The Sentencing Disparity For Drug Use By Race - 2207 Words

The sentencing disparity for drug use by race is disproportionate for African Americans because of The War on Drugs. â€Å"In 1951, Harry Anslinger, the commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, collaborated with senate of criminal investigations to target black â€Å"dope peddlers† who were luring pretty white blondes into drug addiction. Anslinger was quoted saying, â€Å" For the peddler who is willing to wreck young lives†¦ no punishment is too severe.† (Lassiter 2015) Using this rhetoric, presidents like Nixon and Reagan would shape the way drug law are enforced. Richard Nixon made it his goal to focus on treatment, rather than criminal punishment. It was not until the Reagan Era that the dynamics of the war on drugs would change, for†¦show more content†¦Under Reagan, there was â€Å" zero tolerance† for drug use, which was enforced throughout America, but through different measures depending on your race. Public health campaigns wer e introduced in white, middle-class neighborhoods and militarized exclusion in urban minority communities.† (Lassiter 2015). The organized exclusion created mass incarcerations that negatively shaped Black communities. The idea of people being proud of their black community faded when the government targeted them as the â€Å"enemy† of the war. There are single- parent homes, where there were once strong familial bonds. Those potential role models have been stripped from the lives of their children. The biggest impact it has had, is on the loss of earnings and wealth. Unoccupied jobs are no longer available to minorities that have been incarcerated, because they are seen as undesirable or risks, which leads to recidivism. â€Å"The Bureau of Justice Statistics report also noted that a Black male s chances of incarceration were 6.5