War on Blacks

In the one hundred years leading up to the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 illicit drugs that were once legal and wildly used were being prohibited by law with punishment becoming tougher and tougher on those involved. Looking over the history from President Nixon’s declaration of America’s war on drugs, the massive media coverage of the “Crack epidemic” and to the most recent prison statistics the nations aim has been widely one sided. It can clearly be stated that the War on Drugs evolved into a War on Black people in America.

Looking back in the nineteenth century many of today’s illegal drugs including opium, heroin, morphine and cocaine were used by middle to upper class whites. Then towards the end of the nineteenth century cocaine dropped in popularity due to the fear and the drugs association with violent Blacks in the south (Echegaray, p.1218). Similarly to fall of cocaine use opium began to drop in usage by White America after it began to be associated with Chinese immigrants, several laws ranging from the prohibiting of smoking dens to the halting of poppy crop production would soon follow (Echegaray, p. 1219). Moving into the twentieth century obtaining illicit drugs became more difficult but not impossible. In the early 1900’s these drugs were not prohibited however with the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906 (Echegaray, P.1219) there were limitations. These limitations or regulations were that any medicines that contained these drugs must have it written on the label. Later with the passage of the Harrison Act in 1914 to purchase medicines with these drugs one must have a prescription filled out be a physician who would keep record of drugs prescribed (Echegaray, p. 1220), As stated by Orange County Superior...

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...icans that make up this amount. Based on population of 100,000, in 1980 1,111 Black men were incarcerated and 3,218 in 2004, whereas in 1980 168 White men were incarcerated and 463 in 2004 (Radosh, p.11). In 2004 the United States government allocated $6.8 billion for drug enforcement which in turn allowed for more arrests, more prosecutions and more incarcerations (Echegaray, p.1265), and as these figures show the focus was on African Americans.

The prohibiting and restricting of illicit drugs began with fear of violent Blacks in the nineteenth century and has carried into the twenty first century with the same exact views that drug use primarily affects African Americans and it is the government’s job to prosecute and incarcerate them. The War on drugs that once fought to keep drugs out and help those addicted has clearly become a War on America’s black citizens.