Running head: DEBATE 18 WAR ON DRUGS 1

DEBATE 18 WAR ON DRUGS 7

Waller’s Debate 18: War on Drugs

Devin Johnston

CRJU495:09

November 4, 2019

The War on Drugs

Introduction

This week’s debate 18 is about the war on drugs. The two authors have different point of views. You have Dalrymple who advocates that the system must be fixed and the war must continue (Dalrymple, 2009). Then you have Jenson who argues that the war has failed and must be abandoned (Jenson, 2009). The debate is important to all Americans and the criminal justice system of the United States because scholars continue to question the role of America’s criminal justice system in the racialized war on drugs that majorly targets the African American minorities. Prison populations have exploded with a majority of the inmates being the people of color ever since this war was started. The sad reality is that the people of color are targeted for minor drug law infractions while the whites continue to enjoy the while privileges that insulate them against arbitrary incarceration (Simmons, 2017). The other reason why the war on drugs is an important topic is that the law enforcement agencies are redirected away from handling other types of crime in the United States to concentrate on the fighting drug war. This opens several loopholes of criminal activities since many efforts are redirected elsewhere. This paper presents different views of different authors on the topic and a summary of the findings.

Against the War on Drugs

The war on drugs is simply a racial conspiracy to lock up as many African American youths as possible and cut them off from mainstream society offenses (Stern, 2017). Since the war began in the 1970s and 80s, the prison population has continued to swell with many African Americans getting locked up for very low levels of drug offenses. Stern (2017) argues that the prison population is predominantly black and this leads to massive racial disparity in the United States criminal justice system. He further states that the war on drugs is a racial conspiracy to ruthlessly suppress the rights of Africans. This is because the war began soon after the enactment of the Civil Rights Act as a ploy to suppress the huge gains that the Act had granted the African Americans. Lopez borrows many ideas from Michelle Alexander to equally argue that the war on drugs is the New Jim Crow where racial caste has not been ended but redesigned to push African Americans to the lowest caste system in the country.Topic of Debate 19 The Patriot Act Attached below is an example for formation
Why is this topic important to American society and the American criminal justice system?
Briefly describe which side of the Debate each author takes and why?
Find 4 academic journal articles on the debate topic. 2 supporting articles per side. 2 for and 2 against and make sure you label each paragraph. Briefly describe the authors positions on the topic and why they hold those positions.
Based on the arguments from the Debate and your four articles, your knowledge of the issues from other classes, and any other information you have, such as non-criminal justice classes, Supreme Court decisions, current events, and other sources, write your opinion on the issue. You do not need to agree with any of the sides presented, however, you must strongly support your opinion with examples or in other ways. Total of 6 references
Summary at the end telling your opinion and why 125 word summary