Mass Incarceration War On Drugs

For many years, drugs have been the center of crime and the criminal justice system in the United States. Due to this widespread epidemic, President Richard Nixon declared the “War on Drugs” in 1971 with a campaign that promoted the prohibition of illicit substances and implemented policies to discourage the overall production, distribution, and consumption. The War on Drugs and the U.S. drug policy has experienced the most significant and complex challenges between criminal law and the values of today’s society. With implemented drug polices becoming much harsher over the years in order to reduce the overall misuse and abuse of drugs and a expanded federal budget, it has sparked a nation wide debate whether or not they have created more harm than good. When looking at the negative consequences of these policies not only has billions of dollars gone to waste, but the United States has also seen public health issues, mass incarceration, and violent drug related crime within the black market in which feeds our global demands and economy. With this failed approach for drug prohibition, there continues to be an increase in the overall production of illicit substances, high rate of violence, and an unfavorable impact to our nation.

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

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.

When my audience hears “War on Drugs” they may assume it is a worthy endeavor because drug abuse is such a pervasive problem that affects many families. I must dispel the assumption that the “War on Drugs” dealt with the drug abuse problem or reduced drug sales. I can do this by demonstrating that there is plenty of evidence showing that the “War on Drugs” did not do what it set out to do and is therefore not an effective approach to the problem of drug trade and abuse. Additionally the imprisoning of citizens, even if it is done unjustly, does not reduce crime at comparable rates. Research from Harvard found that during the “War on Drugs” in state prisons there was a 66% increase in prison population but crime was only reduced by 2-5% and it cost the taxpayers 53 billion dollars (Coates, 2015). The fact the violent crime went up all through Nixon’s administration while he rallied for “Law & Order” and policing became more severe furthers this argument (Alexander, 2012). Four out five drug arrests are low-level possession charges as well, demonstrating that police policies aren’t dismantling the drug system just punishing addicts (Alexander, 2012). What’s more, drug abuse in America have remained stagnate and even increased in some instances even when billions of dollars have been pumped into the program (National

The War on Drugs and Mass Incarceration have been two very well-known topics of society. While these have taken place during the Cold War, there is still a continuance in them today. The impact that has been left on society from these issues have stuck around, while mass incarceration is still of talk today.

One must wonder if the "war on drugs" helps or hinders our American Criminal Justice System when you look at the overwhelming impact it has had on crowding issues within our prisons. At the present time there are over 1.5 million people in prison, 59.6 % for drug offenses alone.

Drug abuse is something that has plagued Americans over the years and continues to be an issue today. The hippie culture of the 1960s contributed to a rise in drug abuse. In addition, the Vietnam war created an awareness that servicemen were coming back to America addicted to Heroin. The Drug Abuse Prevention Treatment & Rehabilitation Act “states that control of drug abuse requires the development of a comprehensive, coordinated long term federal strategy that encompasses both effective law enforcement against illegal drug traffic and effective health programs to rehabilitation victims of drug abuse”(US Legal, 2016, para 2). The Harrison Narcotic Act of 1914 was the first ban on the distribution of drugs and in 1919 the alcohol prohibition

The United States is known to have the highest incarceration rate in the world and the vast majority of prisoners are convicted of drug related crimes. Today, one cannot think of law enforcement without thinking about drugs. The more drugs are thought of as a police problem the less drugs are seen as a health related problem. If drugs were framed as a public health problem, the United States would observe a different policing practice. The way drugs are perceived and prohibited have many similarities to the alcohol prohibition and one can see that prohibition is not an effective method. The focus on prohibition has deliberately created different policing methods and inadvertently increased crime, changed the function of policing, and has made

Reagan administration spent 1.65 billion, and in 2000 the Clinton administration spent more than 17.4 billion dollars in the War on Drugs.(17) Despite all this spending, drugs still flow freely in our society. America has always had a tremendous demand for illegal drugs. Simple economic principals show that when there is a demand for a product, somebody will supply it; even if that means that there is a chance he will be incarcerated. Many people do go to jail, approximately 236,800 people are expected to be incarcerated for drug law violations in 2001, however history has shown us that in the War on Drugs there is always somebody willing to take the place of

The United States has the highest incarceration rates in the world. According to Attorney General Eric Holder “The U.S. accounts for 5% of the world's population, but 25% of the world’s prisoners”. The United States incarceration rates were not always so drastic. In fact, according to the Sentencing Project, in less than 30 years “The U.S. penal population exploded from around 300,000 to more than 2 million”. The primary contributor to this enormous growth of the prison system is due to The WAR ON DRUGS. Now the question we should be asking: is the war on drugs doing more harm than good?

The War on Drugs is a deep-rooted controversial campaign of prohibition and military aid that has been disputed for many years. There are constant debates as to whether there will ever be a viable solution to the problem. However, as we continue to pursue the “war on drugs,” it has become increasingly evident that “winning” the war seems to be an impossible task. Drug prohibition and the undertaking of the war on drugs have stirred much controversy over its moral and logical implications. While there are many drugs that exist that are unhealthy when abused, it has become apparent that the drug policies in the United States, as well as many parts of the world, are inconsistent and oppressive. Ironically, drug laws were initially created for the good of society, but it has become increasingly clear that drug laws and our undertaking of the drug war have only served to cause problems. The current war on drugs has led to devastating effects on society both economically and socially. Violence and corruption have subjugated throughout the United States, Mexico and many other parts of the world. Additionally, drug prohibition efforts have had very little impact on the supply of illegal drugs and have had little to no success in reducing the demand for illegal drugs. The war on drugs, which is fueled by corruption and propaganda, needs to come to an end for the betterment of society.

This paper will be discussing the issues on the war on drugs, alternative sentencing, and how the drug war has cost the United States millions of dollars.

Through research and professional first hand account I will explain how the “War” on drugs has been a detrimental not only to drug users but the American society as a whole, and has ruined the lives of American people. While not having any effect on the use of illicit drugs or the flow of illicit drugs into America.

The usage, abuse, and sale of illegal drugs is an epidemic that has remained an unsolved problem of the United States. The biggest effort that the United States has launched in order to deal with rampancy of drug issues is the War on Drugs that was started by former president Richard Nixon. During its beginning, the War on Drugs was controversial due to the attitudes that were directed to drug users that were cultivated by the policies being set. In the present day, the War on Drugs is under scrutiny as being a trillion dollar failure. Those who advance that the War on Drugs was a failure in many regards are correct. Drug abuse, overdoses on drugs, and the availability of drugs is still a problem, if not more of a problem than it was in 1971. Undoubtedly, the amount of drug makers and sellers that have been arrested due to the War on Drugs has skyrocketed. Because of this feat that can be attributed to the policies developed from the War on Drugs, wouldn’t the War on Drugs be a success? The answer is no because the War on Drugs hasn’t fully undertaken the most important aspect of warring against drugs—targeting the conditions that breed drug users. United States law enforcement can send as many drug users and drug dealers as it can. Yet, the drug problem of America can never be properly addressed if the conditions that can lead one to use and sell drugs, poverty and broken family ties, are never attacked as they should be. Additionally, those who are in the cycle

The year is 1989, President George H. W. Bush hoists a bag of crack cocaine in front of the cameras and proclaims, “the gravest domestic threat facing our nation today is drugs.” After this, Bush gave a set of nine goals for the American people to achieve within a decade for the War on Drugs effort. By 2000, only two of the goals were met. The War on Drugs was declared in 1971 by Richard Nixon. Since then, it has been a topic of debate on whether it should be carried forward or be nullified. The majority of what the program has done is putting small time offenders away, creating a cycle of jail, getting out, inability to find a job, back on drugs, and eventually back in jail. This cycle needs to be stopped. The war on drugs has failed society by being an unsuccessful program, ruining people’s lives, and fueling crime. The War on Drugs is a failed program that needs to be reformed to better suit the needs of people today.