Essay On Mandatory Minimums

The United States has almost always favored a conservative stance on policy involving drugs and alcohol. In 1971, Nixon declared a war on drugs and expanded the size and presence of federal drug control agencies, and introduced mandatory minimums. Later on, Regan further expanded the drug war, which led to very high levels of mass incarceration. In 2017, the war on drugs remains, as does drug use, and addiction problems, the opiate crisis remains a major public health concern. This kind of harsh criminal perspective on drugs had a major impact on the U.S. population, and it continues to do so.
Mandatory minimums are laws that stipulate minimum amounts of jail time for specific criminal offenses. The amount of time that corresponds with drug possession and drug use can be long, anywhere from one to ten years for a single charge. The federal minimum also takes away the Judges’ ability to consider mitigating circumstances. The

The idea that a longer sentence provides a bigger deterrent, is not necessarily backed by evidence. Maybe, the prison sentence acts as a deterrent to a first time user looking to experiment, however, someone who is addicted to drugs is likely not considering the consequences of their actions. When someone is addicted to a substance, it cause all kinds of problems, physical symptoms like pain, or headaches, and psychological problems like low mood or dependence. An addict simply is not going to care enough about potential consequences to change their actions. Further treatment for addiction in the U.S. can be hard to attain, due to location or expense, and this makes it difficult for addicts to seek treatment they need. Additionally the current policy prevents harm reduction measures. This includes education about practical safety and education about how diseases like HIV are transmitted, and their