Criminological Theory that Best Describes the Women in the film “Reefer Madness”
A Criminological theory refers to a survey of varied accounts of the cause of condemnable behaviour ( Glossary ) . These theories are applied to the current condemnable justness pattern to explicate the causes of condemnable activity. In the film “Refer Madness” , there are three major female characters Mary Lane, Mae Coleman and Blanche, that are involved and influenced by offense. The criminological theory that best describes them is Differential Association, which is defined as a “theory farther provinces that deviant Acts of the Apostless are non limited to, general demands and values as both can be satisfied through conventional or non-deviant means” ( Clinard & A ; Meier 2008: 101 ) . Edwin Sutherland’s created this criminological theory that illustrates the interaction of an person with condemnable wrongdoers, and makes them acquire to cognize the attitudes, values, motivations, and techniques for condemnable behaviour. “Sutherland asserts that aberrant behaviour is learned, non innate, and is learned through associations with others” ( Clinard & A ; Meier 2008: 100 ) .
Sutherland came up with nine basic claims that describe Differential Association as a criminological theory, which describes the incidences involved with the female characters in the film. Harmonizing to Sutherland’s first claim of Differential Association, condemnable behaviour is learned. Mae Coleman and Blanche are ladies of apparently good upbringing since their actions in the picture are soft and honorably mannered. At one point, Mae Coleman objects to presenting immature persons to marihuana, portraying that she was ne’er involved in drugs in her young person. Contrary to Mae, her hubby or boyfriend, Jack Perry, and Ralph Wiley do non care about whom they introduce the drugs because they chiefly introduce it to youth and non grownups. In the film, he entices Jim Lane, Bill Harper and even at one clip states that he unsuccessfully tried to convey Mary to the house to smoke some articulation.
This shows how the adult females learned condemnable behaviours from their male opposite numbers, and in this instance from Jack Perry and Ralph Wiley. In add-on, Sutherland states that in Differential Association, the acquisition of condemnable behaviour takes topographic point inside confidant groups of persons. In the film, Jack plays a critical function in demoing Mae, his spouse how the marijuana concern plants. Ralph, a complete nut as showed in the film seems intimate with Blanche and Blanche seems to larn more from Ralph. Most of the ladies that visit Jack’s house to smoke marihuanas are largely in the company of a adult male ( most probably their spouses ) , who lead the manner to the house. Sutherland in another claim of Differential Association indicates that an single becomes a violator as a consequence confirming more definitions prefering misdemeanor of the jurisprudence than back uping definitions non prefering misdemeanor of the jurisprudence. In the film, the female characters are to a big grade isolated from anti-criminal forms. They are non exposed to an unsloped mannered person who can call on the carpet their actions of drug selling and drug use, Mary Lane has no person from whom she can take good wonts.
In the beginning of the film Mary Lane, is the angel of the film by defying entry into Jack’ s house. Finally, when she comes looking for Bill, she finds herself caught up in the same cyberspace of drug usage as everyone around her. By Differential Association, Criminal behaviour of interactions with persons is normally adopted and accepted as a norm. Because, it all of a sudden does non look to be a offense since everyone around you it’s making it, until the person is caught up with the governments. For Mae and Blanche, the merchandising of marijuana to persons irrespective of whether the purchaser is a adolescent or an grownup, becomes a norm for them, for the simple ground that they forget that it is a felony, and that it does non correlate with the Narcotic Bureau in the film. It’s non until the decease of Jack at the custodies of Ralph, who when insane, that they realize their error and the incorrect company that they were associated with.
How Differential Association, A Criminological Theory, Forms Basis For Today’s Drug Policy
War on Drugs is a celebrated motto of the current drug policies, which has proven extremely uneffective in cut downing drug ingestion in the United States. Billions of dollars are being spent yearly by the authorities of the United States to command drugs, and more than half a million drug traders and users are behind bars on charges of drug trafficking or drug usage. Differential Association is a criminological theory that forms a great footing for the current drug policy on narcotics, in about all 50 provinces in America. If good understood and it’s hypothesizes applied, the war on drugs could accomplish a greater efficiency in the current drug control attempts.
Despite rigorous Torahs devised by the federal and province authoritiess being created, the usage of drugs has increased and “tough enforcement, the centrepiece of American drug policy in footings of rhetoric, budget, and substance, has little to demo by manner of success” ( Boyum and Reuter 2005 ) . The Numberss of drug wrongdoers under captivity, harmonizing to Boyum and Reuter has multiplied ten-fold since the 1980s and there is no grounds that can turn out that the increased penalty put in topographic point is cut downing the usage of drugs.
A great figure of well-bred American teens get enticed by the incorrect persons into utilizing drugs, which leads to the beginning of use. In add-on, the media to some extent can be blamed for promoting the usage of drugs with famous persons, comedies and film devising butch exposing the usage of drugs such as marihuanas and cocaine. It is unfortunate that the drug policy that are put into topographic point below the belt punishes the victims that are wrongly influenced, by faulting them for drug offenses while pretermiting the function they should play in rehabilitating victims and groking the existent perpetrators in the drug threat.
Drug suspects acquire lured into drug usage, get apprehended, acquire denied good legal representation, and are unwillingly forced to plead guilty. When released from captivity, rigorous Torahs are put up segregating them from population by being denied employment, societal comfortss etc. , And the procedure repeats itself once more.
The current drug policy needs reform so as to do it effectual in the War against drugs. Harmonizing to Differential Association criminological theory, the population around the drug users should be approached at a different angle and some policies repealed and reforms made to do this war successful.
Recommendations For Changes In The Drug PolicyDrug intervention services should be increased.
Harmonizing to Boyum and Reuter effectual drug control policies are underfunded. Drug intervention services, which are short in supply, should be increased since intervention outgos in the long tally wage up by cut downing offense, than funding enforcement of ordinances on drug and substance maltreatment.
Reducing drug related jobs.Domestic enforcement should concentrate more on cut downing jobs that are brought about by drugs e.g. Violence happens around drug markets as an option to convicting a immense figure of low-level drug traders.
Legalization but otherwise control of specified drugs.This should depend upon the hazards of the drugs, but otherwise guaranting that labels with dose and warnings, advertisement limitations, restrictions of age, limitation of measure purchased one time, signifier of supply, usage of licences etc. Are used for control.
Decriminalization.This refers to the decrease of the control and punishments of drug wrongdoers before strong belief and after functioning sentence. Laws excluding ex-convicts from certain privileges should be reduced to forestall ex-convicts traveling back to drug covering, as a despairing step to their jobs such as denial of employment, denial of schooling etc.
Mentions
- Sutherland, E. H. ( N.d. ) .Differential Association Theory. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/sutherland.html
- Reefer Madness ( 1937 ) [ Video file ] . Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.youtube.com/watch? v=Azf320JDdqU
- Glossary of Courses Offered in Most Criminal Justice Degree Programs. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //www.successdegrees.com/glossaryofcriminaljusticecoursedescriptions.html
- Boyum, D. , & A ; Reuter, P. ( 26 March 2005 ) . Are We Fring the War on Drugs? .An Analytic Appraisal of U.S. Drug Policy, 1-2. hypertext transfer protocol: //scholar.google.com/scholar_url? hl=en & A ; q=http: //67.208.89.102/files/2009/01/31/20050325_book812release.pdf & A ; sa=X & A ; scisig=AAGBfm1moHCdfAhW7XbJvRIaWHm5KlXEvw & A ; oi=scholarr
- Clinard, M. B. , & A ; Meier, R. F. ( 2008 ) .Sociology of Deviant Behavior( 13 ed. ) . Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth.
- Sloman, L. ( 1979 ) .Reefer Madness: A History of Marijuana.New York, New York: St. Martin ‘s Press.
