DNW - War on Drugs
The war on drugs has been going on for more than three decades. Today, nearly
500,000 Americans are imprisoned on drug charges. In 1980 the number was 50,000.
Last year $40 billion in taxpayer dollars were spent in fighting the war on
drugs.
As a result of the incarceration obsession, the United States operates the
largest prison system on the planet, and the U.S. nonviolent prisoner population
is larger than the combined populations of Wyoming and Alaska. Try to imagine
the Drug Enforcement Administration erecting razor wire barricades around two
states to control crime and you'll get the picture.
According to the U.S. Dept of Justice, the number of offenders under age 18
imprisoned for drug offenses increased twelvefold from 1985 to 1997. The group
most affected by this propensity for incarceration is African-Americans. From
1985 to 1997, the percentage of African-American young people put in prison
increased from 53 to 62 percent.
Today, 89 percent of police departments have paramilitary units, and 46 percent
have been trained by active duty armed forces. The most common use of
paramilitary units is serving drug-related search warrants, which usually
involve no-knock entries into private homes.