# Is the drug war itself racist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 18, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919 "2010-05-18T18:25:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kingbighair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/13edae/32.png) [@kingbighair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingbighair)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/1 "2010-05-18T18:25:31Z")
The Ron Paul thread touched on a pretty interesting topic. Some, like **FinnAgain** feel the laws themselves are not racist; rather, it is the disparate implementation of these laws combined with the realities of being human that give rise to racist effects. > [@The best candidate to challenge Barack Obama in 2012 is Ron Paul](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-candidate-to-challenge-barack-obama-in-2012-is-ron-paul/538114/733): > > I’ve never denied that some people involved in the implementation of the policies were racist. I’ve pointed out that that doesn’t mean that the policies themselves (which we know as the “war on drugs”) are racist. I disagree. The drug war began as a racist and xenophobic reaction and has only continued in that manner. It was the policy itself that targeted racial minorities. [Why is marijuana illegal?](http://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/why-is-marijuana-illegal/) We all know Harry Anslinger. Here is his testimony to Congress in 1937: > [@](#): > > “There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others.” [In the 1930s, the racist head of the federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, Harry Anslinger, was renaming hemp as “marijuana” to associate it with Mexican laborers and claiming that marijuana could “arouse in blacks and Hispanics a state of menacing fury or homicidal attack.”](http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/28/088.html) It appears the war on drugs began targeting minorities and was sold based on appealing to racial fears. I consider this a racist policy. Did this stop in the 1930s? [No](http://www.race-talk.org/?p=3316). > [@](#): > > President Ronald Reagan officially declared the current drug war in 1982, when drug crime was declining, not rising. From the outset, the war had little to do with drug crime and nearly everything to do with racial politics. The drug war was part of a grand and highly successful Republican Party strategy of using racially coded political appeals on issues of crime and welfare to attract poor and working class white voters who were resentful of, and threatened by, desegregation, busing, and affirmative action. In the words of H.R. Haldeman, President Richard Nixon’s White House Chief of Staff: “[T]he whole problem is really the blacks. The key is to devise a system that recognizes this while not appearing to.” > > A few years after the drug war was announced, crack cocaine hit the streets of inner-city communities. The Reagan administration seized on this development with glee, hiring staff who were to be responsible for publicizing inner-city crack babies, crack mothers, crack whores, and drug-related violence. The goal was to make inner-city crack abuse and violence a media sensation, bolstering public support for the drug war which, it was hoped, would lead Congress to devote millions of dollars in additional funding to it. This, of course, led to a 100-1 disparity in crack vs cocaine sentencing. So what do you think? What would make you think the drug war is itself racist? Or can policy itself not be racist, only the implementation of policy by humans? ---
**Author:** ![Fozz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Fozz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fozz)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/2 "2010-05-18T18:29:12Z")
The way it is enforced is certainly racist. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/3 "2010-05-18T18:54:45Z")
What’s that quote? The escalation of the drug war is a continuation of Jim Crow by other means. But nah, it all boils down to the You Must Obey principle. The rest (widespread profiteering, institutional inertia, job sink, racism, grinding the underclass ) is incidental. If we made all these drugs legal we would have to redirect this gigantic dragon at some other societal ill. ---
**Author:** ![kingbighair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/13edae/32.png) [@kingbighair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingbighair)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/4 "2010-05-18T19:02:42Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > What’s that quote? The escalation of the drug war is a continuation of Jim Crow by other means. For those interested in reading on this subject, I highly suggest [this](http://www.amazon.com/New-Jim-Crow-Incarceration-Colorblindness/dp/1595581030/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274209325&sr=8-1) book. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/5 "2010-05-18T19:18:02Z")
> [@kingbighair](#): > > It appears the war on drugs began targeting minorities and was sold based on appealing to racial fears. I consider this a racist policy. Did this stop in the 1930s? Prohibition was also sold, in part, using racial as well as ethnic fears. Prohibitionist complained about saloon owners buying black votes in exchange for booze, the violence and destruction caused by inebriation, as well as the degradation of white men and women who would associate with blacks. I don’t mean this to be a tangent or anything I just wanted to provide a little background information. > [@Marshmallow](#): > > What’s that quote? The escalation of the drug war is a continuation of Jim Crow by other means. Some historians argue that lynching fell out of vogue because the legal system took over the job of persecuting blacks. I do think the war on drugs does impact African Americans far more than it does whites. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/6 "2010-05-18T19:21:22Z")
Bahh… Being a minority does not give you an uncontrollable urge to do something illegal (besides driving while black I guess). The rest is just half ass excuses for bad/ill advised behavior. The civil rights movement when down the shitter IMO when “they” went from “dont even give them an excuse to think they are better than us” to “you whitteys get away with this (immoral/illegal shit) most of the time, why shouldnt we?” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/7 "2010-05-18T19:25:55Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Being a minority does not give you an uncontrollable urge to do something illegal (besides driving while black I guess). > > The rest is just half ass excuses for bad/ill advised behavior. No, it isn’t, and it’s not about “whittey” either. It’s a discussion of the effects of a series of laws. I’ll say the same thing I said in the other thread: anti-drug laws are not racist by themselves. But their implementation and enforcement _is_, and so far the other posts in this thread show that’s been the case for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/8 "2010-05-18T19:27:03Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Being a minority does not give you an uncontrollable urge to do something illegal (besides driving while black I guess). The argument is that they are being punished worse and more often for doing the same thing as whites. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/9 "2010-05-18T19:35:31Z")
Are they really though? I understand that the laws regarding crack cocaine v. "regular’ cocaine are moving towards some sort of parity. Other than that I see it as more of a class/poverty issue than a racial one. In countries with mostly homogenous societies the vast majority of those arrest for drug use and possession are the poorer segments of society. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/10 "2010-05-18T19:38:08Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The argument is that they are being punished worse and more often for doing the same thing as whites. There’s a simple solution to that. ---
**Author:** ![kingbighair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/13edae/32.png) [@kingbighair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingbighair)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/11 "2010-05-18T19:39:21Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Being a minority does not give you an uncontrollable urge to do something illegal (besides driving while black I guess). > > The rest is just half ass excuses for bad/ill advised behavior. Anslinger would be proud. Drug use by race among blacks/whites is almost identical. (_.pdf_ [page 25](http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/nsduh/2k8nsduh/2k8Results.pdf)) > [@](#): > > Current illicit drug use among persons aged 12 or older varied by race/ethnicity in 2008, with the lowest rate among Asians (3.6 percent) (Figure 2.9). Rates were 14.7 percent for persons reporting two or more races, 10.1 percent for blacks, 9.5 percent for American Indians or Alaska Natives, 8.2 percent for whites, 7.3 percent of Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, and 6.2 percent for Hispanics. [Further](http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2000/usa/Rcedrg00.htm#P54_1086), > [@](#): > > Our research shows that blacks comprise 62.7 percent and whites 36.7 percent of all drug offenders admitted to state prison, even though federal surveys and other data detailed in this report show clearly that this racial disparity bears scant relation to racial differences in drug offending. **There are, for example, five times more white drug users than black. Relative to population, black men are admitted to state prison on drug charges at a rate that is 13.4 times greater than that of white men.** In large part because of the extraordinary racial disparities in incarceration for drug offenses, blacks are incarcerated for all offenses at 8.2 times the rate of whites. One in every 20 black men over the age of 18 in the United States is in state or federal prison, compared to one in 180 white men. Emphasis mine. It appears this “bad/ill advised behavior” is done by whites at 5 times the rate of blacks, yet blacks are imprisoned at 13 times the rate of whites. What is your explanation? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/12 "2010-05-18T19:42:09Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > There’s a simple solution to that. Vote for politicians who promise to raise the penalties for whites? [/sarcasm] ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/13 "2010-05-18T20:11:31Z")
> [@kingbighair](#): > > Anslinger would be proud. Drug use by race among blacks/whites is almost identical. (_.pdf_ [page 25](http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/nsduh/2k8nsduh/2k8Results.pdf)) > > [Further](http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2000/usa/Rcedrg00.htm#P54_1086), > > Emphasis mine. It appears this “bad/ill advised behavior” is done by whites at 5 times the rate of blacks, yet blacks are imprisoned at 13 times the rate of whites. What is your explanation? Well, apparently, DESPITE knowing they are going to get shafted BIG time for doing something uneccessary, counterproductive, and illegal, minorities PERSIST in doing it anyway. Not exactly a ringing endorsment of why I would want to hire one or have one move in as a neighbor. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/14 "2010-05-18T20:18:06Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Well, apparently, DESPITE knowing they are going to get shafted BIG time for doing something uneccessary, counterproductive, and illegal, minorities PERSIST in doing it anyway. Not exactly a ringing endorsment of why I would want to hire one or have one move in as a neighbor. I don’t think your personal issues with minorities have any bearing on this debate. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/15 "2010-05-18T20:27:52Z")
> [@Lochdale](#): > > Are they really though? I understand that the laws regarding crack cocaine v. "regular’ cocaine are moving towards some sort of parity. The laws are 24 years old and the reasons for the discrepancy were documented to be false 23 years ago. There has been “talk” for maybe the last four or five years. That seems to be a pretty wide disparity. > [@Lochdale](#): > > Other than that I see it as more of a class/poverty issue than a racial one. The Plain Dealer ran an investigation in the fall of 2008 that demonstrated that blacks were more frequently sentenced more harshly and provided fewer options for treatment than whites, regardless of economic situations. While the laws may not be racist in intent, the drug war is definitely racist in implementation. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/16 "2010-05-18T20:34:10Z")
> [@kingbighair](#): > > It was the policy itself that targeted racial minorities. That doesn’t say anything as broad as you’re suggesting. It points out that, for marijuana in specific, many of the arguments which were made are racist. And that’s certainty true; pot was made illegal largely because of racist and xenophobic reasoning. But that does not mean that it’s kept illegal because of that, or that the WoD, which aims at interdicting the movement of all illegal drugs, is racist. ---
**Author:** ![kingbighair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/13edae/32.png) [@kingbighair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingbighair)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/17 "2010-05-18T20:35:03Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Not exactly a ringing endorsment of why I would want to hire one or have one move in as a neighbor. Wow. Proooooooojection. > [@tomndebb](#): > > While the laws may not be racist in intent, the drug war is definitely racist in implementation. The laws _ **are** _ racist in intent. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/18 "2010-05-18T20:38:43Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The argument is that they are being punished worse and more often for doing the same thing as whites. > [@Lochdale](#): > > Are they really though? Yes. > [@Lochdale](#): > > I understand that the laws regarding crack cocaine v. "regular’ cocaine are moving towards some sort of parity. And that’s simply one example that makes the point. “Moving toward” and “some sort of parity” is not parity. And since there is, currently, no parity, yes, minorities are punished worse and more often for doing the same thing as whites, especially with regard to illegal drugs. > [@Lochdale](#): > > Other than that I see it as more of a class/poverty issue than a racial one. And you’d be incorrect. At best they’re equivalent. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/19 "2010-05-18T20:40:20Z")
> [@kingbighair](#): > > The laws _ **are** _ racist in intent. Not proven. So far, you have the history of the Reefer Madness era in which racist fears were used to incite tougher laws. So you do begin with some facts. Then you have an opinion peace that claims that the Nixon Era laws were racist in intent, (with rather little factual support). Then you have further opinion (with far less factual support) claiming that Reagan’s crowd was carrying on the Nixonian racist agenda. When you get some facts in there establishing an actual intent by the Reaganites to promote racism, I’ll consider your claim. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919/20 "2010-05-18T20:43:03Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > minorities are punished worse and more often for doing the same thing as whites But that’s not in the content of the laws. There’s no provision that skin color adds +5 years to your stay in jail. Crack isn’t legal for whites to smoke either, and whites with crack aren’t treated as if they had coke instead. Hell, the sentencing guidelines for LSD make crack’s guidelines look rational; the weight of the blotter material is counted as the weight of the LSD itself so you have to pity the idiot who gets caught with a bunch of dosed sugar cubes when the cops show up. This is because the WoD is wacky and irrational, more about maintaining control of independent adult’s recreational activities from a moralistic perspective than keeping any one race (or group of races) down. I’m sure you’ll find that people who are against pot will react quite unfavorably to a white dude walking down the street smoking a joint, too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-drug-war-itself-racist/539919.md?page=2)