Abstract
In the past three decades, a veritable revolution has occurred in U.S. criminal law. It has taken place for the most part at the federal level where the number of crimes with which individuals can be charged has grown rapidly. Once there were only three named federal criminal acts: treason, piracy, and counterfeiting. Now there are thousands of federal laws and regulations, and the violation of any one of them, no matter how unintentional and harmless the transgression, can lead to years of imprisonment for the convicted person.

From the Paper
"The large number of offenses, especially those criminalizing the vices, has led some people to question whether or not the criminal law is being overused to achieve moral purposes. This situation, called overcriminalization, occurs when behaviors are made illegal even though they do not cause great societal harm and are not regarded as criminal by a significant portion of society."

Tags:government, federal

Abstract
The paper asserts that to a great degree, drug policy in America has been irrational, based more on fear than evidence. The paper presents research that proves that marijuana does have medicinal value and explains its many therapeutic uses. The paper contends that the federal government is so dedicated to its policy of marijuana prohibition that it ignores all evidence to the contrary, ignores the expressed will of the electorate and ignores all appeals in favor of protecting the policy, not the public. The paper argues that legislators and drug enforcers are not physicians and should not substitute their belief system for demonstrable scientific studies showing that medical marijuana does indeed benefit patients.

From the Paper
"To a great degree, drug policy in America has long been irrational, based more on fear than evidence. Drugs are targeted when someone perceives that they are a problem, and once they are listed as a controlled substance, the listing becomes a self-perpetuating phenomenon. All evidence to the contrary is dismissed. Marijuana is listed as a controlled substance and has been demonized as a pernicious evil ever since. Growing evidence of the health effects of marijuana for people suffering from certain maladies has not been sufficient to change federal policies, and the irrationality grows as some states have adopted laws allowing for the medical use of marijuana even as the federal government has refused to do so and has sought to criminalize the medical use of marijuana specifically."

Tags:prohibition, drugs, alcohol, legislators

Abstract
The paper argues persuasively against the government's attempt to thwart the freedom of having marijuana and contends that marijuana poses no threat to us or our community. The paper discusses the flaws in the famous experiment touted as proving the harmful effects of marijuana use and relates the positive effects marijuana can have on cognitive well-being. The paper also looks at benefits for cancer patients and sufferers of chronic pain. The paper asserts that if the earth produces something naturally that could benefit us, then what right does the government have to keep it under lock, key and gun?

From the Paper
"It has been said that the freedom of my fist ends where your face begins. This means basically that we do not have the right to infringe on the rights of others, particularly in the event we attempt to thwart freedoms that pose no threat to us or our community. This means that we should not expect to be legislated against on the basis of anything but where our actions infringe on the freedom of others. Marijuana laws seem to violate this basic right and have been passed under misleading and patently falsified information. In general, we don't bother making laws against punching yourself in the face and, as we'll establish by looking at clinical studies, the harm posed by cannabis is much less than a face pummeling. What reason could justify the incarceration of millions of Americans (using taxpayer dollars) on the basis of their possession of a plant that causes no physical harm or addiction? Is there any interest being served by the prosecution of medical marijuana growers by the Federal government who have been authorized by their state?"

Tags:well-being, memory, cancer, chronic, pain, addiction

Abstract
This paper is an analysis of the effect on society of the criminalization of marijuana and examines the positive side of the drug, especially its medical advantages in a society where it would be legal.

From the Paper
"The criminalization of pot creates unnecessary chaos in our legal system and succors a seedy black market. Convictions for marijuana cultivation, use, and possession outweigh those for violent crimes. Were we to reform marijuana laws, the funding and resources devoted to penalizing these "criminals" would be allocated to the proper persecution of serious crimes like rape and murder. Spending millions of tax dollars to imprison a recreational drug user makes light of these greater crimes and fosters a preposterously unbalanced sense of justice. Where does this militant persecution of minor-league drug offenders come from? Some say that the bias against marijuana stems from racism. Because black jazz musicians in the 1930s used marijuana recreationally, its use became associated with that unwanted, unloved sector of society. White puritanical culture supported prohibition against all substances. Alcohol triumphed where Mary Jane did not, because alcohol was already accepted en masse by the dominant culture.
"But drug use leads to crime," some people cry. Those people forget that the black market system created by criminalization creates crime, and not marijuana itself. Furthermore, alcohol is directly responsible for violent crime. This is not to say that we should turn a blind eye to possible offenses committed while under the influence of marijuana, but hard evidence is lacking to support claims that pot causes violence. The effects of marijuana are not such that lead to aggression. Perhaps racism is again an issue here. Just as the unwarranted persecution of African-Americans creates a self-fulfilling prophecy, so does the unfounded criminalization of cannabis sativa. If a crime happened to be committed in the presence of some pot, people will surely cry "Connection!" where there is none.
As an innocent weed, marijuana can potentially provide industrial-strength fibers and nutritious oils. Hemp, cannabis devoid of THC, was once a major U.S. cash crop. Hemp is all but banned now. Why would we extend our hatred for getting high (on something other than alcohol) to a plant incapable of even altering our state of mind? Hemp fiber can be cultivated for paper pulp and heavy fabrics; its seed oil contains a plethora of proteins, amino acids, and essential fatty acids. There is absolutely no reason to lump hemp with its psychoactive cousin."

Tags:pot, drugs, crime, smoker, medicine, law, black, market, society, weed

Abstract
This paper argues for keeping marijuana criminalized in U.S. society. The short- and long-term health impact of the drug and its negative effects on psychological health are used as evidence in support of the argument.

From the Paper
"The debate over decriminalizing marijuana continues to be a focus of American society. Many argue that because it is commonly used and milder than more powerful drugs like narcotics marijuana should be legalized. In reviewing the dangerous short and long-term health impact of regular use of marijuana nothing could be further from the truth. More alarmingly a U S Department of Justice DOJ report revealed that ..."

Tags:pot, grass, weed, teens, illicit substances, respiratory disease, memory, violence, crime

Abstract
In this paper, the writer argues that the US criminal justice system should shift its focus from criminalization to harm reduction and should focus more on rehabilitating criminals rather than incarcerating them. The paper addresses the development of community partnerships, the need for resources for probation and parole officers as well as the permission for a jury to ask questions and take notes during a trial. The paper also discusses the implementation of educational programs in prisons and the advantage of police with bachelors degrees. The paper concludes that a great deal of work needs to be done to make our criminal justice system more efficient at keeping crime off the streets.

Outline:
Criminalization to Crime Reduction
Development of Community Partnerships
Probation and Parole
Jury Notes
Correctional Facilities and their Inmates
Law Enforcement
Hate Crimes

From the Paper
"The future of the criminal justice system can vary in many different ways. For instance, what about jurors being able to take notes while in the trial phase so they can better their verdict? Or perhaps changing nonviolent offenses to serving no prison time so that the system can make room for the more violent offenses? What about the police officers, who make these arrests, should they not be required to earn some kind of degree to work in the field? What about the probation officers and parole officers who deal with the offenders after they are released? Should there not be more resources for probation and parole officers in order to help criminals from re - offending? A great deal can still be done to help improve future of our criminal justice system. The question is what is the system going to do about it?"

Tags:incarceration, rehabilitation, police, degrees, jury, probation, parole, officers

Abstract
The paper begins with an overview of how criminal liability is measured in terms of the degrees and principles surrounding liability. The crux of the paper, however, concentrates on aspects of the legal framework that provide defenses to criminal liability. This analysis is then supported with a theoretical framework and findings from the literature that are used to provide thorough analyses related to defenses to criminal liability.

Outline:
Introduction
Legal Framework of Criminal Liability
Strict Liability and the Defense
Justification of Criminal Conduct
Criminal Liability
Defense
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The criminal liability relationship highlighted within the paper and later presented with examples for defenses to criminal liability is affected by differences related to types of crimes; such as, criminal conduct and true crimes. That is, the degree of liability within the former does not require all of the principles to be upheld while with the latter it is necessary that the corpus delicti rule holds. As such the measures of criminal liability are different across categories and may not be easily quantified in the relationship outlined in the equation specified throughout the paper. An example of the former is a burglary while of the latter its homicide, the difference within these two crimes is a clear indication of why criminal liability is not a trivial issue and why it is not always a direct relationship and how defenses can be formulated within the legal context (Schellenger & Wittmer, 2003, p. 1).
In the general scenario, the degree of liability can be easily established via culpability, capacity, and responsibility along with the five principles highlighted, however the logical structure of criminal liability is not as simple as the formula above highlights but has different scenarios and principles that will affect how the law is quantified or how the degree of criminal liability is measured."

Tags:Defenses, criminal, liability

Abstract
Three authors provide differing perspectives on the causes of criminal behavior. The three share similar definitions of criminal behavior as aggression. These definitions inform their views on its cause. The authors agree that criminal agression is a learned behavior vs. an inborn trait or biologically determined characteristic. They disagree on how this learnng takes place and the implications of this debate.

From the Paper
Theoretical Perspectives of Criminal Behavior: Three Views Carlton Scott, Heather Bond and Mitchell Roy present three theoretical perspectives on criminal behavior. The authors differ in their definition of criminal behavior and as a result in their views on prevention, incarceration and rehabilitation. All three, however, discuss similar perspectives on central causes of criminal behavior. While with differing degrees of certainty all three authors discuss the primary issue as one of nurture vs. nature. All three see the central debate as whether aggressive criminal behavior is inborn, innate or what Carlton Scott refers to as "biologically" or "environmentally" based or if it is learned. For

Tags:rehabilitation, criminal, behaviorism

Abstract
This paper gives an in-depth explanation of the differences between international criminal justice and comparative criminal justice. The paper gives salient examples of the differences in the approach of both systems, with an emphasis on crime versus the improvement of criminal justice systems across boundaries.

From the Paper
"The criminal justice system consists of those agencies, courts tribunals, and so forth that deal with criminal law and its enforcement in the various countries of the world. (Barak) Criminal justice systems can be studied in a variety of ways. The purpose of this paper is to look at the differences in two approaches to criminal justice systems, namely the comparative criminal justice approach and the international criminal justice approach. According to Terrill the field of comparative criminal justice and law..."

Tags:comparative criminal justice, international

Abstract
This document offers a brief introduction to the U.S. legal structure and how the criminal courts and drug courts are situated within it. The writer discusses that criminal courts are recognized as the broader legal apparatus and the drug court structure to be a recognized component within the criminal court since all accused and defendants are first processed through standard criminal proceedings. The differences in how the criminal and drug courts treat defendants are discussed and the application of justice with leniency and treatment is observed to be one of the central reasons for the broad success of drug courts in reducing recidivism.

Tags:criminal, legal, law