http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/drugs Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:24:58 -0400 Wed, 03 Jun 2026 11:24:58 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1726/a-line-in-the-sand-drug-control-along-the-us-mexico-border By Benjamin J. Mackey - This paper analyzes the ongoing drug war being waged between Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs), their rivals, and the U.S./Mexican governments. This analysis is conducted through the lens of drug control; namely, through an examination of the distinct strategies of interdiction and international operations. While both of these strategies carry inherent risks and benefits, the analysis conducted herein indicates that the realm of international operations holds greater potential to directly affect the dynamic environment in which these DTOs thrive. As such, specific international operations... Wed, 31 Jan 2018 08:28 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1726/a-line-in-the-sand-drug-control-along-the-us-mexico-border http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1590/lowering-restrictions-on-performance-enhancing-drugs-in-elite-sports By Rory W. Collins - This article argues that performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) ought to be allowed across all elite sporting competitions for athletes over the age of 16 so long as consuming them does not pose a significant risk to their health. I begin with a brief explanation of the current state of PED use in professional sports before assessing the prospect of allowing PEDs by three widely-accepted (though far from comprehensive) measures of ethical merit: well-being, autonomy, and justice. I end with a critique of the World Anti-Doping Agency's criteria for banning PEDs, concluding that allowing athletes to... Fri, 24 Mar 2017 09:28 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1590/lowering-restrictions-on-performance-enhancing-drugs-in-elite-sports http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1563/latin-americas-female-prisoner-problem-how-the-war-on-drugs-feminization-of-poverty-and-female-liberation-contribute-to-mass-incarceration-of-women By Gretchen Cloutier - According to the International Centre for Prison Studies, the number of women in prisons in Latin America has almost doubled since the 1990s. Most women in prison are incarcerated for drug related crimes, and although women are still a minority within the prison population, the number of women behind bars is growing disproportionately in comparison to men. Simultaneously, Latin American states are implementing harsh drug criminalization policies in accordance with the global War on Drugs. Scholars have theorized that women commit crimes due to both societal liberation and out of economic necessity... Sat, 31 Dec 2016 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1563/latin-americas-female-prisoner-problem-how-the-war-on-drugs-feminization-of-poverty-and-female-liberation-contribute-to-mass-incarceration-of-women http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1427/perpetuating-the-cycle-opioid-addiction-and-the-criminal-justice-system By Scot N. DuFour - Heroin use and the consequences that come from it are skyrocketing around the United States. From major metropolitan areas to rural towns, millions of people are in the throes of opiate addiction. The traditional response to the illegal use and possession of drugs, including opiates, in the United States is incarceration, but this response is wholly inadequate to address the issue of heroin addiction and may actually contribute to the problem by placing users in situations that promote opiate use. Several treatment options for opiate addiction have been found to be far more successful than traditional... Tue, 05 Jul 2016 06:36 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1427/perpetuating-the-cycle-opioid-addiction-and-the-criminal-justice-system http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/895/prescription-drug-monitoring-programs-to-curb-prescription-drug-abuse-examining-the-components-of-program-efficacy By Joshua J. Timmons - In the American healthcare system there have been few trends as persistent, yet avoidable, as the rise in prescription drug overdoses. Between 1999 and 2008 prescription overdoses quadrupled to nearly twenty thousand per year (Paulozzi, Jones, Mack, & Rudd, 2011). It is estimated that nearly six million Americans are abusing or misusing prescription drugs in any given year, and nonmedical prescription use remains one of the most common forms of illicit substance abuse among young adults, second only to cannabis use (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2012).... Mon, 05 May 2014 12:09 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/895/prescription-drug-monitoring-programs-to-curb-prescription-drug-abuse-examining-the-components-of-program-efficacy http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1242/deconstructing-the-camarena-affair-and-the-militarized-united-states-mexico-border By Benjamin Schenk - Recently, the state of the United States-Mexico border has assumed primary importance in American domestic politics. And with that, the border has been conflated with notions of security. This paper will investigate the root causes of the border's securitization by grounding the case study of the Camarena Affair within The Copenhagen School's burgeoning constructivist literature on securitization. The paper will conclude by discussing the legislative fallout from the Camarena Affair's legacy, and arguing that the successful linkage between border and security occurred long before the events of... Sun, 15 Apr 2012 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1242/deconstructing-the-camarena-affair-and-the-militarized-united-states-mexico-border http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/205/the-need-for-an-open-debate-on-drug-legalization By William K. Boland - The question of the legalization of drugs has emerged sporadically throughout the past few decades of national and international politics, resulting in a plethora of opposing viewpoints. The heated debate has consumed the American public, and as of late, has virtually bombarded them with anti-drug ads and sentiment. The government has fueled its anti-drug campaign with ever-growing amounts of taxpayer money in order to insure the “evil” drugs are kept out of the hands of Americans. It has created an army of soldiers headed by a Drug Czar to fight the drug war in the form of the NDC... Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:15 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/205/the-need-for-an-open-debate-on-drug-legalization http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/26/usaids-alternative-development-strategy-a-critical-review-of-initiatives-in-colombia By Arielle K. Eirienne - Run by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), these alternative development initiatives attempt to provide small-scale farmers with ‘alternative’ economic opportunities, such as cultivation of cocoa, beans, coffee, and fruits or engagement in the rubber and wood industries, as well as with infrastructure that might allow alternative industries to flourish, such as roads connecting the countryside to major market areas. USAID also offers several farmers credit and/or monetary assistance. Overall, the agency’s goal is to provide Colombian peasant families... Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:33 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/26/usaids-alternative-development-strategy-a-critical-review-of-initiatives-in-colombia http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1284/us-policy-towards-colombia-a-focus-on-the-wrong-issue By Darian Singer - Colombia has been the epicenter of the war on drugs and is considered a crucial front in the war on terror. The politics within Colombia have been profoundly affected under the constant watch of the United States. Much of the recent policy in Colombia has focused on the wars on drugs and terror to appease America and its leaders. In light of all this effort, little has fundamentally changed. Colombia, though its famous Medellín and Cali drug cartels have fled, remains a haven for coca cultivation and home to many violent paramilitary and guerrilla groups who frequently spread violence throughout... Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1284/us-policy-towards-colombia-a-focus-on-the-wrong-issue