Drug War Sociology

“Over 40 year ago president nixon, Declared Drug abuse public enemy number one, starting an unprecedented global Campaign, the war on drug.

The American “War on Drugs” war created to keep an exorbitant amount of people behind bars, and in a subservient status. First, America has a storied history when it comes to marijuana use. However, within the last 50 years legislation pertaining to drug use and punishment has increased significantly. In the modern era, especially hard times have hit minority communities thanks to these drug laws. While being unfairly targeted by drug laws and law enforcement, minorities in America are having a difficult time trying to be productive members of society.

In the past forty years, the United States has spent over $2.5 trillion dollars funding enforcement and prevention in the fight against drug use in America (Suddath). Despite the efforts made towards cracking down on drug smugglers, growers, and suppliers, statistics show that addiction rates have remained unchanged and the number of people using illegal drugs is increasing daily (Sledge). Regardless of attempts to stem the supply of drugs, the measure and quality of drugs goes up while the price goes down (Koebler). Now with the world’s highest incarceration rates and greatest illegal drug consumption (Sledge), the United States proves that the “war on drugs” is a war that is not being won.

“Over 40 year ago president nixon, Declared Drug abuse public enemy number one, starting an unprecedented global Campaign, the war on drug.

In January 2004, senatorial candidate Barack Obama firmly opposed the twenty two-year war on drugs, saying that the United States’ approach in the drug war has been ineffective (Debussman).  Although the term, “war on drugs,” was originally coined by President Richard Nixon in 1971, it wasn’t until Ronald Reagan announced that “drugs were menacing society” that it became a major policy goal to stop widespread use. Following Reagan’s promises to fight for drug-free schools and workplaces, the United States boosted its efforts in its most recent declaration

The War on Drugs, a term that was first popularized by former president Richard Nixon in 1971, was the start of a governmental war on drug abuse, whether it be against those selling narcotics or the ones using them. Over the years, many claims have come to light, arguing that this so called “war” was one waged to oppress minorities, especially impoverished African-Americans in America’s inner city. This program was one that exploited African-Americans who were struggling after the government failed them, leaving them to fend for themselves and making decisions based on their socioeconomic status. Throughout this paper, the sociological theories pertaining to the attack on African-Americans by the government through the means of a proxy war

Thousands upon thousands of lives have been taken due to the huge demand for drugs crossing from Mexico into the United States. The murder rate is extremely high, and has caused so much chaos between both countries because of this. Drug dealers in the United States contact drug dealers in Mexico, and vice versa, to cross the drugs between borders illegally. A high percentage of the time, either of the drug dealers from both sides will have a scape goat swim the border while carrying high amounts of drugs with them, or will attempt to cross it over smuggled in a vehicle. In Mexico, it is extremely corrupt and even the law enforcement is involved in the crossing of drugs illegally. This being done causes so much conflict

In “Modern Slavery,” PoliticalArticles (2011) notes that, in contemporary American society, more African-Americans are imprisoned today than were held as slaves prior to emancipation. In examining this phenomenon through the theoretical lens provided by Conflict Theory, the essay argues that imprisonment has come to represent a new “Jim Crow” in which poor urban African-Americans are now disproportionately incarcerated on the basis of the “War on Drugs.” Arguing that this structure is itself unjust, the essay thus by argues that the disproportionate focus on incarceration which prevails within this war is highly problematic as it pertains to social justice for the Black community. Concluding, it examines the draught of opportunities available to African-American minorities within American cities, via an overview of urban sociology, and proposes that macro level dynamics pertaining to the nature of the city are perpetuating the racialist implications of the War on Drugs.

In recent decades, there have been increasing trends of incarceration, specifically in relation to the use and possession of illegal drugs. In 2010, there were 1.6 million people arrested for drug related offenses, which is approximately 1 person every 19 seconds. The majority of the arrests, however, are for possession of small amounts and are minor offenses (Criminal Justice Fact Sheet, NAACP). The controversy over the drug war is the element of concentration in cities, consistently in underprivileged neighborhoods, resulting in the emphasis of disproportionate incarceration of minority groups, expressly African Americans. This group is influenced heavily by over-imprisonment, which affects their economic standing and place in society, causing inequality between them and whites. The war on drugs and the measures used by the government to control drug use contributes to racism and inequality problems, as well as to the stigma following African Americans in modern America.

After their time is served these people are pushed back into the real world with no help to keep them out of the system. They resort back to their old ways and are forced back into prison. Instead of offering these people help and giving a solution to their addictions and help find a stable job for them. Another issue, I see within this system is the racism. The system is very focused on entrapping a certain demographic of people.

The current policy in use by the United States concerning illegal drugs is both outdated and unfair. This so-called war on drugs is a deeply rooted campaign of prohibition and unfair sentencing that is very controversial and has been debated for many years. The war on drugs is designed so that it will never end. This current drug was has very little impact on the overall supply of prohibited drugs and its impact on demand seems non-existent. United States’ taxpayers are spending billions of dollars on this failure of policy. They are spending billions to incarcerate drug users instead offering drug treatment which could help lower demand. Legalizing illicit would lower abuse and deaths from use and could have a positive economic impact on the United States. Certain industries are making massive sums of money by capitalizing on the drug war.

The War on Drugs, like the war on Terrorism, is a war that America may not be able to afford to win. For over forty years the United States has been fighting the War on Drugs and there is no end in sight. It has turned into a war that is about politics and economics rather than about drugs and criminals. The victims of this war are numerous; but perhaps they are not as numerous as those who benefit from the war itself.

In the mid to late 20th Century, the United States has experienced several states of Cultural Revolution. The Civil Rights Movement, the Women's Movement, the anti-War Movement during the Vietnam era, and the increasing presence of a widespread, politically active and highly vocalized youth counterculture led the United States government to feel that maybe, they were losing control of their population. The white, upper class men, who for centuries had dominated the political realm, began to feel their grip on power falter. By targeting drug use, the government would be free to "deal" with minorities especially African Americans, Hispanics, the free-love generation, and left-wing "radicals," all while claiming that they were protecting

In 2009 1,663,582 people were arrested for non-violent drug charges. These people’s lives are now forever changed because of a mistake they made. This mistake is continually made every single day and Americans are being punished in extreme ways for a non violent crime. The United States needs to decimalize all drugs because the drug war is costly, causes high incarceration rates, and isn’t effective as European drug solutions.

When I first had any thoughts about the war on drugs I believed that this issue had nearly been completely eradicated due to the tireless efforts of law enforcement. One of my preconceived ideas was that the individuals involved in this trade lacked any autonomy of what they were doing to their societies. But one thing that I never doubted was that those in charge of these drug-dealings were cunning and calculated people. Through applying various sociological concepts such as; the influence of race, ethnicity, bureaucracies, among other sociological ideas one can see that there is more to the war on drugs than people selling narcotics and people buying narcotics. An important sociological term to familiarize oneself with to understand this