“President Obama has reduced the sentences of 22 federal prisoners who were arrested for drug-related crimes - eight of whom were serving life sentences. It marks the first time someone has said 'Thanks Obama' but actually meant it.” FirstsSaidPresidentCrimeDrugFirst TimeMarkEightSentencesThanksRelatedServingPrisonerPresident ObamaArrested Author:Jimmy Fallon
“Unfortunately, the truth is that people do go scot-free and it's unfair. A lot of the top drug people who have been arrested are also free.” PeopleHas BeensTruth IsDrugUnfairArrestedScots Author:Oliver Stone
“[Robert Downey was being singled out for] selective prosecution. He's a sweet guy who never did harm to anyone except himself. He's been doing drugs for 20 years and functioning for 20 years, and in those 20 years there've been hundreds of people who've been getting high constantly and behaved very destructively and have not been arrested. Robert's real problem is he gets caught.” PeopleYearsRealProblemGuySweetDrugCaughtHarmArrestedBeing SingleReal ProblemsSelectiveGetting HighProsecutionRobert DowneySweet Guy Author:James Toback
“Take crack cocaine. Particularly in the early days of the policy, ninety percent of the people being arrested were black, even though they didn't use the drug at higher rates and even though their numbers in the general population are so low. How could that be? The thing is, you place all your resources in communities of color. And if you do that, you're going to arrest black people.” PeopleIfsUseBlackCommunityNumbersPolicyColorHigherDrugLowsPercentResourcesRatePopulationCracksBlack PeopleNinetyArrestedCocaine Author:Carl Hart
“Most of the so-called illegal drugs have vastly increased in use, despite billions of dollars spent suppressing them. I believe 750,000 Americans are arrested every year for possession of cannabis. I mean that's 750, 000 lives damaged by that arrest process. It's a crazy, crazy system. It's playing into the system that the hallucinogens are grouped together with addictive drugs, which they are not. But addictive or not it's our responsibility as adults to make decisions and it's not the states' right to do that, in my opinion.” YearsBelieveMeanStatesUseTogetherI BelieveProcessDecisionResponsibilityOpinionCrazyDrugAdultsDollarsPossessionBillionsDespiteIllegalArrestedCannabisSuppressingIllegal DrugsHallucinogens Author:Graham Hancock
“When you come out the streets. I ain't braggin'. I never sold drugs but I kept a joint on me. I got arrested plenty of times back when I was a juvenile. Not saying I was a bad ass. I was a juvenile coming' out to the city, to do MC conventions that Mike & Dave was doing. I had to hold myself down. Now I put the gat up. I chill. I pay more attention to life.” PayCitiesAttentionStreetsDrugAssPlentyComing OutConventionsBad AssChillMikeJointsArrestedBack WhenDaveJuvenile Author:Rakim
“Defenders of the system will counter by saying this drug war has been aimed at violent crime. But that is not the case. The overwhelming majority of people arrested in the drug war have been arrested for relatively minor, non-violent drug offenses.” PeopleHas BeensWarCasesCrimeDrugMajorityViolentOverwhelmingMinorsOffenseArrestedDefendersWar On DrugsNon ViolentViolent Crimes Author:Michelle Alexander
“In the war on drugs, state and state law enforcement agencies have been rewarded in cash by the federal government - through programs like the Edward Byrne Memorial Grant program - for the sheer numbers of people arrested for drug offenses.” PeopleHas BeensWarStatesGovernmentLawNumbersDrugProgramAgencyGrantsCashSheerOffenseFederal GovernmentLaw EnforcementEnforcementMemorialArrestedWar On Drugs Author:Michelle Alexander
“Of course in this age of colorblindness, a time when we have supposedly moved "beyond race," we as a nation would feel very uncomfortable if only black people were sent to jail for drug offenses. We seem comfortable with 90 percent of the people arrested and convicted of drug offenses in some states being African American, but if the figure was 100 percent, the veil of colorblindness would be lost.” PeopleIfsFeelsStatesSeemsWould BeAgeCoursesLostNationsBlackRaceFiguresDrugComfortablePercentMovedAfrican AmericanUncomfortableJailBlack PeopleOffenseVeilsArrested Author:Michelle Alexander