The ongoing war on drugs in the US has been criticized as some of the most expensive and ineffective policies to have ever shaped society. It causes disproportionate incarceration of blacks, Hispanics, and minorities, overcrowds prisoners, results in extended jailing expenditures, and does not seem to have any effect on drug-related crimes (Michelle, 2012). Moreover, it often serves as a gateway to becoming full-fledged criminals, as individuals whose lives are ruined by prolonged incarceration have difficulty reintegrating into society (Michelle, 2012).
While the US justice system has been primarily geared towards punishment and retribution, its paradigm is what the US stands for as a Christian nation. McQuilkin and Copan (2013) discuss that, in accordance with the example set by Jesus Christ, society should not shun people but reintegrate them. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone, the saying goes. As such, incarceration for minor crimes like drug possession is disproportionate punishment, akin to stoning a person for adultery.
There are ways to deal with individuals found guilty of drug possession and other minor crimes that do not have to involve incarceration and jail time. The first solution is the decriminalization of drugs altogether, but that solution comes with various pitfalls (Koh, Kerlikowske, and Botticelli, 2018). A simpler and much cheaper measure is to sentence guilty individuals to paid public labor (Koh, Kerlikowske, and Botticelli, 2018). Not only will it allow people to acquire basic skills and help better society, but it will also provide them with some money to help start their lives anew. Finally, in the case of clinically addicted individuals, forced rehabilitation would be a preferable alternative to imprisonment (Koh, Kerlikowske, and Botticelli, 2018). The war on drugs needs to end, as it has long since become a war on US citizens, especially minorities.
References
Michelle, Alexander. The New Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. The New Press, 2012.
Koh, Howard K., R. Gil Kerlikowske, and Michael P. Botticelli. “A smarter war on drugs.” JAMA 320, no. 22 (2018): 2301-2302.
McQuilkin, Robertson, and Paul Copan. An introduction to biblical ethics: Walking in the way of wisdom. InterVarsity Press, 2013.