The Anti-Drug Abuse Act
In 1971 President Richard Nixon declared War on Drugs in an effort to combat the increasing use of illegal drugs in the United States. In 1986, in response to the surge of crack cocaine that was flooding American inner cities, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which handed out harsher penalties for crack cocaine offenses than for powder cocaine offenses. For sentencing purposes, they used the 100:1 rule, the law said that one gram of crack cocaine be treated as equivalent to 100 grams of powder cocaine. Because crack cocaine offenders tended to be black and powder cocaine offenders tended to be white, the law seemed just to target African Americans. In 1998 there were wide racial imbalances in arrests, prosecutions, sentencing and
Nancy Reagan's Incarceration For Nonviolent Drug Offenders
96 Words | 1 PagesDue to the unprecedented expansion of the war on drugs by the Reagan administration started a long period of skyrocketing rates of incarceration. The huge number of offenders incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenders increased from 50,000 to 1980 to over 400,000 by the year 1997. In 1981, Nancy Reagan began a highly publicized antidrug campaign called “Just Say No”, as public concerns arose due to the portrayals by the media about people addicted to a smoke-able form of cocaine dubbed as “crack”. This campaign set the stage for zero tolerance policies implemented in the late 1980’s.
Rockefeller Drug Act Of 1914 Essay
418 Words | 2 PagesThe use of drugs has become a major problem in our society, leading to serious health and social issues. The Rockefeller Drug Act of 1914 was a landmark piece of legislation that sought to curb the sale and use of narcotics in the United States. It was proposed by John D. Rockefeller Jr., who had become increasingly concerned about the effects of drug addiction on society. The act made it illegal for anyone to possess, sell, or transport narcotics without a prescription from a licensed physician. It also imposed stiff penalties for violations of the law and allowed for federal prosecution of those found guilty.
Theodore Robert Bundy Trial Summary
777 Words | 4 PagesFor example, In the "US Department of Justice, 2010" charts it showed that there were more white offenders (52.2%) than black offenders (38%) (Gains, Morton, Tillman, 2016,
The War On Crimes Directed By Ava Duvernay
893 Words | 4 PagesThe combination of drugs and unemployment increased crime, as drugs and alcohol disproportionately affected the black population. Above all the government's approach to addressing the harmful effects of drugs on society has created an oppressive atmosphere for poor blacks and other minority groups. The war on drugs targeted drug users and drug contributors similarly, and the group that was primarily affected was the African American community. However, they treated crack and cocaine differently, as it turns out; there is no significant chemical difference between them. The only distinction was in federal sentencing laws for possessing each form of the same drug, which had more to do with incorrect information and political pressure than public safety and health.
How Did Nixon Use Cocaine In The 1980s
1132 Words | 5 PagesRegan’s tactic for the War on Drugs was directed towards the two most popular drugs of the 1980s, cocaine and crack. Crack is cocaine combined with chemicals to create a smokable and more producible drug. Criminalizing crack and cocaine lead to the incarceration of one in every three Black men while imposing minimum sentences, creating longer sentences, and reclassifying various drugs from misdemeanor to felony crimes. Crack use become enough of a serious concern to the public that in 1986 one-third of calls to a drug hotline were about the drug.
Reagan War On Drugs Essay
1558 Words | 7 PagesSky Ward H. U.S. History 2A Pittman Reagan’s War on Drugs In June of 1971, Nixon first declared a “War on Drugs”. By the time Reagan left office in 89, the War on Drugs defined a presidency and the way of life in America for generations to come. According to Nixon, drug abuse was “public enemy number one”.
Racial Disparities In The Criminal Justice System
1107 Words | 5 PagesThrough the years, the world has made substantial progress towards ensuring equal treatment under law for all citizens. However, the cycle continues, as disparities within the justice decision making process is growing at each level of the criminal justice system. Although the drug policies and sentencing guidelines that are put into place by our legislators are said to be “race neutral,” they have actually shown to be pervasively biased, affecting both innocent as well as guilty minority citizens. There is no question that the most important stage of the criminal justice system is the sentencing phase. It is at this stage where prosecutors, along with law enforcement personnel, attempt to determine who will or will not be granted leniency
The Brown Vs. Board Of Education Case
666 Words | 3 PagesTo begin with, the most common inequality in modern society is the corrupted criminal justice system. Racial bias and profiling persuades judgments when sentencing minorities; especially African Americans. " African Americans make up 6.5% of the American population but 40.2% of the prison
Food And Drug Act 1906
127 Words | 1 PagesThe 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act prevented the manufacture, sale, or transportation of misbranded or poisonous foods, drugs, medicines and liquors, and regulated the trafficking of such items. This act was ruled by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress, and is regulated today by the U.S. Foods and Drugs Administration today. This act was very successful in improving public health, for according to the Social Security bureau of the United States, now manufactured new drugs have to be inspected and certified by appropriate personnel. This allowed for the revision of many drugs and foods, and got rid of many drugs that used strange and unusual ingredients. This included the banning of cocaine cough drops and soothing syrups that contained
Racial Disparities Regarding Sentencing
842 Words | 4 PagesRacial disparities in sentencing. Implications for the criminal justice system and the African American
Race Class Incarceration Research Paper
1046 Words | 5 PagesAs demonstrated in Trends in U.S. corrections, the U.S. has had the highest rates of incarceration as of 2011 adding up to more than seventy hundred thousand(The Sentencing Project 3). Race and class play an important role on who is punished for such crimes as well as who gets
Tough On Crime Policy Analysis
784 Words | 4 PagesA study conducted by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services undertaking claims of sentencing disparities studies the felony sentencing outcomes particularly in New York courts between the years 1990 and 1992. Astonishingly, the study concluded that approximately one-third of minorities sentenced to prison would have received a shorter sentence with the possibility of a non-incarcerative penalty if they had been treated similarly to their white counterparts. Consequently, other sentencing data is consistent with the results of this study’s findings. On a national scale, black males specifically, who were convicted of drug felonies in state courts 52 percent of the time, while white males typically receive prison sentencing approximately 34 percent of the time. In addition, these figures are not constrained to gender given the similar ratio among black and white women as well.
Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow Summary
1075 Words | 5 PagesThe racial disparity can be accounted for through the mass incarceration of black offenders in terms of sentencing with mention of a racial caste in place, not allowing those of color to move from their position. As such, mass incarceration has led to prisons being filled with an overpopulation of those who are black than any other race. Interesting enough, it has been proven through surveys that those who are white are more likely to engage in drug crime rather than those who are black. I found this to be an interesting point to discuss as it raises the question as to just why are more people of color incarcerated at a growing rate than
Annotated Bibliography: The New Jim Crow
1343 Words | 6 PagesCoker gives great evidence that supports racial injustice in the criminal justice system. She discusses on the Supreme Court’s rulings and accusations of racial preference in the system. This article is helpful because it supports my thesis on race playing a role on the system of criminal justice. Hurwitz, J., & Peffley, M. (1997). Public perceptions of race and crime: The role of racial stereotypes.
Justice Will Be Served Analysis
972 Words | 4 PagesThe crime rate has gone up tremendously throughout the years. I believe a lot of it is because of unfairness. Things such as race, gender, religion, and wealth are key concepts that affect justice in everyday life. Race and gender are two major characteristics that are discussed when justice is brought up. In the court system, there is always high controversy between the Caucasians and African Americans.
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