Honors Theses

Date of Award

12-2021

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Public Policy Leadership

First Advisor

Cliff Johnson

Second Advisor

Kyle Fritz

Third Advisor

Tucker Carrington

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

Through its incarceration of simple possession offenders, Mississippi is failing to acknowledge the severity of addiction and importance of mental health. In this paper, I will examine Mississippi’s history of opinion and policy on drug use. In order to gain a better understanding of addiction and Mississippi’s criminal justice system, I interview several individuals with experience in varying aspects of these issues. Mississippi has one of the highest rates of incarceration in the United States, with stringent laws regarding the possession of narcotics. Mississippi’s mental health resources have been deemed unconstitutionally deficient on more than one occasion, and addicts are receiving inadequate care due to a combination of these two factors. In order to remedy these shortfalls, I recommend a full-scale decriminalization of simple possession of narcotics in Mississippi, with an expansion of mental health resources. I also emphasize the need for educational measures on substance abuse, addiction, and mental health, in order to end the negative stigma towards these issues and improve overall public health.

Accessibility Status

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Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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