The War on Drugs (WOD) has been an issue that developed overtime, and is continuing to develop as we read this. Drugs and substances have become banned or closely regulated. The main substances that continue to be scrutinized are opiate, cocaine, and alcohol. The historic context to the WOD can go back to the institutionalization of the 18th Amendment that banned the production, distribution, and consumption of alcohol in 1919 United States. This period was known as Prohibition, and lasted till 1933 when the 21st Amendment was placed and overturned pre-existing law. In the 1970’s the War on Drugs began to “stop illegal drug use, distribution and trade by dramatically increasing prison sentences for both dealers and users” according to History.com.
John Ehcrilchman, President Nixon’s domestic policy chief, had stated that the government “...knew [they] couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities.” This quote exposes how damaging criminalizing drugs in communities could be. He continued that stated that, “We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course, we did.” The issue around the WOD was that it didn’t solve the root issues of substance dealing and especially substance abuse. It did, however, reaffirm the already long-standing classist and racist attitude of the time. By criminalizing drugs and increasing incarceration rates, people caught are now stuck in a long cycle that is hard to get out of. It’s important to note that even if someone is released from prison, they do not get the same rights as they did before they got imprisoned. This institution had a long term effect and impacted BIPOC in a big way.
President Nixon believed that the WOD was to help in his re-election campaign. He targeted the anti-war left and specifically Black people. Reagan had continued the WOD and wanted even more “severe penalties for a drug-related crime,” which led to, “massive incarcerations for nonviolent drug crimes.” In 1986, the Anti Drug Abuse act was created and it made mandatory minimums. Like a quota that needed to be met. Over policing these communities caused a long term impact that we are still seeing now.
Since the WOD beginnings, there has been a large increase in the number of incarcerations in the U.S. According to data gathered by The Sentencing Project from the Bureau of Justice, prison populations are disproportionately people of color. 80% of those in federal prison and 60% of those in state prison are Black or Latinx. Half of the percent of people in federal prisons in the US was in prison on drug-related charges in 2014. The Drug Policy Alliance states that the “higher arrest and incarceration rates for these communities are not reflective of increased prevalence of drug use, but rather of law enforcement’s focus on urban areas, lower-income communities and communities of color.” Studies show that Black youth are less likely to engage in drug use than White people, Latinxs, Native Americans, and people of mixed race, yet are arrested much more frequently.
Here are some more statistics according to a 2016 study:
Black people were convicted way less than White people arrested on drug-related charges, but those who were convicted received sentences that ended in incarceration much more frequently.
Black people also received much longer sentences compared to White people convicted of similar charges (1.74 vs 0.71 years).
Black people were charged more frequently for drug sales or possession than White people, but White people had more charges indirectly related to drugs (i.e. being high while committing a crime).
These statistics prove there is a massive flaw when it comes to our justice system, drugs, and POC. The main concern is that there are a number of rights and privileges inmates had when they become incarcerated. Since the start of WOD, POC and their rights and freedoms became even more threatened due to the criminalization of substances and drugs.
One of the more alarming things that inmates cannot do, is vote. Depending on the state, inmates in federal prisons are unable to cast a ballot. “In 2016 alone, 6.1 million Americans were barred from voting because of felony disenfranchisement laws.” This is discriminatory behavior.
When we think about substance abuse, drugs, and the War on Drugs, what your nation fails to do is to find an adequate avenue to repair. There is no “targeting the root” problem when it comes to the War on Drugs, because the root of the issue is institutionalized in our government. What the WOD has done is incarcerate a large population of human beings over the decades to the point where the prison system is overwhelmed and overcrowded. A better solution in solving drug-related crimes needs to be installed in order to fix the War on Drugs.
https://www.history.com/topics/crime/the-war-on-drugs#:~:text=The%20War%20on%20Drugs%20is,and%20is%20still%20evolving%20today.
https://www.history.com/topics/crime/the-war-on-drugs#:~:text=The%20War%20on%20Drugs%20is,and%20is%20still%20evolving%20today.