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In what ways does the drug policy - its laws, policies, practices, and people - advance the goal of justice, fall short of it, or undermine it?

Drug policies have begun in the 1970s and have only affected American society in a negative way, resulting in a shortfall of justice. Even though the Constitution assures equal protection to every citizen of America no matter their gender or race, the drug policies have produced many laws that unfairly targeted marginalized groups and would punish them with worse sentences than white people. When people of color are caught in possession of drugs, they are more likely to be incarcerated or even killed. However, when white people are caught in possession of drugs, they receive fewer and more lenient consequences or do not get arrested. This proves how the drug policies have caused a disparity of treatment in America and largely had negative effects on people of color over white people. Today, several colored people have been incarcerated due to these unfair drug policies, and there has been little to no reform being initiated on this issue.

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The sentence must suit the crime: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (8th Amendment). Despite this being a part of our Constitution, countless Americans, especially people of color, are handed harsh sentences that far outweigh the severity of their “crimes,” like nonviolent possession of drugs.

The Constitution protects people from being treated differently because of their age or race: “...Nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (14th Amendment). Although the Constitution promises equal protection to all people no matter their gender, race, or age, the war against drugs resulted in many laws that unfairly targeted people of color with more sentences and more severe ones. Some examples of these racial disparities are different sentences for powder vs. crack cocaine possession and increased police presence in communities of color.

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C. Descriptions of people involved in or impacted by this issue

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C. Descriptions of people involved in or impacted by this issue

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Morgan Jones: Medical Marijuana in New York
This 3 year girl old suffers from a syndrome called Dravet Syndrome. This syndrome is a severe form of epilepsy that causes seizures.  The prescription drugs (many of which are not approved by the FDA for someone her age) were ineffective. However, medical marijuana showed promising signs. The family calls on the New York government to pass the Compassionate Care Act to bring medical marijuana to New York.

Steven Glover: Illegal Search and False Arrest in New York
Steven was standing outside his school with his friends when he offered them mints. Police nearby saw him and approached him, asking what he just gave to them. He told them that it was just a mint and even opened his mouth to show them. Without consent, the officers searched his pockets. They found a small pen knife and some marijuana remnants. Steven was not charged with the pen knife, but was charged with possession of marijuana in public.

Sean McGrath: Medical Marijuana in new Jersey
Sean died at the age of 28 to a rare cancer. He had very supportive parents and friends and great doctors. The meds he used to treat his illness seemed to not cure his ongoing symptoms of nausea and vomiting. To treat this, Sean sought medical marijuana. When one of the doctors recommended he try it, he was hesitant at first. But, he realized he had to do something about his sickness. He was very light weight for his age (97 pounds). He didn't know where to get any but his friends hooked him up with some. It made the other drugs more effective because he could actually keep them down long enough for them to begin to take effect.

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Willie Mays Aikens is a former first baseman for the Kansas City Royals. Unfortunately, his baseball career came to an end due to his addiction to cocaine and he was sentenced to 21 years in prison for selling crack cocaine to an undercover officer. However, sentencing reform advocates were able to use his story to portray the unjust sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine that effectively treated people of color much more harshly. Then, finally, in 2008, a federal judge reduced his prison sentence to 14 years, which made headlines and brought even more awareness to the issue.

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A-Qs8OPimXXpwFLLLvpqhjcmA-NXAok6OlorcwVQv1I/edit?usp=sharing

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https://www.loom.com/share/63611290fdc24f7bbd60b019fbebce0f

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Padlet Video: Creative Piece - Google Slides

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1. One viable drug policy solution is rolling back mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug crimes, as well as totally decriminalizing drug possession. Mandatory minimum sentences punish innocent Americans simply for owning drugs, even if they are a first-time offender, in recovery/remission, and noncriminals otherwise. When compounded with other issues like over policing, communities of color are especially impacted, which is part of the reason why such a high percentage of prisoners are people of color, therefore eliminating these mandatory minimum sentences would significantly help lower the disproportionate incarceration rate of people of color.

2. Another viable drug policy solution is addressing rampant over-policing of communities of color by distributing police presence more fairly/uniformly. According to drugpolicy.org, the disparity in incarceration for people of color compared to whites isn’t because they use more drugs, but because law enforcement focuses on low income urban areas with communities of color. The results of these practices are shocking: nearly 80% of people in federal prison and 60% of people in state prison for drug offenses are Black or Latino. In order to have the prison population more fairly reflect who is actually using drugs, law enforcement’s hyperfocus on black and latino neighborhoods should be put to an end, either by reducing police presence or by at least adding more to all the other areas for an equal distribution.