Wizard Kim Homework
Minorities: The Casualtie s of the War on D rugs -Imani Lowe The war on drugs is destroying minority communities. Even though the mission is to end the illegal drug trade and with intentions of ending drug abuse to help our communities, it ruins them instead. The war on drugs is an ineffective campaign that needs to be declared a failure because it disproportionately hurts minority communities. In studies done by the Drug Policy Alliance 57 percent of the people incarcerated for a drug offenses are Black or Latino, although these groups use and sell drugs at similar rates as whites. As a woman who is both Black and a Latina I feel the impact of the war on drugs on my community. The policies have negative consequences to Black and Latino youth with dreams and aspirations having their whole life ruined over possession of some form of narcotics. Studies show that people of color will experience prejudice and ultimately injustice throughout the entire legal process starting from higher rates of search and seizures all the way to being convicted more severely at higher rates . 1 For example a young black man named Dontrell Stephens was arrested in Palm Beach County, Florida on drug charges on September 13th, 2013. Dontrell 1 Hende rs on, W ade .
Jus tic e on Tr ial : Rac ial Dispar itie s i n t he Am eric an C rim inal Jus tic e Sy ste m .
DIANE Publ is hi ng C ompany, 2000. Pr int http: //www.c ivi lr ight s.or g/publ ic ations /jus tic e-on- tr ia l/r a ce.ht ml In C hapter 1: Race a nd t he Pol ic e H ende rs on disc us se s how m inor itie s a re di spr opor tiona te ly ta rge te d by t he pol ic e.
is now paralyzed from the waist down after being shot 4 times by a police officer during his arrest. Dontrell was unarmed at the time of the arrest. Dontrell got a win earlier this year in February when he was awarded 22.4 million dollars for pain and suffering caused by the officer who a grand jury found guilty of violating his rights during his arrest . 2 Even with this win he is still at a loss because his life will forever be changed. The police brutality shown in his case is the exact action being protested by the organization ‘Black Lives Matter’. If we refuse to acknowledge the negative impact the war on drugs has particularly on Black and Latino communities we will be doing a great disservice to these communities. 2 Musgrave, Jane. Jury: PBSO, deputy at faul t; should pay Dontrell Stephens $23 mi llion.
My Pa lm Beach Post. 03 Feb. 2016. http://www.mypalmbeachpost.c om/ne ws /ne ws /c rim e- law/jury-could-award-234m-to- dontre ll- s te phe ns-in- p bso/nqJMD/ This article provided informati on on Dontre ll Stephens case. In an examination of federal immigration data it is recorded that approximately 250,000 immigrants have 3 been deported from 2008 to 2014 for nonviolent drug offenses. Raquel Garay is a 4 wife and mother of three children. Raquel was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and she was convicted of a felony and then deported from America. You have to wonder if the punishment truly fits the crime while her family is in so much pain over having their mother ripped away from them. It is devastating to think her daughter who is blind will have to live without her 3 "Secur e C om muni tie s a nd I CE D epor ta tion: A Faile d Pr ogram ?" Trans actional Recor ds Ac cess Cle ar inghous e ( TRAC ) - C om prehe nsiv e, Inde pende nt, and N onpartis an I nfor mat ion on Federal Enf orcem ent , St affing and Fundi ng . TRAC Repor ts I nc , 2014. W eb. 18 N ov. 2016.
This a rtic le i s w here t he repor ts f or the de por ta tion of im migr ant s i s be ing t ake n f rom .
4 Lee, B ria nna .
"Im migr ation Re for m: W hen Depor ting Fe lons Break s Fam ilie s Apar t." Int ernat ional Busine ss Ti mes . 08 Apr. 2015. W eb. 10 Nov. 2016. http: //www.i btim es.c om /im migr ation- re for m-w he n-d epor ting- fe lons -br eaks -fa m ilie s-a pa rt- 1872214 This a rtic le i s w here I got the inf ormation f rom for mation on R aque l G ara y’ s s itua tion of im migr ation.
mother whom she referred to as “her eyes” or her youngest son that is battling aplastic anemia has lost the person that was at his side through many long nights in the hospital. “When I think of a felon, I think of somebody who hurts other people, or steals, she hasn’t done any of those things.” shared her husband Mario. His sentiment clearly shows how detrimental our drug control policies are and how the people affected by them are calling for a change. There are positive programs implemented by the war on drugs. For example the government spent $9.2 billion in Federal funds for treatment services for those with drug problems and accumulated $1.4 billion spent in outreach programs aimed at preventing the initial drug use in adolescence. Regardless of the admirable action being taken in the war on drugs campaign, the overall cost to our minority communities is not worth the benefits. And the programs the programs implemented by the war on drugs also are overwhelmingly unsuccessful in reducing the drug epidemic in America. According to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, opioid overdoses have increased by a startling 14% in just one year from 2014 to 2015 . 5 As professor and author Michelle Alexander iterates in her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness , “The fate of millions of people—indeed the future of the black community itself—may depend on the willingness of those who care about racial justice to re-examine their basic assumptions about the role of the criminal justice system in our society.” Those of us with a voice and the ability to say something need to take a 5 "Inc re ase s i n D rug a nd O pioid O verdos e D eaths — Unite d St ate s, 2000–2014." Cent ers f or D is e as e Cont rol and Pr event ion . Cent ers f or D is e ase C ont rol and Pr eve ntion, 01 J an. 2016. W eb. 11 N ov. 2016.
http: //www.c dc.gov/ mmwr/pr evi ew /m mwrht ml/m m6 450a3.htm This i s whe re t he M orbidity a nd M orta lity W eekl y re por t da ta i s t ake n f rom .
look at how our drug laws and policies are damaging the Black and Latino communities. We need to advocate for a repeal of the War on Drug s.
