In a residential New Orleans neighborhood, 49-year-old Bernard Noble was riding his bike when police officers searched him, changing his life forever. The two grams of marijuana that was in Bernard Noble’s pocket fated him to a thirteen year prison sentence. Bernard Noble is not unique; many African-Americans all across the country are separated from their families due to petty drug charges. Bernard Noble is just one victim of the deeply corrupt War on Drugs. The War on Drugs exemplifies the wrongdoing within America’s justice system. The War on Drugs in America is a complete failure: drug consumption has risen in recent years and America is the world’s largest consumer of illegal drugs. Arrests for overall drug possession has declined over the years, but arrests for possession of marijuana has rapidly increased. Laws concerning marijuana have also increased, however these laws have mainly been enforced in black communities. Since the beginning of the War on Drugs during Jimmy Carter’s presidency, the War on Drugs has proved itself to be a war on marijuana and people of color (“The War on Marijuana in Black and White”). Black Americans have been terrorized and targeted by the War on Drugs. Black Americans are arrested at much higher rates than white Americans for the possession and distribution of marijuana. On average, black Americans and white Americans use marijuana at the same rates; however, black Americans are 3.7 times more likely to be arrested for possession of marijuana (Wegman). In some areas of  America, black people are arrested up to thirty percent more for the possession of marijuana (“The War on Marijuana in Black and White”). The rates at which black people are imprisoned compared to white people shows an obvious bias in the War on Drugs. America has a long history of incriminating black Americans, and the War on Drugs continues this racist American legacy. The American Criminal Justice system needs to be corrected to fix the injustice it causes to black Americans. Because of the unjust rates at which black Americans are arrested for possession of marijuana and because of the harm the War on Drugs has done to black communities/people, the War on Drugs and the American criminal justice system must be repaired.

Unequal amounts of black people being imprisoned and the policing of black communities in the War on Drugs proves that this movement targets black Americans. Black Americans are ten times more likely than white Americans to be imprisoned for drug-related offenses. Black people are much more likely to be arrested for drug offenses because police officers tend to target black communities, where men are more likely to be outside and vulnerable to police (Wegman). The targeting of black communities is an effort to lessen the ability for many black Americans to succeed. Large amounts black people with a criminal history, some as petty as a minor drug charge, can be banned from voting in elections and using public assistance, such as food stamps. After arrests for drug charges, black Americans are restricted from financial aid, which hinders their ability to get an education, and struggle in finding employment (Wegman). The punishments that come from drug arrests suppress minorities in America. Since more black Americans are arrested for drugs than white Americans, black Americans are disadvantaged because they are inhibited from equal participation within society. The inequality that inhibits black Americans shows racism in the War on Drugs: “Racism is not about bad manners, but a system of privilege, discrimination and brutality embedded in American society and across its institutions that operates to exclude, demean and restrict” (Young). It is undoubtable that racism is present in the War on Drugs because the unequal arrests and imprisonment of black people harms and restricts black communities and individuals from flourishing. The mass incarceration of African-Americans today relates to literacy tests in Jim Crow laws: they both restrict African-Americans right to vote. In restricting African-Americans right to vote, black voices become silenced in regards to America’s political system. In conclusion, one could easily infer that the War on Drugs does not aim to stop drug use within the United States but it aims to hurt black communities.

Proof that the War on Drugs targets black Americans is shown in the overall racial bias in the criminal justice system. Black people in America have been historically targeted by the American Government which sought to undermine black people. This state sanctioned discrimination was mainly seen after the Civil War and during the Restoration Era, but it still has an effect on today’s society. The American Tradition of arresting black people as a way of “controlling” them continues today in the arrest rates for minorities being higher than whites for the same crimes (Cha-Jua). The War on Drugs allows for the American Government to persecute black people and separate black people from the rest of society. Due to segregation and the criminalization of black people through history, a subconscious device formed that has people associating black people with crime/danger. This subconscious thought leads African-Americans to be arrested is racial profiling. Racial profiling hurts black men: “Black men in America are more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, convicted and executed and less likely to be educated or employed than any other group. Almost one in ten is behind bars” (Young). Racism in the American Government in the past has formed into this subconscious bias present in the modern U.S. government that leads law enforcement to focus on arresting black people and policing black communities. The policing of black communities damages the members in those communities; black individuals face discrimination in the War on Drugs due to the long standing American Tradition of dehumanizing black people.

Although many Americans believe that arrest rates are higher for minorities because minorities commit more crimes, statistics show that there is a racial bias in the criminal justice system that is responsible for higher arrest rates for minorities for drugs.. People who do not believe that there is a racial bias in the American Criminal Justice System believe that: “Black overrepresentation is almost entirely at the arrest stage, reflecting the simple fact that the "average" black engages in criminal activity more frequently than the "average" white” (Perazzo). The belief that there are higher arrest rates for minorities because minorities commit more crimes is popular, but it is not true. Statistics show that black people do not engage in criminal activity more than white people. In a study done of drug use in college students, researchers discovered that white college students used marijuana more in a twelve month period than did black students (McCabe, Morales, Cranford, Delva, McPherson, & Boyd).  Similar studies have shown that black Americans and white Americans use marijuana at similar rates (“The War on Marijuana in Black and White”). These statistics prove that black people do not commit crimes dealing with marijuana more than white people, so there should be no reason why black people are arrested more for marijuana than white people. Because of similar rates of drug use between whites and blacks, the theory that black people commit crimes more often than white people is put to rest.

The War on Drug’s goal is not to stop drug use in America, but to suppress black Americans through unequal arrest rates for marijuana that prevents black communities and people from growth.  There is a clear bias in the American Criminal Justice system that negatively affects black Americans. Black Americans have historically been targeted by the American Criminal Justice System and it is no different in the War on Drugs.

Works Cited
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