War on Drugs is the War on Minorities
In
1971 President Nixon declared the war on drugs stating that drug abuse was
America’s public enemy number one. After more than forty years since it was
declared the war on drugs has transformed to the war on people, more
specifically on minorities. Thousands of African Americans and Hispanics are
incarcerated for long sentences due to drug infractions. African Americans and
Latinos together make up 29 percent of the total U.S population, but more than 75 percent of drug law violators in State and federal prisons. The war on drugs has failed benefiting the prison industrial complex
with policies that affect primarily minorities.
Policies
like “mandatory sentencing laws including three strikes your out guarantee an
ever-increasing prison population.” That is
especially true for minority groups since they tend to get arrested and
sentence more frequently causing them to hit the third strike. African American
men are arrested at thirteen times the rate of white men.
Mandatory
minimum sentences are the cause of many blacks and Latinos to be incarcerated
for long terms due to drug infractions. These minimum sentences are
ridiculously long for a non-violent crime and should not be considered a
felony. We need to decrease prison incarceration and increase education and
other resources. These communities live in conditions where it lacks
opportunity and resources. Because of this, many do not have another option but
to sell drugs to live.
Since
the target is towards these communities, they are more likely to get stopped
and frisked and then arrested having to serve long mandatory sentencing. After
their sentence they tend to go back to their old habits and the cycle keeps
going without anyone worrying about the root cause of the problem. Once they
are out, they are unable to obtain a job because of their felony, or go to
college since they are no longer eligible for certain grants. Also they cannot
get certain health care benefits, cannot live in certain neighborhoods, and are
banned from public housing even though their families live there. The one’s
that suffer the most impact from this are the family members.
A
statistical study found that 1 in 9 black children have a parent
incarcerated and 1 in 28 Latino children have a parent incarcerated compared to
1 in 57 white children with a parent incarcerated. This not only shows the
level of disparities among different communities but also the effect that these
children and their family get. A recent article, states that millions
of people in the U.S have a family member in jail. It is more likely that these
family members go behind bars some time in their future as well. But as lives are destroyed,
disproportionately communities of color, prison companies and other prison
businesses benefit from it.
The
prison industrial complex has made the high expansion of the U.S inmate
population possible. Law and order conservatives, private corporations that
construct, supply and run prisons, and the prison guard unions that hope to
expand their membership, hope for the lock up of more people and the increase
of prisons. Also the police department operates on the money it seizes. That is
why laws like three strike you’re out, and mandatory sentencing laws benefit a
certain group of people while it hurts others.
Although
there is unfortunately a serious drug problem in urban minority communities,
the problem also exists in other communities. People living in suburban areas
do not get checked or deported compared to urban areas making it unfair among
communities. All individuals possessing drugs should get convicted equally but
not as harsh as felons since it is not a violent crime nor having to do cruel
long sentences. Shortening prison sentences for drug infractions can lower the
inmate population.
It
is estimated that the U.S spends 1 trillion on the war on drugs. This money can be use to
help prevent drug addiction and make more rehabilitation centers available for
all individuals with drug problems. If you want to start a war on drugs you
have to target everybody that actually uses drugs, which is not just the black
and Latino community. It is not fair to focus on certain communities and ignore
other individuals who are suffering from the same problem.
If
we do not put and effort to stop the war on drugs then there might never be an
actual solution. This situation could possibly be ameliorated if federal grants
go to special drug programs where people addicted to it can receive appropriate
help. Also we have got to fund for public education since education is vital
for the future generation. Furthermore, we have to get rid of mandatory minimum
sentences because it causes several people years in jail for a non-violent
crime and destroys families.
People
power is more powerful than institutional power.
;)
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