The criminalization of drug usage is a key element of mass incarceration as a byproduct of systemic racism and classism in society and the criminal justice system. Before 1909, government involvement in drug usage and treatment was minimal, as both were considered private issues. Drug criminalization began around 1909, the 1920s marking the beginning of drug usage and treatment being “regarded as...medico-criminal problem[s]” (Courtwright). This was the basis for the beginning of the Drug War in 1965. According to Michelle Alexander, a civil rights lawyer, and legal scholar, Alexander reports “The U.S. penal population exploded from around 300,000 to more than two million, with drug convictions accounting for the majority of the increase.”
