Abstract
The so-called War on Drugs is synonymous with the “War on Black Males.” The moral panic of this fictitious war began when white Americans feared that crack-cocaine, a cheaper and alleged more addictive form of cocaine, mainly used among members of the black community would infiltrate white communities, and ultimately trickle down. In the 1980s, the media, along with politicians, framed how white America should view the crack-cocaine epidemic. Implicit racial messages relayed to the mass public portrayed crack-cocaine users as “crack fiends,” “crack addicts,” and “crack mothers,” who had “crack babies.” Conversely, there was (and still is) a societal myth that powder-cocaine was somewhat different—glamorous, sexy, upper class—and less potent, which resonated with white Americans, especially young, rich whites. Both the media and politicians told this false truth by framing crack-cocaine as a drug most often used in poor, black communities.
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Notes
- 1.
See Hilts, P. J. 1994. “Is nicotine addictive? It depends on whose criteria you use.” The New York Times. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/02/science/is-nicotine-addictive-it-depends-on-whose-criteria-you-use.html (August 2).
- 2.
For more information, see the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s “Report on cocaine and federal sentencing policy.” Available at: http://www.ussc.gov/report-cocaine-and-federal-sentencing-policy-2 (Chap. 6: The National Legislative and Law Enforcement Response to Cocaine).
- 3.
Ibid., Report on cocaine and federal sentencing policy.
- 4.
US Sentencing Commission. 2009. Annual Report. Washington, DC: US Sentencing Commission. Available at: http://www.ussc.gov/research-and-publications/annual-reports-sourcebooks/2009/annual-report-2009
- 5.
See Hunt, K. 2014. “Bill Clinton: Prison sentences to take center stage in 2016.” MSNBC. Available at: http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/bill-clinton-prison-sentences-take-center-stage-2016 (October 8).
- 6.
See the report, “Substance abuse and treatment, state and federal prisoners, 1997,” by C. J. Mumola, BJS Statistics, Special Report (NCJ 172871), January 1999. Available at: http://csdp.org/research/satsfp97.pdf
- 7.
For more information, see the Sentencing Project’s 2013 report, “Regarding racial disparities in the United States criminal justice system.” Available at: http://sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/rd_ICCPR%20Race%20and%20Justice%20Shadow%20Report.pdf (August).
- 8.
See the US Department of Justice’s 1999 report, “The Clinton Administration’s law enforcement strategy: Breaking the cycle of drugs and crime.” Available at: http://www.justice.gov/archive/dag/pubdoc/Drug_Final.pdf (May).
- 9.
The 11 states were Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Oregon.
- 10.
National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, “Marihuana: A signal of misunderstanding; First Report, Washington, DC, U.S. Govt. Print. Office. Available at: http://files.iowamedicalmarijuana.org/science/misc/shafer_1972.pdf
- 11.
For more information on drug schedules, see the Drug Enforcement Administration’s schedule ranking. Available at: http://www.dea.gov/druginfo/ds.shtml
- 12.
Ibid., Marihuana: A signal of misunderstanding.
- 13.
See the 2011 FBI’s Uniform Crime Report. Available at: https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/persons-arrested/persons-arrested
- 14.
See the 2013 American Civil Liberties Union report, “The war on marijuana in black and white.” Available at: https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/aclu-thewaronmarijuana-rel2.pdf (June).
- 15.
See Short, A.M. 2014. “Michelle Alexander: White men get rich from legal pot, black men stay in prison.” AlterNet. Available at: http://www.alternet.org/drugs/michelle-alexander-white-men-get-rich-legal-pot-black-men-stay-prison (March 16).
- 16.
Ibid., Michelle Alexander: White men get rich from legal pot, black men stay in prison.
- 17.
See the report, “Marijuana arrests in Colorado after the passage of Amendment 64,” by J.B. Gettman, PhD, Drug Policy Alliance, 2015. Available at: http://www.drugpolicy.org/sites/default/files/Colorado_Marijuana_Arrests_After_Amendment_64.pdf
- 18.
The Act uses this spelling. The Marihuana Tax Act was introduced on August 2, 1937 as Public 238 in the 75th Congress. It went into effect on October 1, 1937.
- 19.
See Ferner, M. 2014. “Marijuana prohibition began with an arrest in Denver, ends here with long lines and high hopes.” Huff Post Politics. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/06/marijuana-prohibition-ends_n_4549403.html (January 6).
- 20.
See Schlosser, E. 1994. “Reefer madness.” The Atlantic. Available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1994/08/reefer-madness/303476 (August).
- 21.
See Wing, N. 2014. “Marijuana prohibition was racist from the start. Not much has changed.” The Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/14/marijuana-prohibition-racist_n_4590190.html (January 14).
- 22.
Ibid., Marijuana prohibition was racist from the start. Not much has changed.
- 23.
See the BJS report, “Drugs and crime facts.” Available at: http://www.bjs.gov/content/dcf/du.cfm
- 24.
Ibid., Reefer madness.
- 25.
Ibid., Bill Clinton: Prison sentences to take center stage in 2016.
- 26.
Ibid., Bill Clinton: Prison sentences to take center stage in 2016.
- 27.
See Hughes, T. 2015. “Colorado pot users helping build schools with tax dollars.” USA Today. Available at: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/17/colorado-marijuana-revenues/23565543 (February 17).
- 28.
In 2013, legal marijuana sales total $700 million according to the state’s Department of Revenue.
- 29.
As of March 2015, Wanda James was the only black legal marijuana dispensary owner in the state of Colorado. There are over 300 marijuana dispensaries in the state.
- 30.
See the report, “210,000 marijuana possession arrests in Colorado, 1986–2010,” by H.G. Levine, PhD, J.B. Gettman, PhD., and L. Seigel, JD. October 2012. Available at: http://marijuana-arrests.com/docs/210,000-Marijuana-Arrests-In-Colorado.pdf
- 31.
Ibid., 210,000 marijuana possession arrests in Colorado, 1986–2010.
- 32.
Ibid., 210,000 marijuana possession arrests in Colorado, 1986–2010.
- 33.
Ibid., Marijuana arrests in Colorado after the passage of Amendment 64.
- 34.
Ibid., Marijuana arrests in Colorado after the passage of Amendment 64.
- 35.
Ibid., Marijuana arrests in Colorado after the passage of Amendment 64.
- 36.
See the 2015, The Guardian, article, “Colorado’s pot legalization does little to solve racial disparity in drug arrests.” Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/25/colorado-marijuana-legalization-racial-disparity-drug-arrests (March 25).
- 37.
Ibid., Colorado’s pot legalization does little to solve racial disparity in drug arrests.
- 38.
Ibid., Is nicotine addictive? It depends on whose criteria you use.
- 39.
See Riggs, M. 2015. “Do marijuana prisoners deserve amnesty?” CNN. Available at: http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/30/opinions/riggs-marijuana-amnesty/index.html (April 30).
- 40.
See Berman, M. 2015. “President Obama just commuted 46 sentences. How do presidential commutations and pardons work?” The Washington Post. Available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/07/13/president-obama-just-commuted-46-sentences-how-do-presidential-commutations-and-pardons-work (July 13).
- 41.
See Ingold, J. 2013. “A Colorado marijuana guide: 64 answers to commonly asked questions.” The Denver Post. Available at: http://www.denverpost.com/marijuana/ci_24823785/colorado-marijuana-guide-64-answers-commonly-asked-questions (December 31).
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Hoston, W.T. (2016). The Racial Politics of Marijuana. In: Race and the Black Male Subculture. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58853-1_7
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