CRJ 465 - Drugs, Law, and Society: Race, Gender, and U.S. Drug Policy

Units: 3
In-depth examination of drug policy on the criminal justice system and diverse communities. Impact of historical “drug scares,” the war on drugs, and resulting mass incarceration. Drug policy reform such as decriminalization, legalization, harm reduction, drug courts.

Equivalent Quarter Course: CRJA 4710.
Possible Instructional Methods: Entirely On-ground.
Grading: A-F or CR/NC (student choice).
Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Define and evaluate the scope of the relationship between drugs and crime, and the U.S. criminal justice system;
Analyze the law enforcement strategies in applying drug laws, including legal, illegal, recreational use and addiction;
Analyze the effectiveness of drug enforcement/law enforcement strategies in the application of drug laws as compared to prevention/treatment approaches;
Critically analyze the impact of drug criminalization on the offender populations from a race, class, gender, and mental health perspective;
Analyze the relationship between criminal activity and the illegal drug industry;
Explore a range of drug policy reforms, including decriminalization, legalization, harm reduction, drug treatment/drug courts.