The ongoing war on drugs in the US has been criticized as some of the
most expensive and ineffective policies to have ever shaped the society. It
causes disproportionate incarceration of blacks, Hispanics, and minorities,
overcrowds prisoners, results in extended jailing expenditures, and does
not seem to have any effect on drug-related crimes (Michelle, 2012).
Moreover, it often serves as a gateway to becoming full-fledged criminals,
as individuals whose lives are ruined by prolonged incarceration have
difficulty reintegrating into the society (Michelle, 2012).
,,,,,,,,,,, While the US justice system has been primarily geared towards
punishment and retribution, its paradigm is what the US stands for as a
Christian nation. McQuilkin and Copan (2013) discuss that, in accordance
with the example set by Jesus Christ, the society should not shun people
but reintegrate them. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone, the
saying goes. As such, incarceration for minor crimes like drug possession
is disproportionate punishment, akin to stoning a person for adultery.
,,,,,,,,,,, There are ways to deal with individuals found guilty of drug
possession and other minor crimes that do not have to involve
incarceration and jail time. The first solution is decriminalization of drugs
altogether, but that solution comes with various pitfalls (Koh, Kerlikowske
and Botticelli, 2018). A simpler and much cheaper measure is to sentence
guilty individuals to paid public labor (Koh, Kerlikowske and Botticelli,
2018). Not only will it allow people to acquire basic skills and help better
the society, it will also provide them with some money to help start their
lives anew. Finally, in the case with clinically addicted individuals, forced
rehabilitation would be a preferable alternative to imprisonment (Koh,
Kerlikowske and Botticelli, 2018). War on drugs needs to end, as it has
long since become a war on the US citizens, especially the minorities.
,
References
Michelle, Alexander. The New Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age
ofcolorblindness.,The New Press, 2012.
Koh, Howard K., R. Gil Kerlikowske, and Michael P. Botticelli. "A smarter
war on drugs.",JAMA,320, no. 22 (2018): 2301-2302.
McQuilkin, Robertson, and Paul Copan.,An introduction to biblical ethics:
Walking inthe way of wisdom. InterVarsity Press, 2013.
