So, all of us in our right mind can agree that the war on drugs is a horrendous policy disaster that has stretched for decades and continues to traumatize individuals who use drugs.
Much of what has come out of all episodes of being “tough on crime” has been hysterics and moral panic and has been strategically designed to criminalize people of color.
Drug Policy Alliance explains that racism has always been at the forefront of laws involving substances. While some may associate the war on drugs starting with Nixon when he declared drug abuse “public enemy number one,” none of this rhetoric was new if we recall the reactions of certain people during “reefer madness” and alcohol prohibition or even the mere mention of jazz music.
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