zero Tolerance" laws of the 1980s allowed law enforcement officials to seize property

A) after it was proven drug profits had been used to purchase it.
B) if there was strong evidence to suggest it was somehow involved in the marketing or distribution of illicit drugs.
C) if the person who owned it was proven to be a drug dealer.
D) on the mere suspicion drug profits were used to buy it.

Question 6

In 2001, Portugal revised the legal sanctions against illicit drug use so the consequences were in proportion to the crimes. Since then, they found

A) the number of illicit drug users has remained about the same, and demand on the health care system has stopped growing each year.
B) the quality of illicit drugs has dropped, since drug dealers no longer had to worry about customer loyalty in an era when the consequences for use were lower.
C) there is a reduced demand on the health care system.
D) the number of illicit drugs being smuggled into the country appears to be about the same each year, although interdiction is now easier.

Question 7

The "war on drugs" has been shown to be a dismal failure, though your text claims

A) there is still a strong belief it will work.
B) nobody wants to admit this in public.
C) for a few billion dollars more, we can win the war on drugs.
D) marijuana abuse by high school seniors is only 80 percent of what it was a decade ago.

Question 8

As a result of abuses of zero tolerance statutes

A) some police departments have been known to rely on money and property seized under the forfeiture laws for part of their operating budget each year.
B) independent audits have shown that these laws are virtually always used appropriately and never abused.
C) fewer drug dealers are using drug profits to buy property in the U.S.
D) illicit drug use in the U.S. has declined by 35 percent.

Question 9

The most dangerous compound sold in the United States is

A) heroin.
B) cocaine.
C) methamphetamine.
D) tobacco products.

Question 10

President Richard M. Nixon believed

A) people above the age of 25 had little experience with marijuana and were uninterested in it.
B) people consumed alcohol because they liked its taste, not because of its intoxicating effects.
C) the apparent statistical correlation between those who abused marijuana and those who were protesting against the conflict in Vietnam was a coincidence and not worth considering.
D) marijuana use disorders should be addressed through the medical system.

Question 11

At its height, the sale and distribution of illegal alcohol

A) employed about 18,000 people in an era when jobs were hard to come by.
B) produced jobs mainly in the southeast where the manufacture of "shine" (moonshine) was common.
C) made up 5 percent of the gross national product of the U.S.
D) inhibited the growth of organized crime because there were so many amateur bootleggers and distributors at work.

Question 12

The first leg of the four-cornered response to the substance use disorders is the

A) destruction of transportation routes used to bring drugs into the U.S.
B) elimination of raw materials used to manufacture such chemicals.
C) application of legal sanctions against those who engage in the sale or use of illegal compounds.
D) referral of persons with substance use disorders to rehabilitation facilities.

Question 13

In spite of advocate claims that "treatment works"

A) the addiction rehabilitation industry has failed to reduce recidivism by more than 10 percent.
B) the addiction rehabilitation industry has failed to meet expectations for helping people achieve long-term abstinence.
C) the addiction rehabilitation industry has been found to cost more than it would to incarcerate rather than treat individuals.
D) only those programs that include a 12-step component have been found effective.

Question 14

Another unintended consequence of the "war on drugs" is that

A) law enforcement agencies have become financially dependent on state and federal grants provided each year to help them in the "war on drugs."
B) many states are now forced to spend almost as much money on new prison construction as they do on college classroom construction/renovations.
C) communities fight against the possibility of having a new prison built there, which is a reflection of the "not in my back yard" phenomenon.
D) communities have found the concentration of drugs in the hands of a few dealers has drawn large numbers of drug abusers to those communities as they seek easy access to suppliers.

Question 15

The substance use disorders are

A) the only medical conditions for which there are legal sanctions.
B) a barometer by which a politician's commitment to the "war on crime" might be measured.
C) a manifestation of criminal activity, not a medical condition.
D) limited to a small segment of society; thus, suspension of this group's legal rights is justified.

Question 16

Successful efforts at interdiction

A) reduce drug availability and lower the potency of the product sold.
B) cause distributors to increase the potency of their product to retain customers and encourage others to sell drugs.
C) encourage abusers to seek out that supplier; they reason that if he was arrested, he must have been selling a potent product.
D) discourage others from attempting to sell alcohol or drugs in that location.

Question 17

With the increased success of the interdiction of methamphetamine

A) "mom and pop" laboratories began to appear across the country.
B) "mom and pop" laboratories began to shut down as abusers switched to other drugs of abuse and demand dropped.
C) "mom and pop" laboratories began to be replaced by "super­labs" in other countries that produced huge amounts of methamphetamine, which was then smuggled into this country.
D) the demand for methamphetamine increased as casual users wanted to experiment with it.

Question 18

Drug dealers, it has been claimed, are only interested in selling their product without consideration for the harm it does. To combat this trend

A) the Drug Enforcement Administration has become just as cold and indifferent to the suffering forced on the drug dealers.
B) stiff legal sanctions are only applied to middle to upper level drug dealers.
C) casual abusers are not charged with drug possession by the Drug Enforcement Administration if it is their first offense.
D) constitutional rights are more strongly respected to avoid having arrestees escape charges because their rights were violated.

Question 19

The Boggs Act laws were passed on the assumption that

A) we are winning the "war on drugs."
B) virtually all people believe we should execute convicted drug dealers.
C) it is possible to punish unacceptable behaviors out of existence.
D) most people want to enlist the resources of the military to help win the "war on drugs."

Question 20

If you, as a politician, change the existing legal sanctions addressing illicit substance use or alcohol abuse, you may be accused of

A) being irrational.
B) having a hidden substance use disorder of your own.
C) being soft on crime.
D) being out of touch with the realities of modern life.

Question 21

The United States consumes about of the world's illicit drugs.

A) 66 percent
B) 33 percent
C) 50 percent
D) 10 percent

Question 22

Following the start of prohibition, crime increased by

A) 200 percent.
B) 24 percent.
C) 5 percent.
D) 50 percent.

Question 23

Statutes allowing for criminal prosecutions for any amount of an illegal substance are known as

A) mandatory sentencing.
B) tough on crime.
C) crime reduction.
D) zero­tolerance.

Question 24

of those who begin to use an illicit substance discontinue it in the first year.

A) Half
B) A third
C) Nearly all
D) Almost none

Question 25

One theory is that if marijuana were to be legalized

A) it would lose its appeal as a drug of abuse since it would no longer be forbidden.
B) the government would save approximately $100 billion spent each year to suppress marijuana use.
C) there would be a decrease in marijuana-related deaths.
D) there would be a person on every street corner selling marijuana.

Question 26

Discuss how the "war on drugs" might be considered a failure, even in how some of its "successes" may unintentionally exacerbate the problem.

Question 27

Discuss some of the unintended consequences of the historical period known as "Prohibition."

Question 28

Try to sum up the rapidly evolving debate surrounding the legalization of marijuana.

Question 29

Discuss some of the unintended consequences of today's "war on drugs."

Question 30

Discuss the consequences of mandatory sentencing laws.