The question of how to address the ‘drug problem” is an area of contentious debate. Some argue that criminal laws against drug possession are a means of protecting individuals from a deluge of drug use that harms children and destroys productivity. Others argue that drug laws have been responsible for the recent trends in mass incarceration, yielding high economic and social costs, and contributing to a culture of fear and contempt towards drug users.
In 2001 the Portuguese government decriminalized the use and possession of heroin, cocaine, marijuana, LSD and other illicit street drugs. The theory behind the policy is that by focusing on treatment and prevention instead of jailing users the number of drug-related deaths and HIV infections will decrease; there will be a change in the culture around drug use leading to a decline in the number of new users; and there will be a decrease in the stigma leveled at all drug users.
A decade later, criminologists are turning to Portugal to assess if and in what ways decriminalization of drugs has been successful.
Design a study where you would try to find out whether Portugal’s drug decriminalization policy has changed the views of the Portuguese towards drug users
In your answer, be sure to address the following issues:
What specific research question will your study address?
How will you select your sample?
What data are you using? b. How are you collecting it?
How will you gain access? (Think realistically about this)
What are you measuring?
How are you measuring it?
What is/are the influences, predictors/independent variables?
How are they measured?
What ethical issues are raised in this research?
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