The Drug War: A Failure!

Paper Summary:

The paper claims that in the history of the United States, there have been few policies that have threatened our basic civil liberties to the extent America's drug policy has. The paper contends that the War on Drugs compromises our nation's health, spends outrageous amounts of our taxpayer's money and helps to continue a system of oppression that targets racial minorities unfairly. The paper concludes with alternatives on how to control drug use.

Outline:
Race and The War on Drugs
Resulting Problems
Costs of the Drug War
Education and The War on Drugs
Health and The War on Drugs
Drug Use as a Victimless Crime
Effects of the Drug War Overseas
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Whatever else we may think about the War on Drugs, it is clear that among its detrimental effects is oppression of racial minorities, particularly African-Americans, by way of disproportionate incarceration. This is not merely an instance of a particular project of the Judicial system exemplifying a bias endemic to the entire system; rather, drug crimes are largely an exceptional example of racial bias in criminal justice in the United States (Chin, 2002). However, this bias in the handling of drug crimes is so profound that it is able to account for the staggering system-wide disparities in levels of incarceration existing between white and black populations in the United States."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chin, Gabriel J., "Race, The War on Drugs, and the Collateral Consequences of Criminal Conviction" . Journal of Gender, Race & Justice, Vol. 6, p. 253, 2002
• Bobo, Lawrence D.; Thompson, Victor, Unfair By Design: The War on Drugs, Race, and the Criminal Justice System. Social Research; Summer2006, Vol. 73 Issue 2, p. 445
• MAPS http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99/n667/a01.html6/24/1999 New Times (CA) Steven T. Jones
• The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. 29 Oct. 2007 http://www.norml.com/
• American Civil Liberties Union http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/sentencing/10873res20010615.html6/15/2001 Prison Overpopulation & Harsh Sentencing

More papers on The Drug War: A Failure!:

• Essay # 28335 : "American Foreign Policy The Drug War"
• Research Paper # 25047 : "Recognizing and Solving the War on Drugs"
• Argumentative Essay # 66692 : "The Case for Decriminalization of Drugs"

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