Do you recommend that the U.S. government enter into this agreement? Defend your response.

Critical Thinking Activities.

Read the following scenarios and answer the questions that follow. Your answer must demonstrate critical thinking and concepts from the course. All answers must use proper grammar and spelling. Any outside sources must be cited and referenced according to APA standards. The assignment, should be a minimum of one page in length.

Scenario #1

You are a federal DEA official who has recently been informed that a major drug lord in Honduras, presently the leader of the dominant cocaine-trafficking organization in that country, has agreed to provide significant information concerning drug-related corruption activities of top Honduran political figures as well prominent banking families in the country, in exchange for leniency in the prosecution by authorities of crimes committed while in power, his placement in the witness protection program, and passage of relatives to the United States who would be subject to reprisals. His cooperation would be a crucial step in reducing what has been called state-supported drug trafficking in Honduras. Presently, Honduras is the gateway for massive amounts of cocaine headed for the United States through Mexico, and it has been impossible to make inroads in stemming the tide of Colombian cocaine into U.S. cities. However, this individual has admitted to having caused 78 deaths in Honduras during a 10-year period, including the murders of a lawyer, two journalists, an antidrug government official, and several innocent bystanders. Do you recommend that the U.S. government enter into this agreement? Defend your response.

Question:

Do you recommend that the U.S. government enter into this agreement? Defend your response.

Scenario #2

Suppose that you were a state legislator considering new regulatory laws with respect to psychoactive drugs.

Questions:

What would be your argument in favor of making a distinction between hard drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, and soft drugs, such as marijuana and hallucinogens?

On what basis would you make such a distinction?

What would be the counterarguments to this proposal?

What considerations would be made with respect to federal regulations currently in place?