Effects of the United States Failed War on Drugs Policy

Hector Arreola

SSCI 306 MWF 10:40-11:50 AM

March 14, 2012

Abstract

The “War on Drugs” policy has been the approach by the United States to protect citizens from the harmful effects of illegal drugs. The article examines the failures of the war on drug policy has had on society, such as, increasing violence, increasing the prison population, increased spending of billions of taxpayer funds, and being racially biased against minorities. The war on drugs policy reflects a deeper political agenda and is diverting attention away from the real issue by
President Bush also stated that he was targeting $50 million to fight crime in public housing projects in order to restore and kick out the drug dealers. Those in favor of the war on drugs policy claim those minorities are not being singled out, claiming the current rates of 7 percent of illegal drug use are roughly the same between Blacks and Whites (Moore & Elkavich, 2008, p. 783). On the other hand, the argument used to support that minorities are not being affected by the drug policy is misrepresented because the statistics reflect White citizens who are a greater majority of the citizens in the United States, thus increasing the population of drug offenders in prisons compared to African-Americans. Although the United States deny claims of racial bias against minorities and imposing harsh mandatory minimums prison sentences for drug offenses, research suggest otherwise. Lower socio-economic citizens and ethnic minorities are suffering at the strict punishment imposed by the war on drugs. The war on drugs was followed by strict crime control policies implemented at the federal and state levels. Significantly, a number of minorities reside in public housing and are directly affected by President Bush’s (1989-1993) tactics to fight the war on drugs. Additionally, the war on drugs policy has resulted in the passing of tougher, longer, and harsher sentences, which created significant differences in the numbers of race in