The War On Drugs: A Racial War

The War On Drugs began in the early 1970's in an attempt to reduce the use, possession, and sale of illegal drugs in the United States. This war has impacted the nation in unimaginable ways; the prison population, since the war began, has increased from 300,000 to 2 million, giving the United States the highest rate of incarceration in the world (Alexander 6). The War On Drugs has not affected everyone equally; it targets and imprisons African Americans for drug crimes at a rate alarmingly disproportionate to the rate of whites. In fact, between 1986 and 1991, at the height of the War On Drugs, "the number of white drug offenders in state prisons increased by 110 percent," while "the number of black offenders grew by 465 percent" (Shaw 1).

How exactly is the War On Drugs able to target and imprison African Americans at a disproportionate rate?

There are many possible answers to this question; some of these answers lie in the legislation that has been created because of the War On Drugs. Crack cocaine, which is "more likely to be used by African-Americans, will trigger felony charges for amounts 100 times less than powdered cocaine, which is more likely to be used by whites" (Shaw 1). The government has deliberately made punishments for crimes related to crack cocaine much harsher than crimes related to powder cocaine, as a way to target African Americans while remaining "colorblind." (The punishment for crack cocaine really is much harsher: "The sentence for possessing five grams of crack is a mandatory five years. By contrast, to get a five-year sentence for possession of power cocaine, one would have to be caught with 500 grams" (Lanier 2)).

This disparity between the punishments for crack cocaine and poweder cocaine stemmed from a "crack crisis" that occurred during the Reagan administration. The United States saw a dramatic increase in the use of crack cocaine in black neighborhoods, and the media was able to "publicize the emergence of crack cocaine in 1985 as part of a strategic effort to build public and legislative support for the war" (Alexander 5). The media was effectively able to target and label African Americans as drug criminals, which is a huge reason why African American neighborhoods are targeted in the War On Drugs today and why legislation, though "colorblind," gives harsher punishments for crack cocaine than powder cocaine.

Another way the War On Drugs has targeted African Americans at an alarmingly disproportionate rate is through racial profiling. According to Charles Shaw, "racial profiling has been shown to target African Americans for police stops and searches." Police first stop drivers for minor traffic violations, and then are able to catch drug criminals. And although whites and African Americans commit traffic violations at almost the same rate, "42 percent of all stops and 73 percent of all arrests were racial minorities" (Alexander 133). Additionally, "African Americans comprised only 17 percent of drivers along a stretch of I-95 outside of Baltimore, yet they were 70 percent of those who were stopped and searched" (Alexander 133). It is clear that police target African Americans during traffic stops and police stops and searches, perhaps because of a racial stereotype that labels African Americans as criminals. Because African Americans are stopped and searched at much higher rates than whites, they are much more likely to be caught and imprisoned for drug crimes.

The War On Drugs has become a racial war; though it allegedly aims to combat illegal drug useage, it targets African Americans at a highly disproportional rate, partly through the use of stops and searches and legislation.