Impact of Americas Drug War on Policy - Changes and Prison Population

Impact of Americas Drug War on Policy

Changes and Prison Population

Scott Cannon

University of Alabama

Abstract

This paper explores Americas drug war and now it has had a direct impact on public policy and prison populations. Despite the billions of dollars spent by the U.S. fighting the drug war, illegal drug use is still common today. Congress enacted the "tough on crime" policies, such as the three strikes laws, in attempt to eliminate substance abuse. These harsh penalties created many problems in our Criminal Justice System., such as prison overcrowding, and society as a whole. The "war on drugs" has impacted minorities the most, leading to the overrepresentation of minorities in the prison population. Incarceration of drug offenders has failed to deter drug use, and in some cases it actually increases the offender's chances of resulting back to crime or drug abuse. There is a growing knowledge in America that treatment is better than incarceration at deterring crime. Many governments are moving away from tough on crime laws today. America's drug war is far from over, but recent declines in prison population, and changes in public policy, hae brought about some optimism for Americans.

Impact of Americas Drug War on Policy

Changes and Prison Population

The purpose of this paper is to examine America's drug war and how it has had a direct impact on public policy and prison populations. Despite many changes in public policy, and the billions of dollars the United States has spent fighting the drug war, drug use is still very common today (Bertram, Blachman, Sharpe, & Andreas, 1996). The "War on Drugs" was first declared in 1972 by President Nixon, and was reestablished a decade later by President Reagan in an attempt at implementing fair and proportionate drug sentencing guidelines. In 1986 congress passed laws establishing a 100 to 1 sentencing disparity, meaning 500 grams of powder cocaine is equivalent to 5 grams of crack cocaine, for the possession or trafficking of crack cocaine compared to the powder form (Sevigny, 2009). These laws largely affected the African American community because they were more likely to use cocaine in the form of crack than whites. This resulted in young black males being incarcerated at alarming rated, and has been widely criticized. The sentencing disparity was reduced to 18 to 1 in 2010 by the Fair Sentencing Act (Sevigny, 2009). Since 1972 the prison population has increased immensely, while having little effect on deterring drug use (Moore, & Elkavich, 2008). It's clear that the drug war is failing to deter drug abuse, and policy makers believe that implementing harsher sentences, such as three strikes laws, is the answer (Bertram et al., 1996). Due to these harsh laws, prison population is largely made up of nonviolent drug offenders. According to Moore and Elkavich (2008), 60% of the prison population is consisted of persons of color, which is extremely high compared to their percentage Americas overall population. Urban communities, which are largely consisted of minorities, are targeted by law enforcement officials much more than primarily white suburban areas, partly due to how our criminal justice system is set up. Incarceration for drug offences does little to deter criminals from returning to using or selling drugs, and in many cases makes it worse (Moore & Elkavich, 2008). Recently the use of rehabilitation has become evident to reduce recidivism, or drug use, better than incarceration. "The 1986 War on Drugs has resulted in some of the most extensive changes in criminal justice policy and the operations of the justice system in the United States since the due process revolution of the 1960s" (Jensen, Gerber, & Mosher, 2004, p. 100). In this paper we will explore the many extensive changes in criminal justice policies due to the war on drugs, and how it's affected America's prison population.

Historical Analysis

Narcotic drugs became available in the mid-19th century and were largely associated with pain relief (Vito & Maahs, 2011). Opium was easily attainable in America during this time and was used in many different types of medicines. In 1805 morphine was first introduced in America, but physicians were responsible for the distribution the drug (Vito & Maahs, 2011). Morphine could be taken by mouth or by injection into the bloodstream, and doctors during this time thought that injection was safer than oral consumption in terms of addiction, because of the smaller dosage given in an injection (Vito & Maahs, 2011). This assumption proved to be false due to the purified ingredients needed for direct injection into the body, and this led to careless over prescription (Vito & Maahs, 2011). Almost 50 years later, cocaine was introduced in the United States, and there weren't any laws that restricted its sale or distribution (Vito & Maahs, 2011). In fact, until 1903, cocaine was used as a ingredient in a highly popular soft drink called coca-cola (Bertram et al., 1996). The common use of these drugs brought about addiction problems among some Americans. According to Bertram et al (1996), approximately 3% of the American population was addicted to drugs. Addicts during this time were not stigmatized, punished, or seen as criminals (Bertram et al., 1996). Bertram et al (1996), said that victims of addiction were perceived as having physiological problems, largely like the way we regard the use of insulin for an individual with diabetes. By the beginning of the 20th century, drug use was starting to become an area of concern in America.

After the Civil War, physicians became aware of addiction problems because soldiers who were injured during battle were given morphine, which produced a large number of addicts (Bertram et al., 1996). Reformers thought that the primary focus should be to prevent the availability of drugs to reduce drug habits; not prohibit the use of drugs. In 1906, Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, which required any type of medicine that included narcotic ingredients to put in on their labels (Bertram et al., 1996). The Harrison Narcotics Act was enacted in 1914, and it aimed to prevent drug distribution to American citizens who were not aware of the dangers of addiction, primarily by placing the medical community in control of the distribution (Bertram et al., 1996). According to Bertram et al (1996) drug addicts were not criminalized, and users turned to physicians to continue their drug habits by receiving a prescription. "Requiring doctors to prescribe drugs "in