http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_the_War_on_Drugs What could be the reason for this disparity? IF Racism is no longer an issue . . it is not the issue . . . why would these numbers hold? I am interested in your ideal of why this situation stands as it does. . Rocket River
My theory is very simplistic and I have no statistical data to back it up. I feel that it has to do with social hierarchy. Generally speaking, caucasians are more financially stable than most minorities. Having more money gives you the luxury of affording more drugs and dependable representation in court if you are caught. We only need to look at how our celebrities are treated to see this distinction.
Look again at the chart: % of drug users in US population is compared to % prison population in for drug offenses. My initial reaction is historical continuity, which inherently means racism. There are likely some socioeconomic/structural explanations, but they are likely still rooted in the commingling or race, class, and status in US history. Simply put: a group of people long ago were defined as/forced to be part of the underclass and haven't emerged from it yet, so these disproportionately affects them. Been meaning to catch up on the latest scholarship on The New Jim Crow. Sociologists and historians are arguing amongst themselves how to interpret these numbers amongst other data. Some cats are just saying the prison industrial complex developed to regulate/control black people/poor people. Basically, we go from slavery to Jim Crow to prison industrial complex.
I think the graph is in percentages of each population. As such, it says that while Hispanics account for 10% of the overall drug use population, they account for ~23% of the population in prison for drug related offenses. My question is what does the graph look like when controlled for socioeconomic status?
It's a confusing graph. The blue column shows the race's % share of the total users and the red shows the race's % share of the prisoners. So the discrepancy shows over/underrepresentation in the justice system. What it doesn't show is the drug mix. If minorities use harder drugs, they'll have more law enforcement attention and longer sentences. But, of course we know (or I think I know, at least) that there is still ample racism in the system, from the disparate punishments for crack and cocaine, to police scrutiny, to inadequate public defense, to juror bias, etc.
Great observation. There have also been arguments besides the "hardness" of the drugs in question about how th ed rugs are procured. Are some channels easier to police? Is it easier to bust somebody dealing crack or meth on a public street than somebody shuttling powdered cocaine for white collar consumption? Racism cannot be ruled out, though. Even apart from systemic biases, biases in policy creation may also strongly factor in. There is a general sense of "you know who we're talking about" when it comes to things like the "war on drugs" (and welfare). Perhaps the allocation of resources exposes certain targeting?
The funny part is that even though these figures clearly show racism irrevocably imbedded within the drug war, guys like Ron Paul are called racist even if they advocate for an end to the drug war. Oh, politics.
I don't think the graph distinguishes users from those involved in the drug trade. Being involved in selling, distributing and violence in regards to narcotics is a much more serious offense than smoking pot. If the graph is drug users versus people in jail for the 'drug war' that would include transporting, selling, distribution and violence in narcotics. I don't imagine most the people serving long sentences in jail are there because they were caught with recreational amounts of drugs. Pretty important distinction. Because of poverty etc, I would imagine a disproportionate amount of the business and violent aspects of drugs are carried out by minorities.
Brings me to the next question. What does 'ending the drug war' look like? Drug Free for all? or just legalizing Weed? Everything through 'drug stores' etc? Rocket River
It should be a move from enforcement and penalization to education and rehabilitation. Attack the reasons that people do drugs not the drug itself.
I understand what you are trying to say but these numbers are deceptive. People don't go to prison for using drugs. They go to prison for selling drugs. I would like to see the bar chart of illicit drug DEALERS versus prisoners.
Don't want to lead to a possible derail, but since you asked... All drugs decriminalized on the principle that I own my body and thus can do anything I want to and with it unless it infringes upon the another's property rights. (In libertarian perspective, all rights are some type of property right.)
Not quite. The term drug related offenses covers a range of activity, though, including dealing. I suspect dealing as underclass employment covers a lot of these numbers. Still there are/have been large disparities with respect to possession (amounts required for various charges) and sentencing. Sentencing guidelines have disproportionately punished people possessing drugs more associated with non-whites and the poor versus sentencing for possessing drugs more closely associated with whites and the wealthy. Thankfully, there is on going reform with respect to sentencing. http://stopthedrugwar.org/taxonomy/term/112
That, and ambitious, competitive black guys may have a narrower scope for success and financial stability; drug dealing might seem like more of an option or imperative for them. My assumption obviously heavily factors in lower income and demographic isolation.
