Though often celebrated as the epitome for freedom and equality, the United States is hiding a dirty secret. Surprisingly, it is not so much of a secret but the product of blindness and denial. The statistics reported by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People begs the question, how is it that the leader of the free world has five percent of the world’s population but twenty-five percent of its total prisoners? How are citizens considered equal when African Americans and Hispanics make up over half of the US’s prison population but one quarter of the total population? The answers to these questions can be largely explained by the War on Drugs. The War on Drugs has increased punishment for the distribution,
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Though marijuana is still federally restricted, has been decriminalized in nineteen states so far, including the District of Columbia (norml.org). Decriminalization of the drug typically means that first-time offenders in possession of a small amount meant for personal use will not be prosecuted. Twenty-three states currently have laws for the medical use of marijuana and four states have legalized its recreational use, both of which allow the state government to control and tax it (www.norml.org). These laws conflict with federal marijuana laws which still prohibit is completely. As with any legal matter, federal laws are above state laws, so decriminalization and legalization could be repealed. However, in March 2015, President Obama said “We may be able to make some progress on the decriminalization side. At a certain point, if enough states end up decriminalizing, then Congress may then reschedule marijuana” (huffingtonpost.com). The Huffington Post also reports that a bill was proposed in the Senate to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II drug which “has lower potential danger and recognized medical benefits.” This would aid in Obama’s call to reevaluate federal laws on marijuana. It also seems long overdue since it is used for medical purposes in nearly half the …show more content…
As noted earlier, it was associated with feared racial minorities and sentencing laws were designed to target those people until the drug’s widespread use among white people resulted in establishing lighter penalties. In a study reviewing marijuana arrests in California from 2000 to 2008, blacks were the only overrepresented racial group accounting for twenty-one percent of total marijuana arrests but only six percent of the state’s population (White 83). The same study found that the felony marijuana arrests are highest for blacks at a rate of 1.9 felony arrests per 1000 black people while whites and Hispanics have a rate of 0.3 felony arrests per 1000 of each respective racial group. Sentencing is more severe for felony charges and this study is congruent with blacks being the most incarcerated race in the country. The American Civil Liberties Union reports that blacks are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession nationwide despite approximately equal use by blacks and whites. The NAACP reports that African Americans serve nearly the same amount of time for a drug offence that whites do for a violent offense. Clearly, drugs are used by the criminal justice system to discriminate against blacks in particular, which is seen by their high arrest rates and harsher
Though marijuana is still federally restricted, has been decriminalized in nineteen states so far, including the District of Columbia (norml.org). Decriminalization of the drug typically means that first-time offenders in possession of a small amount meant for personal use will not be prosecuted. Twenty-three states currently have laws for the medical use of marijuana and four states have legalized its recreational use, both of which allow the state government to control and tax it (www.norml.org). These laws conflict with federal marijuana laws which still prohibit is completely. As with any legal matter, federal laws are above state laws, so decriminalization and legalization could be repealed. However, in March 2015, President Obama said “We may be able to make some progress on the decriminalization side. At a certain point, if enough states end up decriminalizing, then Congress may then reschedule marijuana” (huffingtonpost.com). The Huffington Post also reports that a bill was proposed in the Senate to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II drug which “has lower potential danger and recognized medical benefits.” This would aid in Obama’s call to reevaluate federal laws on marijuana. It also seems long overdue since it is used for medical purposes in nearly half the …show more content…
As noted earlier, it was associated with feared racial minorities and sentencing laws were designed to target those people until the drug’s widespread use among white people resulted in establishing lighter penalties. In a study reviewing marijuana arrests in California from 2000 to 2008, blacks were the only overrepresented racial group accounting for twenty-one percent of total marijuana arrests but only six percent of the state’s population (White 83). The same study found that the felony marijuana arrests are highest for blacks at a rate of 1.9 felony arrests per 1000 black people while whites and Hispanics have a rate of 0.3 felony arrests per 1000 of each respective racial group. Sentencing is more severe for felony charges and this study is congruent with blacks being the most incarcerated race in the country. The American Civil Liberties Union reports that blacks are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession nationwide despite approximately equal use by blacks and whites. The NAACP reports that African Americans serve nearly the same amount of time for a drug offence that whites do for a violent offense. Clearly, drugs are used by the criminal justice system to discriminate against blacks in particular, which is seen by their high arrest rates and harsher