Mass Incarceration War On Drugs

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 United States used War on Drugs as the reason to have mass incarceration and arrest people of color, especially the black people. The government arrest the black people into jail by accuse them selling or consuming crack cocaine, however, it is the government (CIA) who allowed guerrilla armies to bring the crack cocaine to the black neighborhood. The War on Drugs is just one of the excuse that government used to put black Americans into jail and this mass incarceration is their tool for social control. This way, they can separate the white people and people of color and maintain their racial hierarchy.

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, drug use became a major concern for most Americans. As the War on Drugs and “Just Say No” campaign were being thrust into the spotlight by the government and media, the public became more aware of the scope of drug use and abuse in this country. The federal and states’ governments quickly responded by creating and implementing more harsh and punitive punishments for drug offenses. Most of these laws have either remained unchanged or become stricter in the years since then.

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

In 1971, President Richard Nixon initiated the national War on Drugs, which focused on the passage of policies geared toward fighting illegal substances (Amundson, Zajicek, and Hunt, 2014). During this time, Nixon allocated two-thirds of federal dollars for treatment of drug addiction and prevention of new users and one-third of federal dollars for interdiction and enforcement (Amundson et al., 2014). After Nixon’s initial War on Drugs program, policies and programs began to shift. Under the Regan Administration, the War on Drugs became more punitive and there was a reversal of federal dollars. Under the new and subsequent regimes, two-thirds of money was spent on interdiction and enforcement and one-third was spent on treatment and prevention (Amundson et al., 2014). Under this new Administration came tougher sentencing, an increase in prison spending, and mandatory minimum sentencing for drug offenses (Amundson et al.,

The use and abuse of non-prescription drugs has been a problem in America since colonial times. Historically, the reaction to this problem has been the enforcement of prohibition laws and providing total abstinence education. This has resulted in big business in America; according to the United States Office of National Drug Control Policy, the federal government spent $19.2 billion dollars in 2003 on the war on drugs (1). Unfortunately, the abstinence based education and prohibition laws that are incorporated in the war on drugs have been wholly ineffective in slowing the demand for illicit drugs, and have had the opposite effects of driving up demand, street value, and drug-related crimes. The U.S. war on drugs bases its success on a

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.

Dangerous illegal drugs have plagued American citizens and their youth for as long as the country has been in existence. These harmful drugs are not only responsible for countless amounts of deaths, but the corruption of the American society in general. All too many times have these drugs been blamed for insanity, racism, rebellion, and straight up violence. Today the government is spending approximately $19.179 billion in one year to combat these evils (Gifford). Unfortunately, even with all of this effort going in to stop illegal drug use, the “War on Drugs” is yet to produce almost any positive results. Because of this, politicians are urging the government to spend even more money to combat the seemingly

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 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?

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

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.