Black, White and Hispanic Males Are Getting Arrested At Insane Rates in Drug War

http://www.policymic.com/articles/78817/black-white-and-hispanic-males-are-getting-arrested-at-insane-rates-in-drug-war

Fifty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty. Half a century later, the vicious cycle of poverty continues, and is exacerbated by the the federal government's War on Drugs, complete with draconian laws that have made us a country of intense over-criminalization. 

Historically, over-criminalization, particularly in terms of drug offenses, has disproportionately affected minorities. A recently published study, however, indicates that arrests of whites is also sharply on the rise, and by age 23, 38% of white males have been arrested. In contrast, by 23, 49% of black males and 44% of Hispanic males have been arrested. While the study does not break down the offenses, the drug war is undoubtedly behind many if not most of them. 

Consistent with our nation's history, now that whites are making up such a large percentage of those arrested, our leaders will take notice, and, while it is unfortunate that action has come about because of this, changes in the way politicians view federal law will certainly be welcome. 

By all accounts, 2014 is shaping up to be a year of much progress in the way our nation views the justice system. With legal marijuana being sold in Colorado, the American public is more ready than ever to take a second look at the way we treat and handle drug use. 

With Republicans decrying the breakdown of the family unit, and Democrats lamenting the unfairness of the justice system, drug reform gives politicians a chance to build consensus and find common ground.

i wonder with those facts exposed will White drug incarceration drop slightly so the republicans can deny it's reality or will their greed and drive to get money through privatized incarceration warehouses will out and now they and their parents will know what we've known forever i some of our existences

With whites now making up such a sizable proportion of arrests, politicians are being forced to look at their own lives and choices, and use common sense when drafting laws. With prominent politicians on both sides of the political spectrum, such as former President George W. Bush, former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum and President Barack Obama, having admitted to smoking pot, there's hope that drug laws can become more lenient, leaning toward helping people overcome substance abuse rather than forcing jail time.

In this regard, however, President Obama, heralded in 2008 as a candidate of social justice, has done more harm to people caught in the middle of the drug war than good.

The Obama administration has made more arrests for marijuana related offenses than any administration before it. Most of the arrests under President Obama have been for possessing small amounts of marijuana, which puts him in a hypocritical position, given he has admitted to possessing and partaking in recreational marijuana use when he was younger.

is it again fair to blame him for acting on their laws?

To understand America's changing views on race and drug use, one needs to only look back as recently as 1986, when Congress passed the Anti Drug Abuse Act . The law mandated a minimum sentence of 5 years for possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine, and the same amount of time for possession of 500 grams of powdered cocaine.

Laws such as these by their very nature disproportionately imprison minorities, who are more likely to possess crack cocaine vs powdered cocaine. As the large proportion of white victims of this law grew, politicians began to act. 24 years later, the law was amended by the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. It's passage into law began a new era of liberalized perspective on drug use. 

is it fair to blame Pres. for laws before his time that republicans promote IMO with an eye toward privatizing, before they designed to laws to affect those not White now that their chickens have come home to roost about 3 or 4 decades to late White kid involvement has always been big they just couldn't admit it because like everything else they have demonized it so much and imposed such hard penalties if caught it would be their kid in a cell with a big Black guy.

things do change when they happen at home.