Sullum states that marijuana originally came to the United States with migrant Mexican workers and later was commonly associated with African American jazz musicians. “Marijuana's association with blacks and Mexicans, which marked it as an exotic drug used by inferior but scary outsiders, proved crucial to its prohibition.” The prohibition largely targeted the people associated with it rather than the drug itself. With racism prevalent during the early stages of prohibition, The majority of violent crimes were claimed to be involved with minority groups and/or marijuana. As prohibition continued marijuana had a surge in popularity as part of the counterculture of the 60’s and 70’s. The herb still remains seen as a symbol of rebellion; further convincing lawmakers that it
According to a project run by The Huffington Post, 40% of juvenile offenders sent to private prisons on account of drug related crimes are arrested and convicted of harsher crimes in less than a year from their release (Kirkham). Moreover, the concept of combating drugs with the threat of imprisonment is counterproductive. Imprisoning low level drug-dealers for long periods of time creates a gaping void in the market, quickly replaced by desperate individuals wanting to generate an income, and the number of potential “criminals” skyrockets. Thus, by locking away non-violent offenders with such long sentences, the incarceration boom is being promoted, and wrecking societal
Running Head: ANTI-DRUG LEGISLATION ANALYSIS Anti-drug Legislation Analysis Shanna Wilkins University of Phoenix August 1, 2011 CJA/354 Facilitator: Paul Croushore The war on drugs is intended to stop the distribution, trade, consumption, and production of drugs. The war on drugs is why the American prison population has escalated. Because drug crimes have escalated the prison population has tripled since the early 1980s. Homicide, robbery, and assault are no longer the number one reasons for incapacitation; this is the reason prisons are so overcrowded (Foster, 2006). In this paper the student was asked to analyze federal and state anti-drug legislation.
Every year our state has to spend a large sum of money on supervising marijuana because it is illegal. But once Proposition 19 is passed, those marijuana offenders and drug traffickers will be innocent. “The measure could result in savings to the state and local governments by reducing the number of marijuana offenders incarcerated in state prisons and county jails, as well as the number placed under county probation or state parole supervision”(Brown 14). This could save California millions of dollars annually.
Nick Crain Comp 1 October 17, 2011 Heroin in America 1960s and 70s During the 1960s and 70s the United States was a turbulent place. Racial tensions grew as Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy were shot down in broad daylight. The Vietnam War was raging and the streets were filled with protests. Gangsters ran rampant throughout the cities. Drug trafficking, heroin in particular, was the choice drug of law enforcement, people and gangsters alike.
Since 2006, nearly 50,000 Mexicans have died in cartel-related homicides (The Cartel Crackdown). In the face of such statistics, the choice becomes clear; legalize it! If marijuana was legalized, the US would be taking a crippling amount of business from the cartels. Less business means less money, and less money ultimately means less power. In essence, legalizing marijuana reduces
If we legalize, we will be paying much more than the $30 billion per year we now spend on direct health care costs associated with illegal drug use.” (Charles B. Rangel; Criminal Justice Ethics, Vol. 17, 1998) I agree with him because legalizing drugs such as crack cocaine does a lot of damage to the body and people tend to go overboard in using the drug. For people who shoot up with needles there will be a lot more health risks and a vast spread of diseases. It is already hard to afford medical help this will not help the
Drug Trafficking in the United States ENG 122: English Composition II Professor June 18, 2012 Drug trafficking remains the single most important activity for organized criminal groups in the Americas. This includes trafficking of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs. The trafficking and consumption destabilizes nearly every country that forms part of the production and distribution chain. Some of these countries are facing challenges that are, in some ways, bigger those of their prolonged civil wars. Without the resources or knowledge, the governments of these nations are succumbing to powerful mega-structures that are able to subordinate poorly paid civil servants and buy off large portions of the
March 5th, 2012 Drug Trafficking in the United States The United States of America has been at war against drug trafficking since the early 1920’s. The drug cartel has tried different methods of moving drugs and money between Mexico and the United States. Americans have two major problems in the United States. The first being controlling how, when and where drugs enter our border and the second being assisting the Mexican government in keeping an eye on the drug cartel. Drug use by high school students has declined in the last few years due to: Increased security checks on our border, education materials taught in the classroom, drug tests and increased monitoring of known drug traffickers.
strategy against the non-medical use of certain illegal drugs. Its roots can be traced back to the 1880?s, but it was officially instituted by Richard Nixon in 1971. The War on Drugs has many precursor elements in the form of laws aimed at limiting, regulating and prohibiting the use of specific substances by certain minorities. According to Judge Gray, original drug laws were ? ?fundamentally racist laws aimed at perceived threats to white women?