Anti Drug Abuse Act Of 1986 - 1591 Words

On June 17th 1971, President Richard Nixon stood in front of congress and announced his widely criticized War on Drugs. The President claimed that drugs were the â€Å"Public Enemy Number One† among Americans. Fast-forward to 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. This act placed mandatory minimum sentences on minor drug infractions. The war on drugs not only incarcerated a very high number of Blacks, but also tore families apart in an effort to clean up neighborhoods which still affect many African American families almost a half-century later. In October 1982, President Ronald Reagan addressed the nation and promised a â€Å"planned, concerted campaign against all drugs, hard soft or otherwise.† The President had two ways he to†¦show more content†¦As clear bias law, this plan untimely laid the frame work for what we now know as the term â€Å"mass incarceration†. As a result of these drug laws the use of drugs decreased slightly, but the number of African American men incarcerated for drug crimes skyrocketed to more than 300 %, The number of African Americans arrested for drug abuse went from 112,784 to 452,574 in a short period of time. Young African American males were almost 9 times more likely to be incarcerated than their Caucasian counterparts. With considerably long sentence, and having to serve out a minimum of 85% of their time, these men have absolutely nothing to turn to. No longer was the goal of the penal system to reform these misguided men. Now the main priority of the prison system was to punish. Instead of giving these men a basic education, and helping them become productive members of society once they were released, Congress cut funding to educational programs, and actually tried to pass an act known as the No Frills Prison Act, which funded prisons to â€Å"prevent luxurious conditions.† To make things worse, Sou th Carolina prisons banned basic necessities out of spite,such as the air conditioners. The war on drugs not only effected the prisoners, but it also caused a grave hardship on their families as well. Nearly 2.7 million children admitted to having a parent who is currently incarnated, with the vast majority being nonviolent drug offenses. One out of every