Drug Incarceration, Failure of War on Drugs - Essay Example

Drug Incarceration Introduction The government policy known as the war on drugs that has been pursued for slightly more than forty years is often considered to be the origin of drug related incarcerations. This is mainly because as a result of a desire by policy makers to reduce drug use and abuse within society which has created a situation where a large number of individuals has ended up in prison. Starting from 1985, when the Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 began to be rigorously enforced by the Reagan government, the number of individuals who have been sent to prison because of drug offenses has increased tenfold (Gray, 2013). It is estimated that one in ten Americans have been arrested in drug related charges and this has become a serious enough situation to warrant some reforms in the manner that the war on drugs is being conducted. Incarceration of minorities In the last three decades, the incarceration of individuals for passive drug felonies has gone up spectacularly and this has developed into a serious social problem. Individuals who are users of drugs have come to be given the same sentence as those who are found to be in possession of drugs for distribution, the mandatory sentence being five years. The enforcement of this policy created a situation where small time Street dealers became among the greatest victims since many of them came to be arrested and handed these prison sentences (Frydl, 2013). The low-level street dealers were mostly poor people of African American descent who came to be especially targeted by law enforcement, making their numbers in prison to be disproportionate to that of individuals from other ethnic backgrounds. The other victims of American government policies on drugs were some Latinos, the young and women, who as a result of being poor, often chose to deal drugs in order to make ends meet. Because courts were given more discretion handing down sentences to offenders, many individuals came to be incarcerated either for either being drug users, or being in possession of drugs for personal use. As a result, these individuals were handed stiff sentences which did not in any way help them out in kicking their habit (Levine and Reinarman, 1991; Velazquez, 2010). Moreover, the population of individuals with non-violent drug offenses increased in prisons to such an extent that it was difficult to stem the tide since many of them, once sentenced, left behind lives which they found shattered on their release. Incarceration of women Women are among the greatest victims of the war on drugs and this has been to such an extent that in 2003, more than half of women in federal correction facilities were those who had been put into incarceration as a result of drug offenses. Women from minority groups in the United States have been excessively discriminated by the laws which have been put in place to prevent or discourage drug use within the population. This is especially because their incarcerations rates, which have been for the most part determined by charges related to drug offenses, have increased to such an extent that they are double that of white women. There has been a failure to recognize that while the population of whites is much higher, hence their committing more drug related crimes; it is women of color who form a majority of prison populations. This disproportion, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, needs to be addressed because it has created a stereotype of women of color being regular drug users and traders, an image which is not true considering that a majority of them are regular, hardworking individuals. In recent years, because of an increasingly widening net that is meant to capture more drug offenders, even more women have become victims of incarceration. This is especially because through criminal laws which include conspiracy and accomplice liability, there has been an expansion of those being targeted to include partners and relatives of drug offenders and in some instances, even bystanders have been targeted. Women of African American descent have become victims of these new laws at disproportionate levels compared to their counterparts from other races. This has been attributed to some of them, being from poor backgrounds; tend to be placed under regular surveillance by their local governments or law enforcement agencies in order to be eligible for social assistance, a situation which makes their lives extremely difficult. As a result, they are at risk of being arrested by law enforcement officers who are always encouraged to investigate drug offenses among these individuals. At times, even though these women are not involved in any drug offenses, they are arrested and charged through association and this leads to their being incarcerated. Failure of war on drugs In the twenty first century, there has been a significant increase in the amount that the American government has asked for the war on drugs (Gerber and Jensen, 2000). This has been during a period where there has been increasing emphasis on treatment and prevention programs to help drug offenders over incarceration. Despite this being the case, the number of individuals being sent to prison over drug offences has not diminished and has in fact increased, making the effort to rehabilitate these individuals through treatment programs almost fruitless. The massive incarceration rates have not helped diminish addiction rates in the country and this is despite the massive amounts of money that has been invested in the war on drugs since its inception. The United States has come to have the highest incarceration rates related to drug offenses and this has made it extremely difficult to help those individuals with drug problems since prisons do not have facilities to cater for treatment and rehabilitation. This problem has continued to grow to such an extent that more than half of all prisoners in federal facilities are those that have been incarcerated for drug offences and this number has remained constant despite the massive push to encourage prevention programs over prison sentences (Scott, 2013). While drug related incarceration rates remain high, the American public has an extremely relaxed attitude towards non-violent drug related offences such as the use of marijuana. The punishment for drug related offenses, as has been seen above, tends to fall disproportionately on people of color and this creates a situation where half of all individuals incarcerated for drug crimes tend to be African Americans. It is essential to note that despite their relatively low population, African Americans are ten times likely to be put under arrest for crimes related to drugs than whites. This is despite the likelihood of more white individuals to use drugs that African Americans and this has become an increasingly significant issue that has been put forward against the war on drugs. Role of prison industrial complex The prison industrial complex has over the years come to play a significant role in ensuring that rates of drug related incarcerations remain quite high and this has made it increasingly difficult to ensure that drug offenders receive the help that they need to mend their ways. The lives of individuals convicted of drug offenses, their families, and their communities have become shaped by the manner through which laws that were meant to serve them have instead disrupted their lives. The justice system, through its taking on the challenge of ensuring that there were no sales or use of illicit drugs in the country, has failed tremendously in bringing drug abuse to heel and it has instead continued to face the same problems over the years. The use of drugs, despite high rates of incarceration, has not reduced in any significant way and it can be argued that it has increased as individuals develop ingenuous ways of selling and distributing these substances (Miron, 2004, p.11). Those individuals who are incarcerates for minor drug offenses have become victims of a massive bureaucracy of courts, jails, and prisons, which is based on the war on drugs. The result has been that the families of those who have been convicted for either being in possession of small amounts of drugs or of being users, have come to experience a great deal of hardship and confusion especially those who belong to either minority or urban communities. Because of the politicization of the war on drugs, the ever increasing incarceration of drug offenders is seen in a positive way because as more individuals are sent to prison, the higher the belief that the war on drugs is a success (Robinson, 2014, p.266). Effect on communities Any analysis concerning whether the war on drugs has been a success or not does no normally take into account how the lives of those incarcerated have been affected. Most of those convicted, as seen above, are users or those found in possession of small quantities of drugs. The justice system has taken on the responsibility of keeping all American safe but its handling of the issue of the use or possession of drugs has left a lot to be desired. This is because many of those who are incarcerated are individuals who need help through treatment and with their being put in prison, their situation only becomes worse since they do not receive the help that they require (Barrett, 2011, p.75). Media can also be held responsible for some of the beliefs that have fueled an increase in drug related incarceration because it has spread panic in the public through depicting violent criminals as being drug users. As a result, there has been an increase in incarceration through advocacy for tougher laws and less judicial discretion when it comes to dealing with minor drug offenses. Despite the need to keep society safe for all, drug related laws which are passed tend not to be applied equally and these target poor neighborhoods or environments which are then declared to be drug areas (Drucker, 2002; Heumann, Pinaire, and Clark, 2005). The people who live in these neighborhoods become victims of persecution by law enforcement because they are not financially capable of moving away from these so called drug areas. This creates a situation where it is difficult to distinguish between those who are actual drug offenders and who are just unknowing bystanders; turning the justice system from being a protector to an oppressor. The war on drugs has become a battle which has destroyed entire communities since those individuals who are incarcerated for drug use are often the most productive members of their communities (Gray, 2001). Such situation, which could have been remedied through these individuals being taken into rehabilitation and treatment, has instead spiraled into an uncontrollable situation where productive people are being incarcerated for minor drug offenses. For many politicians and affluent individuals, the war on drugs is a success because more drug offenders are being sent to prison (National Drug Policy: A Review of the Status of the Drug War, 2008). Because more prisons are being constructed for the purpose of incarcerating those individuals termed as criminals by the justice system, it is difficult for people in society to notice that most of them have been imprisoned for minor drug offenses which do not hurt other members of the society. Furthermore, what is not normally considered is the fact that entire communities are actively destroyed due to these incarcerations because the option of treatment or rehabilitation for these offenders is never an option in most cases (Mpofu, 2010). The justice system and members of society have found it more convenient to incarcerate individuals who have committed minor drug offences without considering other options which can be more cost effective. The idea of “clean streets” has been put into practice as a means of stemming drug use but this has had a negative effect on the development of healthy communities. This is because the effect of removing minor drug offenders from their communities despite their being productive members, created a situation where there are much larger challenges. Those individuals who are removed from their communities due to incarceration and the let back in again without any sort of support, either financial or receiving rehabilitation, from the government, are more likely than not to end up having their lives ruined (Cooke, 2005). In most cases, once incarcerated individuals are released, they end up being subjected to close surveillance by the criminal justice system since they are believed to be likely repeat offenders. What is not considered is that these individuals committed minor drug offenses and instead of being imprisoned, needed support through treatment and rehabilitation, in order to stop them from getting involved with drugs. Need for reforms When the state chooses to imprison individuals who have committed minor drug offences, such as being users, it creates a situation where they are separated not only from the society, but also from their loved ones and this makes them not to have proper emotional ties with the latter. Moreover, as a result of their having a record as convicts, once incarcerated individuals are released, it is difficult for them to rebuild their lives because they face problems related to not being able to gain meaningful employment or legitimate employment (Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2014). Therefore, while it has become a constant belief in society that incarcerating drug users helps in the war on drugs, this type of prevention method has the opposite effect. This is because instead of helping individuals to kick the habit and become more responsible members of the society, it creates a problem where their lives come to be ruined and the basic relationships that they have with their families and friend become shattered. The result is that the drug problem in the country continues to persist and despite massive efforts by the government through law enforcement, a higher percentage of individuals have been reported to be drug users compared to the time before the war on drugs began. The lack of a serious initiative to ensure that treatment and rehabilitation facilities are available for individuals with a drug problem has made the situation much worse because there is no established means of helping users (McVay, Schiraldi, and Ziedenberg, 2004, p.5). A consequence of this ignorance on the part of government is that it ends up spending more money on maintaining incarceration facilities when it might be able to spend much less through establishing treatment and rehabilitation facilities. Conclusion Since the inception of the war on drugs, more individuals with either a drug problem or those who have committed minor drug offenses have become victims of incarceration. In a society where a large number of people have at one point in their lives used drugs, such a scenario is quite disturbing because individuals are being incarcerated for actions that can be better taken care of through rehabilitation. Drug related laws, especially those that target individuals who have committed minor drug offenses, have become instruments of oppressing rather than protecting members of society. It is therefore important for the government to weigh the consequences of the war on drugs, which show that it is a failure, and develop initiatives based on treatment and rehabilitation to ensure that minor drug offenders are provided much needed help. Furthermore, minor drug offenders, once they have been rehabilitated, need to be given access to government assistance such as public housing and financial aid for education so that they can be able to make their lives better. In addition, because their crimes tend to be minor and are often non-violent, it is essential that these offenders not be treated as criminals of a higher level than violent ones. They should instead be treated with understanding in such a way that they are rehabilitated and helped to become fully fledged members of society. The war on drugs targeting minor offenders should be based on treatment and rehabilitation rather than being literarily being translated into a war on people of color. References Barrett, D. (2011). Children of the Drug War: Perspectives on the Drug Policies on Young People. New York City: The International Debate Education Association. Cooke, C. (2005). Going home: formerly incarcerated African American men return to families and communities. Journal of Family Nursing, 11, 388–404. Drucker, E. (2002). Population impact of mass incarceration under New York’s Rockefeller drug laws: an analysis of years of life lost. J Urban Health. 79, 434–435. Mpofu, T. (2010). 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