The War on Drugs: Drug Sentencing Reform

1180 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Drug policies in the 1960s

Drug Sentencing Reform
The Judiciary Branch of the United States government is responsible for interpreting the law. Those involved with this branch determine the meaning of the laws and decide what to do with those who break them. Because of a drug movement that took place through the 1980s, the courts have severely punished those who break laws associated to drugs; Congress is now trying to step in to change the way the Judiciary Branch is forced to punish such criminals. Congress has been busy the past couple of years evaluating the proper sentencing of those convicted of drug crimes. Many men and women of Congress are joining forces in an attempt to come up with a solution to propose as an amendment. Our elected leaders believe the need for the reform of drug crimes is due because of the number of cases and number of years those convicted are spending in prisons. Because of the drug wars that took place in the United States, the minimum sentence has been set so high today. Drug reform is needed in the United States, and those convicted of drug crimes with improper sentences need to have their sentence reduced. 1
The war on drugs began with the presidential term of President Nixon in the 1970s. According to drugpolicy.org, “He dramatically increased the size and presence of federal drug control agencies, and pushed through measures such as mandatory sentencing and no-knock warrants. Nixon temporarily placed marijuana in Schedule One, the most restrictive category of drugs.” While Nixon made it a major crime to possess and distribute drugs, including marijuana, several states went against his belief and decriminalized the use of marijuana. However, presidents weren’t done with their say in the use of drugs. President Ronald Re...

... middle of paper ...

... long. As it turned out, to her surprise, she was sentenced to 30 years in prison. A young lady with no criminal background was sentenced to three decades behind bars. But after the recent change in nonviolent drug charges, she had her sentence cut to 21 years, and she was released from prison. She has now returned home to her adult children. Nodd stated, “I didn’t need 20 years to learn my lesson. It would have taken me a month behind bars because it killed me to leave my kids.” Because of the old structured minimums that are set before our judges and juries, people like Nodd have to suffer unjust consequences.

Works Cited

http://www.progressive.org/mag_abramsky0606 http://www.drugpolicy.org/new-solutions-drug-policy/brief-history-drug-war http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jag-davies/drug-war-pew-poll_b_5077423.html
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/drugpolicyreform

Show More
Related

  • America's War on Drugs - The Prison Industrial Complex

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    After viewing the documentary: America's War on Drugs - The Prison Industrial Complex, it is clear that the Criminal Justice System is in desperate need of reconstruction and repair with policies such as the mandatory minimum sentencing act which has proven to be unsuccessful and unjust in its efforts to deter 'criminals from committing illegal acts' as seen with the increase of incarcerations of the American people and the devastating effect it has had on those in prison and the family members of those incarcerated.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Drug Courts Vs. Incarceration

    1406 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The nation 's first drug court was established in Florida in 1989, and there are now more than 2,500 operating nationwide” (Rankinf and Teegardin). From that moment in 1989, America’s judicial system decided to re-evaluate how the courts had been approaching drug addiction and crime. Instead

    Read More

  • Douglas N. Husak's A Moral Right to Use Drugs

    1269 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Douglas N. Husak’s A Moral Right to Use Drugs he attempts to look at drug use from an impartial standpoint in order to determine what is the best legal status for currently illegal drugs. Husak first describes the current legal situation concerning drugs in America, citing figures that show how drug crimes now make up a large percentage of crimes in our country. Husak explains the disruption which this causes within the judicial system and it is made clear that he is not content with the current way drugs are treated. The figures that Husak offers up, such as the fact that up to one third of all felony charges involve drugs, are startling, but more evidence is needed than the fact that a law is frequently broken to justify it’s repeal.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Mass Incarceration

    958 Words  | 2 Pages

    Drug policies stemming from the War on Drugs are to blame, more specifically, the mandatory minimum sentencing mandates on petty drug charges that have imprisoned millions of non-violent offenders in the last three decades. Since this declaration of war, the percentage of drug arrests that result in prison sentences (rather than probation, dismissal, or community service) has quadrupled, resulting in an unprecedented prison-building boom (Wyler, 2014). There are three main reasons mandatory minimum sentencing laws must be reformed: (1) They impose unduly harsh punishments on relatively low level offenders, leading to the mass incarceration epidemic. (2) They have proven to be cost ineffective fiscally and in crime and drug use reduction. (3) They perpetuate a racially segregated criminal justice system that destroys communities and discourages trust

    Read More

  • Problematic California Prison System

    864 Words  | 2 Pages

    Starting in 1970s, there has been an upward adjustment to sentencing making punishment more punitive and sentencing guidelines more strict. Martinson's (1974) meta-analyzies reviewed over 200 studies and concluded that nothing works in terms of rehabilitating prisoners. Rehabilitating efforts were discontinued. The War on Drugs campaign in 1970s incarcerated thousands of non-violent drug offenders into the system. In 1865, 34.3% of prison population were imprisoned for drug violation. By 1995, the percentage grew to 59.9% (figure 4.1, 104). Legislation policies like the Third Strikes laws of 1994 have further the severity of sentencing. The shift from rehabilitation to human warehouse marks the end of an era of trying to reform individuals and the beginnings of locking inmates without preparation of their release. Along with the reform in the 1970s, prosecutors are given more discretion at the expense of judges. Prosecutors are often pressure to be tough on crime by the socie...

    Read More

  • The Federal Government Must Decriminalize Marijuana

    2430 Words  | 5 Pages

    Lately it seems that drug policy and the war on drugs has been in the headlines quite a lot. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the policies that the United States government takes against illegal drugs are coming into question. The mainstream media is catching on to the message of organizations and individuals who have long been considered liberal "Counter Culture" supporters. The marijuana question seems to be the most prevalent and pressed of the drugs and issues that are currently being addressed. The messages of these organizations and individuals include everything from legalization of marijuana for medical purposes, to full-unrestricted legalization of the drug. Of course, the status quo of vote seeking politicians and conservative policy makers has put up a strong resistance to this "new" reform lobby. The reasons for the resistance to the changes in drug policies are multiple and complex. The issues of marijuana’s possible negative effects, its use as a medical remedy, the criminality of distribution and usage, and the disparity in the enforcement of current drug laws have all been brought to a head and must be addressed in the near future. It is apparent that it would be irresponsible and wrong for the government to not evaluate it’s current general drug policies and perhaps most important, their marijuana policy. With the facts of racial disparity in punishment, detrimental effects, fiscal strain and most importantly, the history of the drug, the government most certainly must come to the conclusion that they must, at the very least, decriminalize marijuana use and quite probably fully legalize it.

    Read More

  • The House I Live In Movie Analysis

    1850 Words  | 4 Pages

    Woolley, John T., and Gerhard Peters. "Richard Nixon: Special Message to the Congress on Drug Abuse Prevention and Control." The American Presidency Project. The American Presidency Project, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

    Read More

  • Mass Incarceration of African Americans

    2058 Words  | 5 Pages

    In reality, the war had little to do with drug crime and a lot to do with racial politics. The drug war was part of a strategy used by the government. The President identified drug abuse as a national threat. Therefore, they called for a national anti-drug policy, the policy began pushing for the involvement of the police force and military in drug prohibition efforts. The government did believe that blacks or minorities were a cause of the drug problem.

    Read More

  • Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Essay

    1495 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mandatory minimum sentencing is the practice of requiring a predetermined prison sentence for certain crimes. The most notable mandatory minimums are the ones implemented in the 70’s and 80’s, hoping to combat the rising drug problem. Mandatory minimum sentencing has existed in the United States nearly since its very birth, with the first mandatory minimums being put into place around 1790. Recently, as the marijuana laws of many states have scaled back in severity, the issue of mandatory minimums has caused controversy in the US. There are two distinct sides to the argument surrounding mandatory minimum sentencing. One group believes we have a moral obligation to our country requiring us to do no less than lock up anyone with illegal drugs

    Read More

  • The Tipping Point in the War on Drugs

    1843 Words  | 4 Pages

    As described in novel The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference the course of any trend, movement, social behavior, and even the spread of a virus has a general trend line that in essence resemble a parabola with 3 main critical points. Any trend line first starts from zero, grows until it crosses the first tipping point, and then spreads like wildfire. Afterwards, the trend skyrockets to its carrying capacity (Galdwell, 2000). Then the trend gradually declines before it reaches the next tipping and suddenly falls out of favor and out of memory. Gladwell defines tipping points as the “magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire” (Gladwell, 2000).

    Read More

  • Drugs in the Prison System

    3192 Words  | 7 Pages

    can become a major source of income, not only for the inmate, but also for

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Parole And Parole

    1547 Words  | 4 Pages

    These two articles clearly display to the reader the pitfalls mandatory minimums sentences can have in the context of certain drug offenses. Illustrating the restrictions mandatory minimums place on a judge’s ability to use their experience and knowledge to assert the right type of punishment over those convicted of crimes. , “Canadians lose confidence in the criminal justice system when the sentence doesn’t fit the crime,” – Michael Cooper (Harris, 2016). This reformation of the courts showed the public that fairness is the focus of the justice system and not just deterrence and or

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Incarceration

    1529 Words  | 4 Pages

    In today's world, it seems like all too often we have woken up to another mass shooting, terrorist attack, or hate crime. However, the injustice does not end with the perpetrator. These acts of violence and hate are terrifying and receive a lot of media attention, yet there are many injustices that continue to permeate our society that are not often discussed. One of these is our incarceration system. The system is flawed and oversaturated with nonviolent drug offenders. Out of the approximately 2.2 million people in our nation’s prisons and jails, about one in four are locked up for a nonviolent drug offense (Criminal Justice Facts). According to the Department of Corrections, the largest single category of offense among prisoners is “drug

    Read More

  • The Drug Problem and the Current Justice System

    1825 Words  | 4 Pages

    The United States Correctional System is often challenged as to whether it wants to rehabilitate drug offenders or punish them, and because of this it mostly does neither. Even though drug abuse and drug trafficking are widely spread national issues, the mental, social, and economic costs of "healing" through incarceration are only making the "disease" worse. Never before have more prisoners been locked up on drug offenses than today. Mixed with the extremely high risks of today's prison environment, the concept of incarceration as punishment for drug offenders cannot be successful. Without the correct form of rehabilitation through treatment within Michigan's Correctional System, drug offender's chronic recidivism will continue.

    Read More

  • Drug Legalization: Drug Decriminalization By Jag Davies

    479 Words  | 1 Pages

    Jag then launches into the main topic of discussion for his essay: Drug Legalization, by asking his readers if they would want any of their loved ones go to jail for mere possession of a hard drug. The author, assuming that no one would want a friend or family member to go to jail for hard drug possession, begins to make his case for drug decriminalization by stating that legalizing the possession of hard drugs could signify a drop in criminal arrests linked to having little amounts of drugs for personal use. Jag then goes on to claim that this is a crucial time for drug law reform, seeing as President Trump’s administration is anti drug legalization, and states that the government of the United States is better off focusing on policies and reforms that would push for new ways to treat drug addiction and deaths related to drug overdose.

    Read More

More about The War on Drugs: Drug Sentencing Reform

Open Document