“We've got thousands and thousands of people in jail on minor drug violations and they really don't need to be in jail. They're people whose lives are ruined. If drugs were legal there would be a lot less people using them.” PeopleIfsNeedsWould BeDrugJailMinorsRuinedViolation Author:Sonny Barger
“Should surveillance be usable for petty crimes like jaywalking or minor drug possession? Or is there a higher threshold for certain information? Those aren't easy questions.” ShouldCertainEasyCrimeInformationHigherDrugPossessionMinorsPettySurveillanceThreshold Author:Bill Gates
“Legalized drugs would cause dislocations in the US economy - the prison industry for example and tens of billions spent annually on drug enforcement. But because the US economy is so large, this would be a minor blow, hardly as severe as the ultimate nightmare for the US economy, global peace, which would shutter its death industry commonly called the military/industrial complex.” Would BeCausesEconomyMilitaryExampleIndustryDrugUltimatePrisonComplexesBlowBillionsNightmareMinorsSevereEnforcementShuttersMilitary Industrial ComplexDislocationGlobal Peace Author:Charles Bowden
“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
“Many people don't realize that financial incentives have been built into the drug war that guarantee that law enforcement will continue to arrest extraordinary numbers of people, particularly in poor communities of color, for minor drug offenses that get ignored on the other side of town.” PeopleHas BeensWarLawSidesRealizingCommunityPoorNumbersColorDrugBuiltTownsExtraordinaryFinancialGuaranteesMinorsOffenseIgnoredLaw EnforcementEnforcementIncentivesWar On DrugsGuarantees That Author:Michelle Alexander
“For those who say that the war on drugs and the system of mass incarceration really isn't about race, I say there is no way we would allow the majority of young white men to be swept into the criminal justice system for minor drug offenses, branded criminals and felons, and then stripped of their basis civil and human rights while young black men who are engaged in the same activity trot off to college. That would never be accepted as the norm.” MenWayHumansWarYoungBlackJusticeWhiteRaceRightsCollegeDrugActivityMassBasesMajorityHuman RightsCriminalsAcceptedEngagedMinorsOffenseWhite ManNormJustice SystemWar On DrugsCriminal JusticeIncarcerationCriminal Justice SystemBrandedMass IncarcerationFelonsOff To College Author:Michelle Alexander