Propostition 36 Essay example

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.

Today the number are in the war on drug is a huge failure with devastated unintended consequences, it lead to mass incarceration in the us, to corruption, to political destabilization, and violence in latin america, asia, and africa. To systemic human right abuse across the world.”-Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

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

Today the number are in the war on drug is a huge failure with devastated unintended consequences, it lead to mass incarceration in the us, to corruption, to political destabilization, and violence in latin america, asia, and africa. To systemic human right abuse across the world.”-Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

The War on Drugs is seen by many as an enormous factor of mass incarceration. There were more than 1.5 million drug arrests in the U.S. in 2014. More than 80% of them were for possession only (Drug Policy Alliance, 2017). 208,000 people are incarcerated for drug offenses in state prisons and 97,000 are incarcerated in federal prisons for the same reason. 1 in 5 incarcerated people are drug offenders (Peter Wagner, Bernadette Rabuy, 2017). According to Politifact, “The state and federal prison population remained fairly stable through the early 1970s, until the war on drugs began. Since then, it has increased sharply every year, particularly when Reagan expanded the policy effort in the 1980s, until about 2010…. In 1980, about 41,000 people were incarcerated for drug crimes, according to the Sentencing Project. In 2014, that number was about 488,400 — a 1,000 percent increase.” Even other factors, like

Before we begin our tour of the drug war, it is worthwhile to get a couple of myths out of the way. The first is that the war is aimed at ridding the nation of drug "kingpins" or big-time dealers. Nothing could be further from the truth. The vast majority of those arrested are not charged with serious offenses. In 2005, for example, four out of five drug arrests were for possession, and only one out of five was for sales. Moreover, most people in state prison for drug offenses have no history of violence or significant selling activity.5

With California jails and prisons still struggling with finding a reform for non-violent drug offenders the states recidivism rates continue to reach unprecedented numbers. Between 1983 and 1998, drug admissions to state and federal prisons increased sixteen-fold, from over 10,000 drug admissions in 1983 to almost 167,000 new prison entries for drug offenses in 1998 (Worrall et al, 2009). This has been a direct result of our legal system incarcerating offenders who have substance abuse related issues instead of providing a way for treatment or rehabilitation outside of incarceration. Through public policies regarding criminal justice interventions that address drug use and crime, an initiative was created to provide treatment services

According to McCollister, French, Inciardi, et al (2003) it is more cost effective to provide treatment rather than incarceration. One full year of treatment costs approximately $4,700 and one year of incarceration costs approximately $18,400. According to Alexander (2010) it has become lucrative for business to invest in prison labour. Resulting in free labour. This is a separate issue within itself which speaks more toward the racialization of the prison system in which there are more blacks in prison now then there were slaves at the heart of slavery. However, they have been criminalized to the degree that their incarceration is believed to be deserved even if it is for using drugs verses dealing drugs. There is no viewed difference. For example, during an interview at the Office of the Federal Public Defenders office, an inmate revealed they were putting together sophisticated computer technology for companies like Apple. This example alone provides a foundational knowledge that people that are incarcerated, have marketable skills for life outside of prison. Re-entry Training is vital to the inmates getting out of prison to get out of the revolving door and staying out of prison. Providing assistance to help a person establish and reach short term and long-term goals, is essential in ensuring that the people do not feel left

Since the first drug court was founded, over 3,400 drug courts exist today in every U.S. state and territory (NIJ.gov). The national institute of justice reported that a 33 percent reduction in rearrest rates for drug court graduates compared with other like offenders (Neubauer). The National Association of Drug Court professionals reports that 75 percent of drug court graduates remain arrest-free for at least two years after leaving the program. They also report that drug courts alone reduce crime as much as 45 percent more than other sentencing options (NADCP.org). Not only does drug court benefit the offenders and society, it also benefits taxpayer money. Drug court treatment for the offenders typically cost anywhere between $2,000 to $6,000 annually, depending on the severity of the crime and depending on how long the judge feels the program should last. Instead of wasting taxpayer money and sending them to jail for their addiction, the money is used to treat the offenders and help them so that they don’t end up in prison again as well as beating their addiction along the way. The reason why drug courts have been so successful is because they use therapeutic jurisprudence through the community to help treat their

The United States is currently at the top for having the most prisoners in the world. We currently have the largest prison population in the world. Our prison held an estimate of 1, 574, 700 prisoners as of December 31, 2013, in which it had an increase of 4, 300 inmates compared from 2012. The most surprising fact out of all these statistics is the fact that more that half of the incarcerated inmates are drug offenders. The idea of the “War on Drugs” may have been great at first but has it backfired on us? Has it made things worst for our country? The idea in itself is great, to have a better

Prisons are expensive facilities to operate. Each year, California prisons house more than 100,000 inmates (Graves, “Fewer State Prisoners, Higher Cost Per Inmate”). While the number of inmates has been steadily decreasing, spending per inmate has skyrocketed to about $60,000 from $33,000 in 1995 (Dean, “CA Spending Per Inmate Rising Faster Than Spending Per Child”). That is about six billion dollars spent on prisoners alone. The government is wasting more and more taxpayer money on keeping inmates inside the prisons. With about 58% of ex-convicts returning to prison within

In 2010, state and federal prisons spent 80 million dollars collectively on incarceration. (Office of the Attorney General, 2014). Mandatory minimum sentencing generally doesn’t target the money spent on mandatory minimum sentencing would be better spent directed towards more serious criminal offenses or towards rehabilitative programs to prevent recidivism. The U.S. accounts for only 5% of the world’s population, yet it has 25% of the world’s prison population, making it the world’s largest jailer (American Civil Liberties Union). Extending the length of prison stays doesn’t necessarily mean lower crime rates. Prisoners are expensive. In 2005, the average operating cost per prisoner was $23,876 (PEW Charitable Trusts, 2008). Prisoners require beds, food, medical and dental care, and mental health services which all come out of taxpayer dollars. It is much cheaper to provide rehabilitative services to prevent recidivism to nonviolent drug offenders than to incarcerate them for extended periods of time. Overpopulation in prisons also leads to overtime costs for officers to fulfill staff vacancies. In 2006, at least $25,000 was made by 15% of the corrections workforce in California (PEW Charitable Trusts, 2008). Some states have cut spending on higher education and funneled more money towards fighting the War on Drugs. In 2007, five states spent more money on corrections

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.

For a start, Dan Baum talks about in his book, “Smoke and Mirrors: The War on Drugs and The Politics of Failure”, on how the War on Drugs is ineffective with many variables. Buam claims that the War on Drugs costs the administration more than the Commerce, Interior, and State departments joined. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, in over the past four decades, both federal and state governments have poured over $1 trillion the drug war and relied on taxpayers to foot the bill. In addition, The United States had roughly around 50,000 people behind bars for drug law violations. Currently, that number had multiplied ten times to half a million. Either way, drug war advocates