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Recommended: Overcrowding in prisons

Prison in the United States over the past two decades have become alarmingly overcrowded. The population in prison continue to grow due to the war on drugs (“criminal justice program focusing on reducing the manufacture, use, sale, or trafficking of drugs”). Moore D. L. and Elkavich A. in their “Who’s using and who’s doing time” article states that “The justice system that was designated to “protect and serve” took on the challenge of the war on drugs in 1968 when the Nixon administration decided to redouble efforts against the sale, distribution, and consumption of illicit drugs in the United States (Moore D. L. and Elkavich A., 2008).” . The United States incarcerates more people for drug offenses than any other country. In fact the war on drugs has become the main contributor to the ballooning population in prisons today. “William Weir, an expert on gun control and drugs, argues that cynical politicians have manipulated the public to attain their own agenda and goals and, in so doing, created a “dope fiend” stereotype to generate votes. The “war” has increased violence and enhan...

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