Drug Laws Influnce on Different Population Groups Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

Drug addiction is a terrible epidemic that destroys many lives, and therefore many countries of the world are waging war on drugs. However, the methods used, insufficient data quality, and biases affecting the course of the struggle have negative consequences. Laws against drugs have a disproportionate impact on national minorities, women, and other oppressed groups. At the same time, the roots of the addiction problem, which lie in poverty and social inequality, are often ignored. Despite all the dangers of drugs, the fight against them should not worsen the living conditions for the population and aggravate injustice.

The problem of racism in America’s justice system is particularly acute. The American system is the largest globally and contains the most prisoners. At the same time, people of color, especially African-Americans, are detained more often. After detention, representatives of other races are more likely to be convicted and sentenced to harsher punishment. Such injustice is especially noticeable in the drug situation, where the number of crimes for different races is approximately the same (The Sentencing Project, 2018). The police distribute their efforts focusing on areas where they believe a crime is more likely, and policies like “Broken Windows” and “Stop, Question, and Frisk” make people of color the target (The Sentencing Project, 2018). Given the disproportionate level of poverty, structural racism, and small efforts to combat these problems, the drug war is a more significant burden for minorities.

The fight against drugs also unfairly affects women, especially women of color. Racial bias is also relevant to them, but several other problems supplement it. Women have less access than men to treatment during detention (Drug Policy Alliance, n.d.). Child protection policies fight drugs, and sometimes children can be taken from mothers only for suspicion of them in connection with drug crimes (Drug Policy Alliance, n.d.). Conspiracy laws are also severely used against women, imposing penalties for not informing about the involvement of a partner or family member in drug sales (Drug Policy Alliance, n.d.). Thus, existing laws against drugs are unfair to racial minorities and women.

References

Drug Policy Alliance. (n.d.). Women and the drug war. Drug Policy Alliance Website.

The Sentencing Project. (2018). Report to the United Nations on racial disparities in the U.S. criminal justice system. The Sentencing Project Website.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2022, December 17). Drug Laws Influnce on Different Population Groups. https://ivypanda.com/essays/drug-laws-influnce-on-different-population-groups/

Work Cited

"Drug Laws Influnce on Different Population Groups." IvyPanda, 17 Dec. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/drug-laws-influnce-on-different-population-groups/.

References

IvyPanda. (2022) 'Drug Laws Influnce on Different Population Groups'. 17 December.

References

IvyPanda. 2022. "Drug Laws Influnce on Different Population Groups." December 17, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/drug-laws-influnce-on-different-population-groups/.

1. IvyPanda. "Drug Laws Influnce on Different Population Groups." December 17, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/drug-laws-influnce-on-different-population-groups/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Drug Laws Influnce on Different Population Groups." December 17, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/drug-laws-influnce-on-different-population-groups/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
1 / 1