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Final Presentation
- 1. The Impact of Labeling and Utilitarian Theories of Justice on Contemporary Drug Policy By Michael Kivlehen
- 2. Recent Drug Related violence in the Border Towns of Mexico http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS1eOaLi0_o 2007 2,500 Deaths 2008 6,300 Deaths 2009 (Jan-Feb) 1,000 + http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnxt965o7N4&feature=channel These Deaths are caused primarily by fighting between Mexico cartels to secure routes into the United States
- 3. Labeling Theory Howard Becker “Deviance is not the quality of a bad person: it is the result of someone labeling someone's behavior as bad” Labeling theory is concerned with the power dynamic between those who label and those who are labeled Labeling Theory addresses the phenomenon of Master traits and Auxiliary traits
- 4. Labeling Theory as Applied to our Current Drug Policy Master and Auxiliary Traits Master Trait : Drug User Assumed Auxiliary Traits : addict, criminal, dangerous, morally corrupt, impoverished, dumb, minority, etc. These assigned auxiliary traits serve the purpose of labeling the drug user as an “outsider” or as an “other” Once the drug user is seen as an “outside” evil it becomes politically advantageous to demonize that person
- 6. Towards a More Utilitarian Approach Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham “ An action then may be said to be conformable... to utility when the tendency it has to augment the happiness of the community is greater than any it has to diminish it” Punishment and Enforcement should be carried out only if there is a net benefit to society Focuses on maximizing a societies “utility” or happiness
- 7. Towards a More Utilitarian Approach What is a “More Utilitarian Approach?” If society has determined that its utility is best served by the reduction of drug users then there are three methods to achieve that goal. Enforcement Enforcement includes apprehending drugs before they enter the country as well as arresting and punishing individuals who sell drugs within the country Prevention Prevention refers to education and awareness programs to prevent the use or abuse of drugs Treatment Treatment for individuals who are already abusing drugs as opposed to punishment.
- 8. Conclusion ...So what exactly is a more utilitarian approach? Ultimately a more utilitarian approach to our drug policy means setting aside the labels and the auxiliary traits that go along with the term “drug user” and instead trying to truly improve society with comprehensive methods of education and treatment. Thanks for listening!
Editor's Notes
- For my final presentation I will be focused primarily on the implications Labeling theory has had on our current drug policy and I will then examine the possible effects of adopting a more utilitarian approach towards drugs. This is your narrator Michael Kivlehen. Go ahead and switch slides
- To begin I have compiled some basic figures on the Drug Related deaths in Mexico, primarily in the border towns of Mexico, towns such as Tijuana and Juarez. These numbers are from the video linked below. (go through figures) As a comparison the total military coalition deaths in Afghanistan according to icasualties.org is 1,530 since 2001. These drug related deaths are primarily caused by cartel fighting in mexico to secure routes into the United States. The second video linked in the slide goes into much greater detail about the specifics of the cartel fighting. Now that we have identified the problem lets take a look and see how labeling theory has come to affect our current policy towards drugs.
- Lets start by examining what Labeling Theory is. For this presentation I will be relying heavily on Howard Becker and his article about labeling theory. Labeling theory is different from retributive and utilitarian theory because instead of looking at the deviant or criminal act itself it instead is much more concerned with the actual process of how that act comes to be known as deviant and the effects that label places on perpetrator. A key quote from Howard Becker is: (read quote) As you can see Labeling theory does not see any actions as inherently or universally bad, and it is society that makes those decisions. Another key function to Labeling theory is that it addresses the phenomenon of Master traits and Auxiliary traits. To exemplify this I will read a quote directly from Howard Becker's article “ ...most statuses have one key trait which serves to distinguish those who belong from those who do not. Thus the doctor, whatever else he may be, is a person who has a certificate stating that he has fulfilled certain requirements and is licensed to practice medicine; this is the master trait.””...in our society a doctor is also informally expected to have a number of auxiliary traits: most people expect him to be upper middle class, white male and protestant” In a way, you can think of Master traits as stereotypes
- When we apply labeling theory to our drug policy we are able to see some interesting connections. Let's start with the Master and Auxiliary traits. In this case the Master Trait we are concerned with is that of Drug User. When we think of a person as a drug user we automatically assign that person an entire list of auxiliary traits. Traits such as, :addict, criminal, dangerous, morally corrupt, impoverished, dumb, minority, etc. what is important is that once we assign these traits to someone we begin to see that person as an “outsider” or as an outside threat to our otherwise good society. We see examples of this labeling everywhere in society. Consider all of the PTA organizations seeking to keep drugs out of schools. What they fail to see is that many of the parents in the PTA statistically speaking have themselves used drugs in the past. Furthermore so have many of the teachers and the principals. This leads to my next point which is that once the drug user is labeled as the “other” it becomes politically advantageous to demonize that person. This phenomenon can be simplified by the common saying, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” What is truly ironic is that judging from all of the scandals on t.v. politicians as a whole are statistically more likely to use drugs than their contingency that voted for them. Finally, the point is this. In this entire process of labeling the actual individual who committed the act is never actually considered rather they are penalized based on their assumed auxiliary traits As a side note which I will not get into in too much depth because of the time restrictions of this project the reason I feel that celebrities who do drugs are treated vastly different than say impoverished African American's is because in their case the Master trait of drug user is overridden by the Master trait of celebrity.
- The process of labeling has lead to our Current Drug Policy. In 2009 we hit our 40 year anniversary of our War on Drugs and according to an article in time magazine we have spent a total of $2.5 trillion dollars and have been focused primarily on enforcement. Enforcement includes preventing drugs from reaching our country as well as arresting people for using and selling drugs. Despite these efforts the amount of drug users has continually risen and is now at approximately 19.9 million. What is interesting is that once we realize that drug users are not necessarily the hardened criminals or the impoverished minorities and are in fact many times just regular people the War on Drugs becomes a War on ourselves. As a side note I feel that it is important to say that while the overall amount of drug users has increased there is evidence to suggest that rate of increase has been slowed and there is certainly evidence as shown in an article written by Carlos Dobkin and Nancy Nicosia which I have cited at the end of this presentation, that enforcement has increased the price of drugs in the U.S which in turn lowers the demand. So my goal is not to say that the War on Drugs has been a complete failure but rather I am commenting on the paradox of declaring war on yourself
- Now I will examine the possible effects of adopting a more Utilitarian approach to our Drug Policy. Lets begin by first reviewing exactly what Utilitarianism is. For this section I will be relying heavily on Jeremy Bentham. Utilitarianism can be summed up largely in a quote from Jeremy Bentham from his article, Introduction to the principals of morals and legislation. “read quote” So basically what Bentham is saying is that an action is Utilitarian if it produces more good than bad. When considering this cost benefit analysis it is important to include all costs and benefits in the present and in the future. Basically Utilitariansim focuses on maximizing a societies “utility” or happiness
- So, what is a “more utilitarian approach” Let me start by saying what it is not. A more utilitarian approach does not mean legalize all drugs and turn into hippies. Rather it means that if societies utility is truly served by reducing the amount of drug users and not simply punishing those labeled as deviant then we must consider all the ways in which we can achieve our goal. First off is enforcement. This is the method that has been championed by the War on Drugs and it involves apprehending drugs before they enter the country as well as arresting individuals who sell drugs inside the country. This method is known as a “supply side” method because it attacks the supply of drugs rather than the demand for drugs. As discussed in the paper written by Carlos Dobkin and Nancy Nicosia enforcement can be useful in temporarily decreasing the amount of drug use and increasing the price of drugs on the street. Next is Prevention. Prevention basically means educational and awareness programs about drugs to prevent the use or abuse of drugs. According to The Office of National Drug Control Policy education is the best way to stem drug use. While this is true many have critisized the nature of the educational programs saying that they are not comprehensive programs and instead focus on “Just Say No” policies Last is Treatment. Treatment has been shown to be much more effective at rehabilitating drug addicts than incarceration and yet treatment receives the least amount of funding.
- So, what is a “more utilitarian approach” Let me start by saying what it is not. A more utilitarian approach does not mean legalize all drugs and turn into hippies. Rather it means that if societies utility is truly served by reducing the amount of drug users and not simply punishing those labeled as deviant then we must consider all the ways in which we can achieve our goal. First off is enforcement. This is the method that has been championed by the War on Drugs and it involves apprehending drugs before they enter the country as well as arresting individuals who sell drugs inside the country. This method is known as a “supply side” method because it attacks the supply of drugs rather than the demand for drugs. As discussed in the paper written by Carlos Dobkin and Nancy Nicosia enforcement can be useful in temporarily decreasing the amount of drug use and increasing the price of drugs on the street. Next is Prevention. Prevention basically means educational and awareness programs about drugs to prevent the use or abuse of drugs. According to The Office of National Drug Control Policy education is the best way to stem drug use. While this is true many have critisized the nature of the educational programs saying that they are not comprehensive programs and instead focus on “Just Say No” policies Last is Treatment. Treatment has been shown to be much more effective at rehabilitating drug addicts than incarceration and yet treatment receives the least amount of funding.