Drug policing by the United States government, also known as the drug war, disproportionately affects black Americans.
‘“Vilify Them Night After Night’: Anti-Black Drug Policies, Mass Incarceration, and Pathways Forward” by Victor St. John, a Ph.D. in criminal justice, details the anti-black nature of U.S. drug policies.
50 years passed from Nixon kickstarting the drug war to the publication of St. John’s article, but the drug war still contributes to a modern mass incarceration issue, according to St. John’s article.
“As of 2019, Black people made up 13 percent of the US population, but 40 percent of people incarcerated in jails and prisons,” wrote St. John. The article then follows the drug war’s evolution under each president since 1970.
St. John’s article says that a quote from a Nixon staffer unveils anti-Black intent behind the drug war. The staffer, John Ehrlichman, said that the Nixon campaign hoped to make citizens associate the campaign’s opponents, black people and anti-war left-wingers, with drugs. The campaign hoped to undermine its opposition.
After Nixon’s inauguration, he passed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. The Act included stricter drug policing and included marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug. A Schedule 1 drug is considered not accepted for medical or recreational use due to its high potential for abuse.
“Most of the public and medical officials now see marijuana as a perfectly acceptable drug for medical and recreational purposes. Quite a few did back in the 1970s too, but Nixon deliberately misused research by Richard Dupont to target his political enemies,” said St. John.
St. John wrote about Gerald Ford’s role after Nixon’s impeachment.
“Ford expressed the need for more aggressive campaigns against drugs and urged the White House Domestic Policy Council to review and assess whether the federal drug abuse prevention, treatment, and law enforcement strategies were effective,” wrote St. John. Ford’s attempts to increase minimum sentences for drug distributors and manufacturers were rejected.
In 1977, Jimmy Carter chose Peter Bourne to direct the Office of Drug Abuse Policy. Bourne was an advocate of decriminalizing marijuana and using alternative methods to incarceration to fight drug use, according to St. John’s article. Bourne, however, was found to be a drug user. This scandal stopped any progress from being made against drug decriminalization during the Carter administration.
The Reagan administration oversaw longer sentences and more disparities in sentences after he passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, according to St. John’s article.
“Reagan made a policy that disproportionately affects black people from its inception to this day. Majority of powder cocaine users are white, and most crack cocaine users are black. However, crack cocaine users get sentenced significantly longer than powder cocaine users,” said St. John.
St. John said that the outcome of the drug war is so unbalanced and disruptive to the black community that it qualifies as anti-black even if some of its propagators were well-intended.
“Even if there was no ill-motive, the drug war would still be anti-black,” said St. John.
Carl Hart, a neuroscientist and psychologist, agrees with St. John about the racism behind both the drug war’s inception and the sentencing disparities behind powder cocaine and crack cocaine.
“Our drug policies are based on misapprehensions and inappropriate assumptions,” said Hart. “The drug war is a weapon used to undermine black communities with no scientific basis. The government placed most policing resources in communities of color and came out arresting mostly black people, as expected. This lie needs to end.”
Alura Berry, a 21-year-old African American woman, was caught in the crossfire of the drug war at 12 years old. A SWAT team raided her house for meth.
“I heard stomping on the driveway outside my house. I looked outside and saw a lot of flashlights. I went to my mom’s room across the hall. As soon as I asked her what was going on outside, the door was kicked in by the SWAT team carrying big guns.”
Berry said that the raid caused emotional trauma.
“Grown men were pointing their guns at me, and I was yelled at to get on the ground. My little brother was screaming, and my mom was crying,” said Berry
Berry said that her mom’s boyfriend was found guilty of distributing meth, but the rest of her family also paid a price.
“After the raid, the government condemned our house. They decided to nitpick for every little code violation and forced us out. My mom, my brother, and I had to live with my grandparents for over four months,” said Berry.
Berry said that she now categorizes policing authorities as oppressors instead of protectors.
“Being around police is uncomfortable for me. Like many other black and brown people, I don’t want to have to interact with them,” said Berry.
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