Legalization talk seems to be cropping up a lot lately. After Obama’s disappointingly dismissive answer regarding legalization during his internet Q & A, a lot of people have been weighing in on the issue.
Jack Cafferty says:
Here’s something to think about:
How many police officers and sheriff’s deputies are involved in investigating and solving crimes involving illegal drugs? And arresting and transporting and interrogating and jailing the suspects? How many prosecutors and their staffs spend time prosecuting drug cases? How many defense lawyers spend their time defending drug suspects? How many hours of courtroom time are devoted to drug trials? How many judges, bailiffs, courtroom security officers, stenographers, etc., spend their time on drug trials? How many prison cells are filled with drug offenders? And how many corrections officers does it take to guard them? How much food do these convicts consume? And when they get out, how many parole and probation officers does it take to supervise their release? And how many ex-offenders turn right around and do it again?
So how’s this war on drugs going? Someone described insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result each time. That’s a perfect description of the war on drugs.
And he’s totally right.
Marijuana is by far the most widely used illegal substance in the United States. More than 70 million Americans have tried marijuana at least once, and over 20 million have smoked it in the past year. However, the pursuit of stopping this use is costly and inefficient. Each year the government spends billions of dollars on ineffective programs justified by the War on Drugs. In 2003, the federal government spent over $19 billion. Combined with the additional $30 billion spent by state governments, the War on Drugs cost nearly $50 billion in one year. This money could be justified if the programs were effective. However, it is clear that we are fighting a losing battle. While the aim of the program is to halt or slow the flow of drugs, reports suggest that only 10% of drugs are interdicted by law enforcement. That is not enough to justify $50 billion.
However, the real cost of the war on drugs is the increase in crime and destruction of lives that are a direct result of the processes used. Specifically, the African American community is adversely impacted by our pursuit of stopping marijuana because of the racial disparities in drug sentencing. While the majority of drug users are white (five times the amount of any other race), blacks comprise the bulk of the drug offenders actually sent to prison. Nationwide, black men are sent to prison on drug charges at thirteen times the rate of white men. This disparity is evident when you compare the rates of incarcerated blacks to whites; one in every 20 black men over the age of 18 is in prison. This compares to one in 180 white men. The effect this disparity has on the black community is staggering. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, “of the nation’s 72.3 million minor children in 1999, 2.1% had a parent in State or Federal prison. Black children (7.0%) were nearly nine times more likely to have a parent in prison than white children (0.8%). Hispanic children (2.6%) were three times as likely as white children to have an inmate parent.” All for what, a simple drug violation?
That’s insane.
