A kinder, gentler drug war? Race, drugs, and punishment in 21st century America

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-533
Author(s):  
Katherine Beckett ◽  
Marco Brydolf-Horwitz

This article assesses whether the kinder, gentler rhetoric through which the disproportionately white opiate crisis has been framed has been accompanied by changes in drug sentencing policy and drug law enforcement that mirror this sympathetic discourse. Toward these ends, state-level drug sentencing policies enacted from 2010 to 2016 as well as recent trends in drug law enforcement and drug-related imprisonment are analyzed. The legislative findings show that policymakers are not singling out opiate violations for particularly lenient treatment. Instead, it is the user/dealer distinction that animates recent shifts in drug policy: While state lawmakers are re-thinking their approach to drug possession, they are more likely to have enhanced penalties for drug distribution than to have reduced them. In addition, although significant racial disparities in arrests and incarceration persist, the main change that has occurred is a decline in the black share of arrests and imprisonments. The discussion explores possible explanations for these unexpected findings, including the possibility that political dynamics help explain the decline of the drug war in many urban areas and, as a result, the diminution of racial disparities in it.

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 395-418
Author(s):  
Akwasi Owusu-Bempah

Canada has received praise and international attention for its departure from strict cannabis prohibition and the introduction of a legal regulatory framework for adult use. In addition to the perceived public health and public safety benefits associated with legalization, reducing the burden placed on the individuals criminalized for cannabis use served as an impetus for change. In comparison to many jurisdictions in the United States, however, Canadian legalization efforts have done less to address the harms that drug law enforcement has inflicted on individuals and communities. This article documents the racialized nature of drug prohibition in Canada and the US and compares the stated aims of legalization in in both jurisdictions. The article outlines the various reparative measures being proposed and implemented in America and contrasts those with the situation in Canada, arguing, furthermore that the absence of social justice measures in Canadian legalization is an extension of the systemic racism perpetuated under prohibition.


2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 396-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Alexandris Polomarkakis

From the closure of London’s nightclub Fabric to Duterte’s drug war, law enforcement has become the policy choice par excellence for drug control by stakeholders around the globe, creating a rift between theory and practice, the former vehemently dismissing most of its alleged benefits. This article provides a fresh look on the said regime, through examining its implications in the key areas of illicit drug markets, public health, and broader society. Instead of adopting a critical stance from the start, as much of the literature does, the issue is evaluated from the perspective of a focus on the logic and rationality of drug law enforcement approaches, to showcase from within how problematic the latter are. The article concludes by suggesting at least a reconceptualization of the concept, to give way to more sophisticated policies for finally tackling the issue of illegal drugs effectively.


Addiction ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 100 (8) ◽  
pp. 1110-1120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Smithson ◽  
Michael McFadden ◽  
Sue-Ellen Mwesigye

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