Every year, 1.4 million people are arrested in the United States simply for using or possessing drugs for personal use. That roughly translates to one arrest every 23 seconds. Incarceration means barriers to education, housing and employment. With the number of people in prison for drug offenses 10X higher than in 1980, countless lives and communities have been destroyed.
In this tragic war, who loses out?
Scroll down to continueJohn is a young black man in his early 20s. Like many people his age, he occasionally uses marijuana – a substance that half of all U.S. adults have also used.
Scroll down to continueOne night, John is pulled over by the police. They search his car, and he’s found to be in possession of a small amount of marijuana.
Despite similar rates of drug use and selling across racial lines, people of color experience a very different criminal justice system. Not only are they more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, convicted and harshly sentenced, but they suffer most from the repercussions of a lifelong criminal record.
John is now lost in the maze of our country’s discriminatory criminal justice system. John has lost his life to the war on drugs.
The drug war affects all of us. As a black man, however, John is 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana than his white peers. Although black people comprise just 13% of the population – and use drugs at a similar rate as other groups – they make up 31% of those arrested for drug law violations.
Mass criminalization of people of color is not new. Profound systems of racial control such as the Jim Crow laws have long impacted black people, especially young black men.
Proportion of people incarcerated for a drug offense in state prison who are black or Latino:
1 in 3 black men born in 2001 can expect to go to prison during their lifetime – often for drug law violations.
The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world – with 1 out of every 100 adults behind bars today.
As of 2015, black youth were 5 times as likely as white youth to be detained or committed to youth facilities.
His sentence: Five years in prison and a lifetime of struggle.
According to his conviction, John had just enough marijuana on him to charge him with intent to sell. Prosecutors are 2X more likely to pursue a mandatory minimum sentence for black people than for their white counterparts accused of the same offense.
What if John had a prior conviction? He would be behind bars for a decade or more.
Over 1.5 million people are arrested in the U.S. for a drug law violation each year. Almost half of these arrests are simply for marijuana.
People often face longer prison sentences for drug offenses than for violent crimes like murder or rape. The result? Overcrowded prisons, wasted tax dollars that could be put toward public safety priorities, and entire communities devastated by mass incarceration.
The number of people in prison for drug offenses today is 10X greater than in 1980
People in Prisons & Jails for Drug Offenses, 1980 & 2015
1980
2015
Data source: Bureau of Justice Statistics; The Sentencing Project.
6.1 million Americans are barred from voting due to felony disenfranchisement laws
5 million children have, or have had, a parent in prison – including 1 in 9 black children
As one of the 2.2 million people behind bars in the U.S., John spends 5 years away from friends, family, his community and life outside the confines of his 6x8 prison cell.
Instead of reducing problematic drug use or overdose deaths, incarceration has broken up families. It has worsened the health prospects for people who use drugs, and further disenfranchised disadvantaged communities.
It also costs taxpayers billions of dollars.
How much does it cost taxpayers like you to keep people locked up for drug law violations? The answer: Billions of dollars.
Amount spent annually in the U.S. on the war on drugs:
Over $0
At the end of 5 years, John is declared a "free" man. But is he, really?
Following his time in prison, John is confronted by the fact that his dreams of pursuing graduate school are thwarted by his permanent record. Not only that, but his employment options have become limited.
Punishments for drug law violations do not end with the criminal justice system. Policies denying voting rights, employment, business loans, trade licensing, student financial aid, child custody and housing assistance will follow John for the rest of his life.
And yet, our current administration seems bent on escalating the drug war instead of addressing its very tragic consequences. President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions are seeking to undo state-level marijuana reforms, and Sessions has instructed the nation’s federal prosecutors to pursue the most serious charges for those who use drugs – including low-level, nonviolent people with no criminal history. Sessions claims it is the “moral and just” thing to do.
How can you help change this?
The Drug Policy Alliance has been at the forefront of the movement to end the failed drug war – and results have shown, time and again, that sensible drug policy reform works.
States where marijuana has been legalized
Recreational/
Medical use
Medical use
In Colorado, legal marijuana created 18,000+ jobs and brought in $2.4 billion to the state's economy – because it’s more profitable than 90% of the state’s industries.
Tax revenue that drug legalization would yield annually, if currently-illegal drugs were taxed at rates comparable to those on alcohol and tobacco: $46.7 billion.
Thanks to our supporters, we work hard every day to ensure lives are no longer destroyed in this senseless, bigoted war.
We partner with civil rights and social justice organizations, formerly incarcerated people, and allies from across the political spectrum to end discriminatory policies. We’re working to challenge this administration and end the failed war on drugs, once and for all.
Are you in?
It’s up to us to stop our country’s massive waste and suffering. Share this page to let your friends and family know you stand with us. Or, better yet, support us with a gift today to help us advance drug policy reform grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights.
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