Response peer summary. Provide specific ideas for further development on 1. Response draft thesis, 2. Response draft Introduction, and 3. Apparent quality o
Response peer summary. Provide specific ideas for further development on 1. Response draft thesis, 2. Response draft Introduction, and 3. Apparent quality of peer’s selected references. In addition, you will need to provide at least one suggestion for and/or substantive question about the summary. Comments related to the length of submission are not permitted. 250 words minimum.
Peer summary is in the file.
The legacy of the War on Drugs, although no longer perpetuated by recent administrations, has left its mark on contemporary drug policy. By definition, the War on Drugs was a period in which drug policy was drastically exaggerated and was characterized by a fervent criminalization of drugs— crack cocaine in particular. Crack cocaine, while on a basis of chemistry is only minutely different from its counter part of cocaine, was criminalized to a much greater degree. Why? Cocaine was a rich, upper class person drug and crack was a drug more frequently utilized by impoverished minorities. The War on Drugs is intimately linked with racism and criminalization of people of color. Through an investigation into the War on Drugs— from conception during the Nixon era, surpassing the Reagan administration and in to the contemporary politic sphere—current drug policy can be placed in the context of racism and mass incarceration to illuminate its shortcomings, and possible solutions, in order to move contemporary drug policy away from criminalization and towards rehabilitation.
The history of the war on drugs provides insight into current mass incarceration and its racial underpinnings. Beginning with President Nixon, Nixon coined the term “War on Drugs” as he introduced the concept of international cooperation in deterring drug production. Additionally, Nixon created many drug rehabilitation/ harm reduction centers— such as methadone clinics. Unfortunately, this treatment centered form of drug policy would not be seen again for decades to come. Eventually, Nixon pulled back on drug enforcement funding during the mid 1970s as heroin usage in the US began to decline. The following administrations provided a bright horizon of drug decriminalization and budding rehabilitation (Mitchell, 2009). That is, until President Reagan spearheaded what is now called the second wave era of the War on Drugs.
President Reagan began his administration on the back drop of a blooming crack/cocaine epidemic. By 1986, he enacted the Anti-Drug Control Acts. These acts served to increase drug sentencing and funding for drug related policing. This was also the onset of “mandatory minimum sentences,” which extended to even the most minute amounts of crack cocaine. Additionally, policing became the number one priority. Almost as if over night, exponential increases in police presence to impoverished, and often mostly minority, communities became the norm (Provine, 2011).
Increased policing, and thus incarceration, continued unabated through the Bush administration. Although it has been long acknowledged that the War on Drugs did not effectively curb drug use, as contemporary drug use statistics match those of the 1980s, increased policing and mass incarceration are common practices (Cooper, 2015). Additionally, Reagans claim to “reduce violent crime” via the War on Drugs has not been substantiated. Although violent crime has decreased over the past few decades, clear correlation is not viable (Mitchell, 2009).
In more recent administrations, advancements in decriminalizing drugs, and making drug policies more anti-racist, have been more frequent. For example, the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 of the Obama Administration reduced the disparity between drug sentencing for crack verses cocaine (Sirin, 2011). Yet, although this is one of the most progressive drug reform policies it still falls short of creating racially egalitarian drug policies.
References (APA):
Cooper, H. L. (2015). War on drugs policing and police brutality. Substance use & misuse, 50(8-9), 1188-1194. doi: 10.3109/10826084.2015.1007669
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Massey, D. S. (2020). Creating the exclusionist society: from the war on poverty to the war on immigrants. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 43(1), 18-37. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2019.1667504
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Mitchel, O. (2009). Inefectiveness, financial waste, and unfairness: the legacy of the war on drugs. Journal of Crime and Justice, 32(2), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/0735648X.2009.9721268
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Provine, D. M. (2011). Race and inequality in the war on drugs. Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 7, 41-60. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-102510-105445
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Sirin, C. V. (2011). From Nixon’s war on drugs to Obama’s drug policies today: presidential progress in addressing racial Injustices and disparities. Race, Gender & Class, 18(3/4), 82–99. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43496834
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