Sharay Rapozo

December 6, 2018
LAW 100 H
Special Topic Essay

The War on Drugs – Mandatory Sentencing & Racial Disproportionality

The United States’ War on Drugs has been an interesting topic during my studies.

Throughout my college education, the effects of the War on Drugs have been a popular area to

analyze and discuss. However, besides the common cultural aspects of the War on Drugs, such

as Nancy Reagan’s Just Say No campaign, there was little discussion about the history of the

War on Drugs. With this in mind, I decided to use the special topic assignment as my

opportunity to take a deeper look into the War on Drugs. I explored and compiled a brief history

of the War on Drugs, took a look at the legal progression of the War on Drugs through various

acts ratified, and researched the War on Drugs’ correlation to American incarceration.

The modern War on Drugs has its roots in the 1970s. The Nixon tough on crime

administration served as a stark juxtaposition to the uninhibited, chaotic 1960s. The

counterculture of the 60s was characterized by the heavy use of psychedelic drugs such as LSD.

As a means of controlling the disordered nature that often goes along with drug use, the United

States government decided to utilize its lawmaking ability. The Comprehensive Drug Abuse

Prevention and Control Act of 1970 marks the beginning of drug criminalization in the United

States. The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act created the scheduling

system of illicit drugs that is still in practice today (Gray, 27). Additional steps continued to

ensure government roles in maintaining drug use. The Drug Enforcement Administration was

founded in 1973 and consolidated all aspects of drug enforcement into one agency (Frost, 35).

Following Nixon, the War on Drugs remained rather stagnant; no actions were taken to enforce

drug regulation further nor were measures taken to reduce regulation.

 The inactive nature of the War on Drugs came to an end during the Reagan

administration. Similar to Nixon, Reagan favored a tough on crime approach. Drug abuse

became an issue for the public upon the emergence of crack cocaine (Provine, 45). With new

drugs becoming more prominent on the streets, Reagan was able to drastically increase the War

on Drugs efforts at an unprecedented rate.

In 1984, the Comprehensive Crime Control Act was enacted. The Comprehensive Crime

Control Act increased the punishment of drug offenders by increasing bail amounts and sentence

lengths (Gray, 27). Under the Comprehensive Crime Control Act includes the Sentencing

Reform Act. The Sentencing Reform Act maintained a goal of ending judicial sentencing

disparities and discretion (Howell, 1073). In order to achieve its goal, the Sentencing Reform Act

established the United States Sentencing Commission, an agency within the judiciary with the

purpose of creating sentencing guidelines (Howell, 1074). The Federal Sentencing Guidelines

since their creation will remain a topic of debate.

More important legislative actions to consider when speaking on the War on Drugs

include the Anti-Drug Abuse Acts of 1986 and 1988. These Acts enforced a number of

significant changes to how drug use is punished in the United States. These Acts established

mandatory minimum sentencing for drug offenses (Mauer and King, 7). A shocking provision

that came from these Acts is the difference between punishment of powder cocaine and crack

cocaine. Under this provision, the same sentence of five years imprisonment for five grams of

crack cocaine and 500 grams of crack cocaine, which have the same chemical makeup as one

another (Sirin, 91).

The outrageous disparity between powder cocaine and crack cocaine has underlying

racial connotations that have been spelled out by many. Crack cocaine in its beginning in the
United States was found often in urban areas with a stronger Black population; unlike powder

cocaine, which is found commonly in more affluent, white areas (Provine, 46). The media

intensified the threat of crack cocaine. The media created a narrative where white America must

be mindful and proactive to avoid the powerful drug infiltrating their good homes (Provine, 46).

The difference of treatment for two drugs of the same pharmaceutic makeup set the stage for

further inequalities among racial lines and drug use.

The War on Drugs’ effects on mandatory sentencing and sentencing guidelines has had

adverse consequences. The new rules on sentencing have resulted in a changed composition of

incarceration rates. The United States has the most people incarcerated in the world, with the

total of those in prisons and jails totaling 2.2 million inmates (Sentencing Project, 2). At the

federal level, nearly half of those incarcerated are because of drug offenses (Sentencing Project,

2). These surprising incarceration statistics can directly be linked to the drug policies rooted in

the 1980s. Sentencing guidelines have been increasing the amount of people who end up in

prison or jail. To add further insult to injury, mandatory minimum sentencing has increased the

length of sentences for those convicted of a drug offense. Prior to the 1986 policies, the average

sentence for a drug offense was 22 months; as of 2004, the average sentence is 62 months in

prison (Sentencing Project, 3). The stark increases in incarceration rates are not explained by

higher crime rates or increased drug use either. In fact, drug use and crime rates have remained

somewhat stable (Frost, 64). The War on Drugs has resulted in more people being incarcerated

and for more extended of time.

Another aspect that must be analyzed when speaking of the War on Drugs is its effects on

minorities, specifically Black men. Most of those that are imprisoned are also Black men, at the

rate of 2,415 Black men imprisoned per every 100,000 (Sentencing Project, 5). These
incarceration rates are considerably disproportionate. The general population of the United States

can be broken down to be approximately 76.6% White, 13.4% Black, 18.1% Hispanic/Latino

(US Census Bureau). Blacks are a minority in the general United States population, yet they

make up 33.4% of the incarcerated population (Sentencing Project, 5). There is an apparent

disparity among race and incarceration rates.

Additionally, Blacks are given harsher sentences. Blacks serve a similar federal sentence

for a drug offense (58.7 months on average) as whites do for a violent offense (61.7 months on

average) (Mauer and King, 22). Such a disparity can be explained through the War on Drugs. In

particular, the implementation of the War on Drugs. Police patrols aimed at catching drug

offenders tend to take place in inner-city areas. Inner-cities are more likely for minorities to live

and where drug interactions take in out in the open, leaving minorities more vulnerable to arrest

(Frost, 12). This contrasts with white drug activity, which usually takes place behind closed

doors in suburban areas (Frost, 12). African Americans have faced the worst treatments of the

War on Drugs.

The War on Drugs has obviously created harsh consequences that the United States

continues to face decades after its first declaration. Some efforts have been made as a means to

combat the issues associated with the War on Drugs. Namely, the Fair Sentencing Act

implemented in 2010. The Fair Sentencing Act limits the crack/powder cocaine disparity to an

18:1 ratio rather than the infamous 100:1 ratio (Sirin, 91). The Fair Sentencing Act also got

removed the simple possession mandatory minimum, limits the excessive penalties for those

convicted of low-level crack cocaine offenses, and increased the penalties for high-level

traffickers (Sirin, 91). Though not much, the federal government has taken a step in the right

direction in terms of attempting to reign in the results of the War on Drugs.

 Other efforts have also been made at the state level. Many states have chosen to take

action by creating different opportunities as an alternative to incarceration. These efforts include

the use of drug treatment programs, drug court, or other means of rehabilitation (Frost, 85).

States have taken matters into their own hand. Rather than continue to wait for the federal

government to take action, the states have benefited from asserting their individual state rights.

Personally, I agree with and support the endeavors of rehabilitation for those convicted of

drug offenses. It is common for drug offenses to be linked to drug use. Rather than criminalizing

drug use, approaching the issue as a public health concern would be much more favorable.

Addiction is a serious issue, yet nothing is being done to address it besides placing addicts into

prisons. Once incarcerated, the opportunities possible drug addicts have to address and work

through their addiction is incredibly limited. Additionally, by undertaking drug use and abuse as

a public health issue, the prison system can benefit from a little alleviation to the problem of

overcrowding. A public health narrative to the War on Drugs would be helpful in many aspects.

Additionally, I support and call for reform in current sentencing guidelines. As discussed

earlier, those serving sentencing for drug offenses serve similar sentence lengths as those

convicted of a violent crime. This treatment calls to question as to why drug offenses such as

simple possession is seen as a near equivalent to a violent act in the eyes of the criminal justice

system. The treatment of drugs in the criminal justice system is highly unfair and uncalled for,

especially when analyzing how the public currently perceives drugs. Today drug use is common,

with many states even allowing for legal marijuana use. The laws and implementation of the War

on Drugs are simply outdated. There is a dire need to readdress how to punish drug crimes in the

United States.
 Works Cited

Frost, Ann. The Politics of Punishment in the War on Drugs: Race and Racial Language in

Policy Shifts. University of Washington, 2014.

Gray, James P.. Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do about It : A Judicial

Indictment of the War on Drugs, Temple University Press, 2011. ProQuest Ebook

Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/washington/detail.action?docID=803586.

Howell, Robert. "Sentencing reform lessons: From the sentencing reform act of 1984 to the

Feeney amendment." J. Crim. L. & Criminology 94 (2003): 1069.

Mauer, Marc, and Ryan S. King. A 25-year quagmire: The War on Drugs and Its Impact on

American Society. Sentencing Project, 2007.

Provine, Doris Marie. "Race and inequality in the war on drugs." Annual Review of Law and

Social Science 7 (2011): 41-60.

Sirin, Cigdem V. "From Nixon's War on Drugs to Obama's Drug Policies Today: Presidential

Progress in Addressing Racial Injustices and Disparities." Race, Gender & Class (2011):

82-99.

The Sentencing Project. “Trends in U.S. Corrections.” Fact Sheet. The Sentencing Project,

Washington D.C. June 2018. Web.

“U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: UNITED STATES.” Census Bureau QuickFacts, United

States Census Bureau, www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045217.