Pregnancy Documents From Houston Tx: Fill & Download for Free

Justice for Children advocates for abused or neglected children in the Houston, TX, area, to “include researching and gathering supporting documentation; reviewing supporting documentation; referring persons to professionals; guiding them through the legal and judicial process; initiating child abuse investigations; generating advocacy correspondence and amicus briefs; and acting as facilitator of professional services.” That non-profit provided the following lists of indicators of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and neglect:PHYSICAL ABUSEThe Centers for Disease Control define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child. There are different kinds of child abuse: physical, sexual, or emotional. Neglect, which can be benign or deliberate, is also child abuse.Discipline is administered by a parent in order to teach a child right from wrong, or to prevent the child from injuring himself. It is consistent and not carried out to satisfy the parent’s anger. Abuse, on the other hand, is unpredictable and stems from the parent’s own need to lash out in anger or frustration.Discipline does not require the use of any implement, such as a belt or stick, and should not leave bruises or draw blood. A few signs of abuse could be:• Unexplained bruises or welts especially on face, lips, back, buttocks, and thighs• Bruises in various stages of healing.• Unexplained burns: cigar, cigarette burns (especially on soles of feet, palms, back, or buttocks).• Immersion burns (sock-like, glove-like burns on buttocks or genitalia).• Pattern burns (shaped like an iron, electrical stove burner, curling wand, etc.)• Internal injuries• Unexplained fractures/dislocations• Unexplained lacerations or abrasions• Head injuries• Unexplained bald patches• Obvious attempts to hide bruises or injuries• Inappropriate clothing for the weather• Excessive school absenteeism• Fear of parents or adults• Running away• Arriving to school early/leaving late• Behavioral extremes: extremely aggressive, oppositional, demanding• Behavioral extremes: overly compliant, passive, withdrawn• Academic/behavioral problems at school• Cognitive impairment• Deficits in speech and language• Lack of basic trust in others• Depression, low self esteem• Destructive behavior• Suicidal tendencies• Fatigue• Hypervigilance …SEXUAL ABUSEMost commonly involves exploitation of a child for sexual gratification.The abuser may be an adult or an older child or adolescent, and the abuse may include forcing a child to engage in sexual activities, asking or pressuring the child to do so (regardless of the outcome), indecent exposure of the genitals to a child, displaying pornography to a child, rubbing the genitals against the child, physical contact with the child’s genitals, viewing of the child’s genitalia without physical contact, or using a child to produce child pornography. Selling the sexual services of a child is also sexual abuse.• Difficulty walking/sitting• Torn, stained, or bloody underclothing• Pain, swelling, or itching in genital area• Bruises, bleeding, or lacerations in external genitalia, vaginal or anal areas• Painful urination• Vaginal/penile discharge• Venereal disease• Poor sphincter tone• Pregnancy• Semen about genitals or on undergarments• Swollen or red cervix, vulva, perineum or anus• Simulation of sexual activity with younger or same age children• Excessive masturbation• Seductive behavior or sexual acting out towards adults, promiscuity, etc• Knowledge of sexual matters inappropriate to age or developmental level• Lack of trust, particularly with significant others• Poor peer relationships, social withdrawal• Sudden drop in academic performance• Unwillingness to undress for physical education class• Inability to concentrate• Arriving to school early/leaving late• Depression, guilt, shame• Suicidal thoughts• Behavioral extremes (overly aggressive or compliant)• Behavioral regression (infantile behavior in older children)• Nightmares/won’t sleep alone• Over/under-eating …EMOTIONAL ABUSEEmotional abuse is ongoing conduct that seriously harms a child’s psychological well-being.It can take the form of constant belittling, shaming, and humiliating a child, calling the child names and comparing her unfavorably to others, telling the child he is “no good,” “worthless,” “bad,” or “a mistake,” frequent yelling, threatening, or bullying, ignoring or rejecting a child as punishment, withholding signs of affection, and exposing the child to violence towards others, whether it be the abuse of a parent, a sibling, or even a pet.Signs of emotional abuse may include:• Speech disorders• Lags in physical development• Failure to thrive• Sallow, empty facial appearance• Hyperactivity, disruptiveness• Anxiety and unrealistic fears• Sleep problems, nightmares• Developmental lags• Conduct and academic problems at school• Poor peer relationships• Behavioral extremes (overly aggressive or compliant)• Depressed, withdrawn, isolated• Apathetic, aloof, indifferent• Habit disorder (biting, rocking, head banging, or thumb sucking for older children) …NEGLECTNeglect is failure to provide for the basic age-appropriate needs of a child, resulting in serious impairment of the child’s health or development. It may involve a parent or caretaker failing to provide adequate food, clothing and shelter, to protect a child from physical and emotional harm, to ensure adequate supervision and access to appropriate medical care or treatment. Neglect may be “benign”, in which a parent or caretaker chooses to ignore the child’s needs instead of taking responsibility for them. Benign neglect may result from inadequate parenting skills, depression, or illness and in such cases is likely to affect all children in the household. Alternatively, neglect can be intentional, as when a parent or caretaker deliberately withholds food and adequate clothing, or puts a child out of the house. This kind of neglect does not necessarily involve all of the children in the household, but may be directed at only a specific child (or children).• Difficulty walking/sitting• Torn, stained, or bloody underclothing• Pain, swelling, or itching in genital area• Bruises, bleeding, or lacerations in external genitalia, vaginal or anal areas• Painful urination• Vaginal/penile discharge• Venereal disease• Poor sphincter tone• Pregnancy• Semen about genitals or on undergarments• Swollen or red cervix, vulva, perineum or anus• Simulation of sexual activity with younger or same age children• Excessive masturbation• Seductive behavior or sexual acting out towards adults, promiscuity, etc• Knowledge of sexual matters inappropriate to age or developmental level• Lack of trust, particularly with significant others• Poor peer relationships, social withdrawal• Sudden drop in academic performance• Unwillingness to undress for physical education class• Inability to concentrate• Arriving to school early/leaving late• Depression, guilt, shame• Suicidal thoughts• Behavioral extremes (overly aggressive or compliant)• Behavioral regression (infantile behavior in older children)• Nightmares/won’t sleep alone• Over/under-eatingHomepage - Justice for Children

The terminology "drug offender" encompasses marijuana possession to multiple homicide to protect sales territory and/or to rip off drugs or money, with multiple levels of seriousness between the two.This essay was presented to students for purposes of discussion in an organized crime graduate course, as an intellectual exercise.The first question might be: Why is drug use and distribution illegal (used here generically for all drugs and narcotics)? Intuitively, it is illegal because of the apparent negative effects on individuals, families, and society. Apparently, demagoguery has been employed by legislators and anti-drug advocates to ensure passage of anti-drug legislation. However, there are significant considerations.“The major active chemical in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which causes the mind-altering effects of marijuana intoxication. The amount of THC (which is also the psychoactive ingredient in hashish) determines the potency and, therefore, the effects of marijuana. (http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/Marijuana/Marijuana2.html#affect).“A network of researchers that tracks trends in the nature and patterns of drug use in major U.S. cities, consistently reports that marijuana frequently is combined with other drugs, such as crack cocaine, PCP, formaldehyde, and codeine cough syrup, sometimes without the user being aware of it. Thus, the risks associated with marijuana use may be compounded by the risks of added drugs, as well” (http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/Marijuana/Marijuana2.html#affect).“When someone smokes marijuana, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to organs throughout the body, including the brain. In the brain, THC connects to specific sites called cannabinoid receptors on nerve cells and thereby influences the activity of those cells. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors; others have few or none. Many cannabinoid receptors are found in the parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thought, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement” (http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/Marijuana/Marijuana2.html#affect).Between 1980 and 1997, the amount of THC in marijuana available in the United States rose dramatically. … In 2002, marijuana was a contributing factor in over 119,000 emergency department visits in the United States, with about 15 percent of the patients between the ages of 12 and 17, and almost two-thirds male” (http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/Marijuana/Marijuana2.html#affect).“THC activates the reward system in the same way that nearly all drugs of abuse do, by stimulating brain cells to release the chemical dopamine. … The euphoria passes after awhile, and then the user may feel sleepy or depressed. Occasionally, marijuana use produces anxiety, fear, distrust, or panic. … Heavy marijuana use impairs a person's ability to form memories, recall events. … THC also disrupts coordination and balance by binding to receptors in the cerebellum and basal ganglia, parts of the brain that regulate balance, posture, coordination of movement, and reaction time. Through its effects on the brain and body, marijuana intoxication can cause accidents. Studies show that approximately 6 to 11 percent of fatal accident victims test positive for THC. … Marijuana users who have taken high doses of the drug may experience acute toxic psychosis, which includes hallucinations, delusions, and depersonalization - a loss of the sense of personal identity, or self-recognition” (http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/Marijuana/Marijuana3.html#acute).Hollister (1998) reviewed the literature published during the past 11 years pertaining to the effects of cannabis. “Continuing concerns about the adverse cognitive effects of chronic use indicate that these can be demonstrated by proper testing; some studies suggest that they may be long-lasting. Although cannabis does not produce a specific psychosis, the possibility exists that it may exacerbate schizophrenia in persons predisposed to that disorder. However, evidence from retrospective surveys must always be questioned. Tolerance and dependence have occurred in man, confirming previous findings in many other species. Addiction tends to be mild and is probably less severe than with other social drugs. … Exacting tasks … may be impaired for as long as 24 hours. While there is no doubt that marijuana smoke contains carcinogens, an increase in cancer among users has thus far been anecdotal. … Marijuana use during pregnancy is not advised although the consequences are usually not greater than those of smoking cigarettes, and far less than those from alcohol use” (http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=52333)Australians Hall, Degenhardt, and Lynskey (2001) also reviewed the empirical literature and stated that, “Cannabis use acutely impairs memory and attention” (p. 114). A poor student who becomes a marijuana user significantly increases the likelihood of failure in school, resulting in later employment difficulties (job instability, lack of qualification, etc.), interpersonal difficulties, and life-long negative consequences. Beginning use of marijuana before 15 was found to be predictive of regular drug use, criminal behavior, and poor mental health, as well as the negative life consequences mentioned above. Marijuana use at 18 was found to be predictive of alcohol dependence and social deviance.Secondly, a student wrote: “There are 1.5 million people in Federal prison right now, of that 59.6% are there for drug offenses,” and advocated reallocation of enforcement and incarceration funding to treatment. This raises two issues, the type of drug offenses resulting in federal incarceration and the assumption that the incarcerated drug offenders are pure and untainted drug offenders.In addition to that essay, recent political rhetoric has characterized drug offenses as non-violent, and criticized the prioritization and magnitude of prosecution and incarceration of those involved in such offenses. There are, of course, differences in seriousness of drug crime, ranging from possession of user amounts of marijuana to trafficking 10,000 pounds of cocaine and beyond. And, the student highlighted drug use as opposed to trafficking. When discussing this situation, one must also differentiate between federal and state charges. Differences even exist between Federal Judicial Districts. Federal prosecutors in Houstonwill not accept prosecution for quantities commonly prosecuted in districts further from the border. At one point, anything below 50 kg. of cocaine was a state prosecution in the Southern District of Texas, and marijuana less than a truck-load did not even come close (colloquially referred to as “kiddy dope” no matter what the quantity).Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) cited numerous references indicating that most offenders do not restrict themselves to a particular criminal activity, stating “offenders commit a wide variety of criminal acts (p. 91).” “On average, 57 percent of juvenile male and 32 percent of juvenile female arrestees tested positive for marijuana” (http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/Marijuana/Marijuana2.html#affect). Anecdotally, I was on the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force review board that approved an investigation into Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, who was at that time in the witness protection program, having been relieved of responsibility for numerous murders in exchange for his testimony on Mr. Gotti. Sammy is now serving time for drug trafficking in a federal facility.Moreover, an argument can be made that such trafficking crimes (even where no violence is alleged) are not so easily classifiable as irrelevant to maintaining social order, mainly due to their propensity to be a function of organized crime and to be associated with violence. And, if prosecution of “mules” (couriers who have no pecuniary interest in the drugs they transport) was ended or diminished, would the number of attempted smuggling incidents increase or decrease? An argument can be made that a significant increase in smuggling would be follow, based on lack of deterrence. This would presumably increase the availability of drugs, and therefore increase the opportunity to obtain and become addicted to drugs. Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) wrote that all crime originates from opportunity coupled with lack of self-control, while not totally discounting other contributing factors.In addition, what moral obligation does our drug usage incur with regard to source countries and transshipment countries? According to Grillo (p. A27, 2004), “Homicides in Tamaulipas state (Mexico) … have risen by 13 percent this year…. Most slayings have been related to drug gangs…. ‘The cartels,’ he said, ‘seem to operate with impunity.’ …The spike in criminal activity also has caused some foreign investors to rethink their plans …, hampering growth in the regional economy…. Three journalists who wrote about the gangs have been killed so far this year.”When one condemns the current system by citing statistics that do not differentiate between traffickers and users, obfuscation arises. Accuracy of statistics does not ensure relevance to a particular argument. In this case, there is an obligation to be as specific as possible with regard to what exactly one is advocating (e.g., recognizing that, overwhelmingly, federal prisoners are not there for possession of user amounts), otherwise it could raise the specter of demagoguery in the hands of politicians, and lack of scientific method in the academic arena. Enforcement and treatment are not opposites, and not mutually exclusive, but they are subject to political evaluation (i.e., which will be more likely to get one elected).References:Gottfredson, M. R., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: StanfordUniversity Press.Grillo, Ioan (2004, October 31). Drug war spreads fear along Mexican border. The Houston Chronicle, p. A27.Hall, W., Degenhardt, L., & Lynskey, M. (2001). The health and psychological effects of cannabis use. National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of South Wales. (http://scholar.google.com/scholar%3Fq%3Dmarijuana+effects+on+juvenile+brain%26hl%3Den%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oi%3Dscholart)Hollister, L. E. (1998), Health aspects of cannabis: Revisited. The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology1: 71-80. HarrisCountyPsychiatric Center, University of Texas–Houston, Houston, TX. (http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=52333)National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2005, June) NIDA Research Report - Marijuana Abuse:NIH Publication No. 05-3859.Substance Abuse & CrimeIn 2005, the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports estimated that there were 1,846,400 state and local arrests for drug abuse in the United States. According to BJS statistics, in 2004, 17 percent of state prisoners and 18 percent of federal inmates said they committed their current offense to obtain money for drugs. The link between drug use and crime has been well-documented in recent years. Many organizations and government offices, including OJP, are working to reduce substance abuse in communities across the country. In FY 2008, the federal government requested $12.9 billion to reduce drug use.At OJP, all of the grant-making components are in some way involved in weakening the link between substance abuse and crime. They are involved in many collaborative efforts to address this problem, as it affects areas ranging from housing and work life to families and health.http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/programs/substance.htmKey Facts at a GlanceThe estimated number of arrests for drug abuse violations for adults has been increasing, while the number for juveniles stabilized. …Source: FBI, The Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)Drug abuse violationsare defined as State or local offenses relating to the unlawful possession, sale, use, growing, manufacturing, and making of narcotic drugs including opium or cocaine and their derivatives, marijuana, synthetic narcotics, and dangerous nonnarcotic drugs such as barbiturates. Juveniles are defined as persons under age 18 years.Adults are defined as persons age 18 and older.Page last revised on November 3, 2011http://www.bjs.gov/content/glance/drug.cfmFY 2000 - 2009 Prisoners entering Federal prison (%)Offense type2000200120022003200420052006200720082009Violent offenses7.146.837.166.576.486.185.614.474.153.83Property offenses16.1816.2616.3015.7114.4112.6912.3711.4711.6610.88Drug offenses40.7440.9841.9641.2738.5636.9737.1537.8335.9834.58Public-order offenses7.957.367.757.217.287.307.177.137.637.75Weapon offenses6.217.278.169.6811.3712.0312.0411.8211.8511.49Immigration offenses20.2619.7517.2518.0320.3822.6123.7726.1427.6130.35Missing/Unknown1.531.551.431.531.512.221.891.151.121.11Total100.00100.00100.00100.00100.00100.00100.00100.00100.00100.00Total Records Returned by the Query: 64,918 (2000) , 66,654 (2001) , 67,877 (2002) , 72,675 (2003) , 74,851 (2004) , 78,441 (2005) , 79,247 (2006) , 71,933 (2007) , 71,663 (2008) , 74,336 (2009)Table created on: 05-Nov-11, 08:18 PMCitation: BJS' Federal Justice Statistics Program website (http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/fjsrc/)Data Source: Bureau of Prisons - Extract from BOP's online Sentry System: 2000 , 2001 , 2002 , 2003 , 2004 , 2005 , 2006 , 2007 , 2008 , 2009 (as standardized by the FJSRC)Note: Includes only commitments to Federal prison for Federal law violations; commitments from the District of Columbia Superior Court are excluded. The BOP public-use data files that are available for download from this website include these D.C. Superior Court commitments.http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/fjsrc/var.cfm?ttype=trends&agency=BOP&db_type=Prisoners&saf=INDrugs and crimeDrugs are related to crime in multiple ways. Most directly, it is a crime to use, possess, manufacture, or distribute drugs classified as having a potential for abuse. Cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and amphetamines are examples of drugs classified to have abuse potential. Drugs are also related to crime through the effects they have on the user’s behavior and by generating violence and other illegal activity in connection with drug trafficking. The following scheme summarizes the various ways that drugs and crime are related. …Drugs and crime relationshipDefinitionExamplesDrug-defined offensesViolations of laws prohibiting or regulating the possession, distribution, or manufacture of illegal drugs.Drug possession or use. Marijuana cultivation. Methamphetamine production. Cocaine, heroin, or marijuana sales.Drug-relatedOffenses in which drug's pharmacologic effects contribute; offenses are motivated by the user's need for money to support continued use; and offenses connected to drug distribution itself.Violent behavior resulting from drug effects. Stealing to get money to buy drugs. Violence against rival drug dealers.Drug-using lifestyleDrug use and crime are common aspects of a deviant lifestyle. The likelihood and frequency of involvement in illegal activity is increased because drug users may not participate in the legitimate economy and are exposed to situations that encourage crime.A life orientation with an emphasis on short-term goals supported by illegal activities. Opportunities to offend resulting from contacts with offenders and illegal markets. Criminal skills learned from other offenders.Drug possessionIncludes possession of an illegal drug, but excludes possession with intent to sell.http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=35From 1987 to 1995 more drug arrests involved heroin or cocaine than other types of drugs. Since 1996 the number of arrests involving marijuana exceeded that for other types of drugs.http://...http://www.bjs.gov/content/dcf/enforce.cfmAt yearend 2009, 51 percent of probationers were felons, up slightly from 49 percent in 2008. This reversed a declining trend in the percent of probationers who were felons, which had decreased from 52 percent in 2000. Among all offenders on probation, 19 percent were violent offenders (unchanged from 2008), and 26 percent were drug offenders (down from 29 percent in 2008).Among parolees, violent offenders accounted for 27 percent of the population at yearend 2009, up slightly from 26 percent in 2008. Drug offenders represented a slightly smaller share of the parole population at yearend 2009 (36 percent) compared to 2008 (37 percent).http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/press/corrections09pr.cfmImpacTeen Illicit Drug Team.Illicit drug policies: Selected laws from the 50 states.Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University, 2002.Permission is granted to photocopy and distributethis document in whole or in part, for any non-profitpurpose provided the source is clearly identified.In our review of the marijuana penalty statutes, we discovered that four of the 11 so-called decriminalized states (California, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Ohio) retained marijuana possession as a misdemeanor offense in their statutes from the 1970s. Although all of the socalled decriminalized states provided reduced penalties for possession of “small” amounts of marijuana in the case of first time offenders, the only common denominator across the 11 statutes was the removal of jail/prison terms.1 In some cases, these reduced penalties applied to first and subsequent offenses (e.g., Alaska, California, and Colorado) and in other cases the reduced penalties only applied to first time offenders (e.g., Minnesota, Mississippi, and North Carolina).The common denominator of removing jail or prison sentences for first time possession offenders caught possessing small amounts of marijuana represents a characterization of these laws that is based on “depenalization,” rather than decriminalization. However, such a characterization of the 11 statutes does not allow us to uniquely identify them from other states that have also reduced the penalties associated with possession of small amounts of marijuana. Further analysis of the state laws is required before states can be properly identified as “decriminalized” and/or “depenalized.” …QUANTITY TRIGGERSThe number of quantity trigger levels in any given state ranges from one to over five.3 The states with only one trigger level have broadly written criminal statutes for sale or possession offenses that do not delineate quantity amounts. Those that have multiple quantity triggers create a hierarchical scheme based on the quantity of a given drug, with larger quantities accorded higher penalties. As Figures D and E illustrate, the range of quantity triggers varies by the type of offense and substance. Most states specify at least two quantity triggers for selling cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine; however, only 11 states specify two or more quantity triggers for the sale of ecstasy. On the other hand, most states specify only one quantity trigger for violating provisions related to possession of ecstasy (N=28), cocaine (N=25), or methamphetamine (N=29). Quantity triggers related to possession of marijuana vary from one to five triggers; however, the majority of states (N=27) specify between three and five quantity triggers for violating the marijuana possession provisions. …SALE AND/OR POSSESSION OF STANDARD RETAIL AMOUNTSThe standard retail amounts discussed previously do not result in standard penalties across the states. As shown by Table 1, there is considerable variation in the statutorily-imposed maximum imprisonment time for possession and sale offenses of the standard retail amount of each drug. The least variation exists in marijuana possession offenses, where 95% of the states reporting a statutorily-imposed maximum imprisonment time have a term of one year or less.Only two states, Minnesota and Nevada, specify maximum imprisonment periods greater than one year. However, the variability in statutorily-imposed imprisonment terms is significantly greater for possession of the standard retail amounts of cocaine, ecstasy and methamphetamine.The range of possible maximum imprisonment terms goes from less than 1 year to 15 years in the case of cocaine and ecstasy and from less than 1 year to 25 years in the case of methamphetamine. Only three states (6%) with a statutorily-imposed maximum imprisonment term impose a sentence of less than one year for cocaine and methamphetamine and only four states (11%) with statutorily-imposed maximum terms do so for ecstasy. However, over half of all states with statutorily-imposed incarceration times impose sentences of five years or more for possession offenses of the standard retail amount of each of the three drugs.Table 1: Maximum Imprisonment Time for Standard Retail Amount by Type of Offense and Substance as of January 1, 2000 (in Years)Marijuana Cocaine Ecstasy MethamphetaminePossessionLow 0.003 0.42 0.082 0.4225th percentile 0.5 1 1 1.550th percentile 0.75 5 5 575th percentile 1 7 6 7High 5 15 15 25States that do not specifymaximum imprisonment 9 0 1 4 1 …States impose a similarly wide range of maximum imprisonment terms for sale offenses of the standard retail amount of each of these drugs. However, the maximums imposed for violating sale provisions in each state are generally much higher than that imposed for violating possession provisions. In the case of marijuana, an offense for trying to sell 10 grams could be met with a maximum imprisonment term of less than one year in North Carolina but a term of life in Montana and Oklahoma. Similarly, a sale offense for the standard retail amounts of cocaine, ecstasy or methamphetamine could be met with a one year imprisonment term in North Carolina but a lifetime sentence in Montana. Although Montana is the only state that imposes a lifetime sentence for sale offenses of the standard retail quantity of ecstasy, three additional states (Arkansas, Idaho, and Oklahoma) impose lifetime sentences for sale offenses of the standard retail quantity of cocaine and four additional states (Arkansas, Idaho, Oklahoma and Texas) impose life sentences for the standard retail quantity of methamphetamine.At least half of all states with statutorily-imposed maximum imprisonment terms for sale of standard retail amounts impose terms of 10 years or more in the case of ecstasy and methamphetamine and 15 years or more in the case of cocaine. …SUBSEQUENT OFFENSESMost of the states have enhanced penalties for second, or subsequent, offenses for at least one type of offense and one trigger level. Five states (Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, and Oregon) do not have increased statutory penalties associated with a second offense. This categorization does not represent the probability of a more severe sentence for a second infraction of an illicit drug law that is not the same offense, since in many cases the judicial system has other mechanisms in place to account for such enhancements. Instead, the data represented by this category only show those states that start increasing statutory penalties upon the second offense for the same violation. Other states that begin to enhance penalties based on multiple offenses, or based upon other regulatory schemes (e.g., sentencing guidelines), are not shown. …http://www.rwjf.org/files/publications/other/DrugPoliciesReport.pdfU.S. Department of JusticeOffice of Justice ProgramsBureau of Justice StatisticsSeptember 2011, NCJ 234319BJSPatterns & TrendsArrest in the United States, 1980-2009* In 1980, 22% of all drug law violation arrests were for drug sale or manufacture. This proportion peaked in 1991 at 36% and fell to 19% by 2009.* Between 1980 and 2009, while the adult arrest rate for drug possession or use grew 138%, the juvenile arrest rate increased 33%. Similarly, from 1980 to 2009, the increase in the arrest rate for drug sale or manufacture was greater for adults (77%) than for juveniles (31%). …This report presents newly developed national estimates of arrests and arrest rates covering the 30-year period from 1980 to 2009, based on data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR). By reviewing trends over the 30 years, readers can develop a detailed understanding of matters entering the criminal justice system in the U.S. through arrest.The UCR collects arrest data from participating state and local law enforcement agencies. These agencies provide monthly counts of their arrests (including citations and summons) for criminal acts within several offense categories.In Crime in the United States, 2009, the FBI estimated that the state and local law enforcement agencies covered by the UCR made 13,687,000 arrests in 2009. Statistics in this report expand the FBI's set of published arrest estimates to include estimates of arrests by age group, sex, and race within many offense categories.