War on Drugs and Prison

¶ … War on Drugs and Prison Overcrowding

The work of Byron Eugene Price entitled: "Merchandizing Prisoners" relates that the Justice Department in 1992 "under the watch of the Bush administration, released a position paper entitled 'The Case for More Incarceration' which argued that prison was cheaper than the alternatives, and violent crimes had been declining since the government began locking people up in prison." (2006) Due the expansion of state correctional budgets "...the efficacy of mandatory prison terms for drug offenders is being questioned." (Price, 2006) Presently, the United States "has the highest incarceration rate in the western world. It is four times that of the United Kingdom and France on a per capita basis."(Painter, 2006) in fact, "the number of people in prison, jail or on probation in the U.S. has increased threefold between 1980 and 2000, to more than six million and the number of people in prison increased from 319,598 to over two million by 2001." (Painter, 2006) the private prison corporations are "...a multibillion dollar industry" and as well "other companies reap hundred of millions of dollars annually by providing health care, phones, food, and other services for correctional facilities." (Painter, 2006) Painter states that the resistance "to rethinking the War on Drugs..." are contained within two primary factors: (1) money; and (2) jobs. Painter states that a state brochure on prisons in Florida states estimates that "a prison with 1158 beds is worth $25 million a year and 350 jobs to a community. Never mind that the drug laws there fill prisons with nonviolent offenders." (2006)

I. INCARCERATION RATES and COSTS in 16 SOUTHERN U.S. STATES

The Drug War has failed in reducing drug use which incidentally was the primary mission stated by proponents of the Drug War at its beginning. However, drug consumption has overall "...not demonstrably fallen...despite the increase in the number of drug arrests and convictions..." (Benson and Rasmussen, 1996) the work of Painter (2006) relates that the Fiscal Affairs and Government Operations Committee at the Southern Legislative Conference, Council of State Governments 2001 states that seven of the sixteen states in this conference have reported "an increase in incarcerations for drug offense while only three show a decrease in drug related incarcerations for drug offenses while only three show a decrease in drug related incarcerations." In fact, it is reported that eleven of the sixteen states in this conference "reported over 50% of the inmate population was black." Stated as cost per day for housing an inmate ranged from $27.50 in the state of Alabama to $63.35 in the state of North Carolina. (Painter, 2006) There has been a 210% increase in the incarceration rate in these 16 states since 1982 when the number of inmates was 168.378 until 2001 when the number of inmates incarcerated has risen to 523,683. Expenditures in these 16 states are stated to have increased by 121.95%.

II. SOCIAL ECONOMIC COST

The War in Drugs is quite simply "...big business - a multi-billion dollar public/private venture that radically inflates the value of illegal drugs and is used to criminalize the poorest people of color, trapping them in a cycle of addiction, unemployment and incarceration..." (Painter, 2006) Painter states: "By more meaningful measures, however, the Drug War has been an extraordinary failure. Drugs are more available at higher purity and lower prices than they were at the start of the decade. By all accounts thus far we have been unable to spend and jail our way out of this problem." (2006) the result of the War on Drugs is that the government programs have in reality created "...a different set of principles for supply and demand." (Painter, 2006) Resulting from privatization of the prison system is that the 'supply' to fill the demand are human beings which answer the call for occupancy in prison cells and the demand can be seen as the powerful growling belly of the prison beast demanding to be filled so the coffers of those who run these prisons will be filled. Painter states: "Instead of the lower the price of a good, the greater the quantity of that good demanded by purchasers, that creates this force in the private sector, we see the "hog rough" effect. A pig will usually eat as long as there is food in the trough. This is the supply and demand that exists in public policy. This can only be controlled by leadership."