The War on Drugs

1. The War on Drugs Some wars are not meant to be won.

2. Table of Contents • A Brief history of The War on Drugs • Victims of The Drug War • Racial Inequality • Draining the System • Prohibition: A Failed Social Experiment • Decriminalization Works! • Where do we go from here? Conclusion

3. From 1975–the mid 80’s there was a large increase of drug trafficking in the country, even though the war on drugs was in full swing. • In the mid 80’s came the rise of ‘crack’, which is a cheap form of cocaine. • In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed the Anti-drug Abuse Act which gave the war a budget of $1.7 billion. This bill created mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenders. • The mandatory minimum penalties were criticized for promoting racial disparities in the prison population because of the severe sentencing differences for crack and powder cocaine. Possession of crack, which is cheaper, resulted in harsher sentencing; the majority of crack users are of lower income. A Brief History In 1971, President Richard Nixon declares drugs “Public Enemy number 1”. The war on drugs begins, and funding for the war is allocated at $10 million.

4. The U.S. Sentencing Commission released a report in 1995 that acknowledged the racial disparities for prison sentencing for cocaine versus crack. But for the first time in history, congress overrode the commission’s recommendation. • By the year 2000, the budget for the war on drugs was at $20 billion • Since the 1980’s up until current day, the incarceration rate has jumped • from about 500,000 to over 2,500,000. Even though there are over one • million non-violent drug offenders living behind bars, drug addiction and • crime continues to rise at an • alarming rate. Increments of Millions

5. Victims of the Drug War Why isn’t there a War on Poverty?

6. The war on drugs has been said to have a racial bias. There are people who do not believe this to be true, but the numbers don’t lie. There is a substantial difference in the amount of Caucasian inmates verses African American inmates with drug convictions. Racial Inequality Statistically, minorities are more prone to live in poverty, and the war on drugs targets poverty. African Americans comprise 62.7% of all drug offenders in state prisons.

7. Draining the System The United States only makes up 5% of the world’s population, but it houses 25% of all the prisoners in the world, which is a direct effect of the drug war and criminalizing drug users. On a national average, it costs $30,600 annually for one inmate to live in prison. There are approximately 2.3 million people in the prison system in the United States. 67.5% of U.S. prisoners have drug convictions. We spend over $47 billion on drug offender inmates, alone, each year. This figure does not include the billions of dollars spent in other areas of The War on Drugs. *World population verses prison populations

8. Prohibition: A Failed Social Experiment Will history continue to repeat itself?

9. In 2001, Portugal decriminalized drug use and possession. Instead of serving time in prison, people were targeted with therapy. • Within the first 5 years, teenage drug use, the rate of HIV infections, and drug related deaths had dropped dramatically. • The rate of people seeking treatment had doubled • In 2011, studies had shown that drug abuse had dropped by half. • Currently there are 40,000 people in Portugal being treated for drug addictions, verses imprisoning 100,000 criminals. Decriminalization Works! This approach is more humane and much more cost efficient.

10. Where Do We Go From Here? The War on Drugs is a social problem that affects billions of people world wide. People who use drugs can include anyone, such as family members and friends. With the downfall of our economic system, we can no longer afford to pump billions of dollars into a war that is being fought against our loved ones. People facing drug abuse and addiction need help; they do not need to be criminalized. It’s time that America ends this failed social experiment and decriminalizes drug use and possession.

11. Works Cited: • “American Drug War: The Last White Hope”. 2007. Booth, Kevin. Film • “Theoretical Criminology”. May 2012. Vol 16. Issue 2. pg175-199. Lynch, Mona. • Article. • “War on Black Men: Arguments for Legalization of Drugs”. Criminal Justice Ethics. • Aug 2012. Vol 13. Issue 2. pg106-120. Block, Walter E. Obioha, Violet. Article. • “Timeline: America’s War on Drugs”. NPR.org . April 2007. Website. Oct 2012 • “Ten Years After Decriminalization, Drug Abuse Down by Half in Portugal”. Kain, • Erik. Forbes.com . July 2011. Website. Oct 2012 • “Prisoners in 2010”. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Washington D.C.: US Department • of Justice. Dec 2011. Website. Oct 2012. • “Drug War Battle”. Greenchange.org . Image. Website. Oct 2012. • Time.com . Richard Nixon Image. Website. Oct 2012. • Countryreports.org . Portugal Image. Website. Oct 2012.