The Problem Of The War On Drugs - 1638 Words

Many cities in America are facing sluggish economic recovery, stagnant or failing wages among the lowest-income earners and budget constraints for social welfare programs (1)resulting in more than 46.7 million people in poverty. Poverty in America, and the violence and crime that stems from it helps sustain the most prosperous and corrupt industry of them all, prisons. Most people assume the â€Å"War on Drugs† was launched in response to the crisis cause by crack-cocaine in inner city neighborhoods. This view supports that racial disparities in drug convictions and sentences, as well as the rapid explosion of the prison population, reflect nothing more than the government’s zealous efforts to address rampant drug crime in poor, minority neighborhoods. This view while understandable, given the sensational media coverage of crack in the 1980’s and 1990’s, is simply wrong. In fact, the war on drugs began at a time when illegal drug use was on the decline. However, during this time period, a war was declared, causing arrest and convictions for drug offenses to skyrocket, especially amongst people of color. The War on Drugs plays a major part in the incarceration of African-Americans. In the â€Å"New Jim Crow† reading the (3) CIA admits to helping smuggle contrabands into communities heavily populated by people of color in order to disrupt and immobilize African-American movements. Crack and heroin were the most popular drugs smuggled into these communities due to their highlyShow MoreRelatedThe War On Drugs And America s Drug Problem1878 Words   |  8 PagesSpitz D Block 5/19/2016 The War on Drugs Based on the success and failures of the drug policies of the past, what is the best strategy for the United States to implement to help America’s drug problem? Throughout time, United States drug policy has shifted dramatically. From all drugs being legal to Prohibition and the War on Drugs, the US has had conflicting ideas about what is best for society and American citizens when it comes to drugs. The current War on Drugs has resulted in countless arrestsRead More War on Drugs is a Domestic Problem Essay620 Words   |  3 Pages WAR ON DRUGS IS A DOMESTIC PROBLEM nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; The new policy that the government has unfolded on the War on Drugs, has pointed the finger of responsibility toward stopping terrorism by stopping the individual drug users. Terrorism affects the entire world, and the United States has assumed a position at the spearhead to confront it. There is no way to actually stop terrorism, but one way to financially divert the problem is to stop the money from flowing to the organizationsRead MoreMass Incarceration802 Words   |  4 PagesJim Crow, Alexander identifies the racialized mass incarceration problem that we have in our criminal justice system. Reading the book, you can see that mass incarceration is a social problem. This means that the problem can follow the six stages of the policy process. If I were a claimsmaker, I could assert that mass incarceration is a problem by following the six stages. In the claimsmaking stage, I would claim that the War on Drugs creates the racialized mass incarceration in our society todayRead MoreThe War On Drugs : A New Us National Security Doctrine1442 Words   |  6 Pagesthe war on drugs, which as a social issue has had a unique effect on the security agenda of states. The modern war on drugs began in the 1970’s when Nixon declared it a nation wide problem and began to focus on both the supply and demand aspects of drug use. As a geo-political problem the war on drugs can be explained in two ways. The first way, as outlined in Waltraud Morales’s article The War on Drugs: a New US National Security Doctrine? explores how the United States uses the war on drugs as aRead MoreLaw Enforcement Should Deter Racial Injustice1341 Words   |  6 PagesCommunities of color are portrayed as drug handlers when in actuality there is an estimate of about 80 million Caucasian drug users compared to 15 million African American users accordi ng to the Substance of Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Fellner 3). Although opposing arguments would argue that the white population is six times greater than the black population, the absolute number of white drug offenders is far greater than that of black drug offenders (Fellner 6). But, with racialRead MoreThe Drug Of Drug Abuse1143 Words   |  5 PagesAmerica has been fighting drug abuse for over a century. Four Presidents have waged a â€Å"War on Drugs† and unfortunately, this war continues to be lost at an alarming magnitude. Drug abusers continue to fill our courts, hospitals, and prisons. The drug trade causes violent crime that ravages our neighborhoods. Children of drug abusers are neglected, abused, and even abandoned. The current methods of dealing with this issue are not working. Our society needs to implement new and effective laws and programsRead MoreDrug Abuse And The Unwinnable War1462 Words   |  6 PagesDrug Abuse and the Unwinnable War Drugs are not a new thing by any means and have been commonplace in most cultures at one point or another. Throughout the known history of the world humans have used drugs to provide mind and mood altering experiences. Evidence of the production of alcohol can be traced back to the description of a brewery in an Egyptian papyrus as early as 3500 B.C (Fort, J. 1969). On a seemingly primal level, humans have always had some incessant need to alter their state of consciousnessRead MoreEssay on The War On Drugs1079 Words   |  5 PagesIn recent years the so-called â€Å"war on drugs† has taken over the streets and back alleys of suburban America. It has caused a problem that mirrors the prohibition days of the 1920’s and early 30’s. Politicians trying to play â€Å"tough guy,† are only contributing to more violence. Their laws have created an underground drug-trade, in which modern drug-dealers have taken the place of the bootleggers of old. The real quest ion is whether or not this â€Å"war† is working. Most people would like to believe thatRead MoreBudget And Policy Paper1597 Words   |  7 PagesPaper War on Drugs Bridget Brown, Shaketra Jones, Matt Anderson, Jerry Carter, and Lisa Rivers CJA/464 Matthew Kite October 20, 2014 More than 45 years ago President Richard Nixon announced and declared the nation is at war, that war was the War on Drugs. Nancy Reagan campaigned heavily in the fight against drug use as well; her fight was that of teaching young children the slogan of â€Å"Just Say No†. The goals of the criminal justice system in the war on drugs haveRead More America And The War On Drugs Essay1216 Words   |  5 Pagesother countries with problems. Why does America care about what is happening in other countries like Columbia, when they have their own problems with drugs? The Untied States of America has a rather large drug trafficking problem but compared to Columbia it is fairly small. To help Columbia solve their problem the U.S. senate has decided to send troops over there and take control. This new involvement will have many consequences in and what can you make for instance the cost of a war, the loss and gain