A Call to Reform The American Drug Policy

1 portion of the online segment of my final project for Professor Strauss' Corporate Presentation and Writing Course as I earn my Masters in the Science of Management Degree at Elon University

Transcript

1. A  Call  to  Reform  The   American  Drug   Policy   By  Tom  Nosenzo      
2. The  Basics  Before  Delving   Deeper   •  There  is  no  one  official  ‘The  American  Drug  Policy’   •  Rather,  views  on  ‘The  American  Drug  Policy’  are  o?en   expressed  via  the  current  administraCon   •  Yet  policies  remain  ‘unified’  due  to  the  existence  of  the  Office   of  NaConal  Drug  Control  Policy  
3. My  Interest…   •  Certainly  aIending  college,  marijuana  and  other  drug  use  is  seen  or   smelled     •  In  my  home  state  of  ConnecCcut,  medicinal  marijuana  is  legal,  along   with  22  other  states  and  the  District  of  Columbia   •  In  fact,  Colorado,  Alaska,  Oregon,  Washington  and  the  District  of   Columbia  have  legalized  recreaConal  marijuana   •  I  have  done  research  throughout  my  undergraduate  years  at  college   on  legalizaCon  and  it  seems  as  though  states  are  progressing  on  this   issue..   •  Hence  why  I  have  turned  my  focus  to  reforming  the  overall     American  Drug  Policy  due  to  its  exposed  inefficiencies    
4. The  Temperance  Movement   •  During  the  beginning  stages  of  the  20th  century   •  Time  of  prohibiCon  of  alcohol…  we  know  how  this  turned  out.   •  18th  amendment:  prohibited  brewing,  purchasing  and  selling   of  “intoxicaCng  liquors”   •  Volstead  Act  (1919)  to  carry  out  the  18th  amendment;  one   large  loophole  in  the  law     •  Similar  to  the  idea  of  prohibiCng  drugs  of  all  kinds;  an   impossible  mission  
6. The  Obama  Administration   •  Taking  a  seemingly  revoluConary  stance  towards  drug  policy   •  Believes  that  drug  addicCon  is  a  preventable  and  treatable   disease  that  must  be  combated  with  the  latest  research  and   scienCfic  studies     •  Why  is  this  a  revoluConary  stance?  Less  worried  about   appearing  tough  on  crime  
7. The  Purge  (2013)   •  While  ficConal,  this   film  highlights  the   inefficiencies  of  The   American  Drug  Policy   •  Claim:  One  night  a   year,  all  crime  is  legal.   It  allows  people  to   release  negaCvity   •  Conclusion:  The   wealthy  are  killing  the   impoverished!  
8. What  can  we  learn  from  The   Purge     •  A  utopian  society  is  impossible  to  achieve  at  this  day  and  age   •  The  American  Drug  Policy  has  posiCve  intenCons   •  There  are  inefficiencies  abound  with  the  policy;  primarily   •  ImplementaCon   •  Oversight  
9. African  Americans  and  the   American  Drug  Policy  (NAACP)   •  Represent  approximately  12%  of  U.S.  drug  users   •  38%  of  drug-­‐related  arrests     •  59%  of  state  prisoners  being  held  on  drug  offenses   •  Serve  virtually  the  same  duraCon  in  prison  for  drug-­‐related   offenses  than  whites  do  for  violent  crimes;  58.7  months  to   61.7  months  respecCvely..   •  More  effecCve  than  The  Purge???  
10. Ethics  are  Lacking     •  Ethical  when  creaCng  policy   •  Policy  should  be  geared  towards  the  beIerment  of  ALL  of  the   people  in  the  United  States     •  Policy  should  not  focus  on  poliCcal  or  personal  ambiCon  and   benefit   •  Xenophobia  is  evident  in  policies  that  make  up  The  American   Drug  Policy   •  Systemic  control  over  the  convenConal  thought  of  many   Americans  
11. Controlling  the  Conventional   Thought   •  Nixon  (1969)à  The  ‘War  on  Drugs’  officially  begins;  although   societally  it  began  decades  before   •  A  quote  regarding  Xenophobia  controlling  the  convenConal   thought  of  the  American  populaCon  through  legislaCon:   •  “moCvated  in  good  part  by  the  popular  associaCon  of  (the   respecCve  substance)  with  feared  minoriCes-­‐  the  opiates  with  the   Chinese  immigrants;  cocaine  with  the  blacks;  and  marijuana  with   blacks  and  Hispanics”  (Nadelmann  98).     •  This  Xenophobia  is  being  perpetuated  today  via  Mr.  Trump  
12. Police   •  Police  across  the  country  admit  to  ‘raConal’  racial  profiling   •  Blame  current  policing  policies   •  In  1998-­‐  African  Americans  represented  51%  of  traffic  stops,  despite   only  composing  26%  of  NYC’s  populaCon   •  IrraConal  racial  profiling  by  law  enforcement:  Alamance  County   Sheriff  Terry  S.  Johnson   •  Could  be  solved  by  more  efficient,  perhaps  external,  means  of   audiCng  police  department  policies   •  Felon  marginalizaCon  strips  individuals  of  their  poliCcal  voice  
13. The  Victims  &  The  Benefactors   •  The  lower-­‐class   •  MinoriCes     •  The  Wealth   •  The  poliCcal  elite   •  The  societal  elite   •  Hmm…  do  we  not  hear  this  scenario  every  4  years-­‐  the  growing  gap   between  the  lower  and  upper  classes?  AKA;  this  is  the  true   ‘convenConal  thought’…  What  about  police  brutality??   •  Past  Policymakers  have  been  blind  and  deaf  regarding  this   convenConal  thought:  racial  prejudice  exists  
14. ‘They’  Say  ‘Drugs’  are  illicit  and   Uniquely  Dangerous…   •  Despite…   •  “Cocaine,  heroin,  the  various  hallucinogens,  and,  to  a  lesser   extent,  marijuana,  are  widely  perceived  as,  in  the  words  of  the   President’s  Commission  on  Organized  Crime,  “inherently   destrucCve  to  mind  and  body.”…    [However,]  only  by  reading   between  the  lines  can  the  fact  be  discerned  that  the  vast   majority  of  Americans  who  have  used  illicit  drugs  have  done   so  in  moderaCon,  that  relaCvely  few  have  suffered  negaCve   short-­‐term  consequences,  and  given  reliable  evidence,  that   few  are  likely  to  suffer  long-­‐term  harm”(Nadelmann  93).  
15. Here’s  What  Else  ‘They’  Say:   •  This  is  an  example  of  propaganda  spurred  by  the  infamous   film,  Reefer  Madness…  
16. Bill  Clinton’s  Presidency   •  First  elected  in  1992   •  Reasonable  expectaCon  that  that  drug  policy  would  be  more   liberal  than  in  previous  administraCons   •  Unfortunately,  fiscal  policy  would  not  allow  for  such  a  reform   effort   •  The  paIern  conCnues…  the  drug  policy  remains  untouched.  
17. History  Has  Proven…   •  Due  to  social  media  and  improving  technologies,  our  culture  is   evolving  more  rapidly  than  every  before…   •  What  is  one’s  past  is  not  another  one’s  past  (regarding   generaCons)   •  If  this  here  legislaCve  body  doesn’t  reform  The  American  Drug   Policy,  then  the  problem  of  drugs  will  conCnue…as  well  as  the   other  racial  injusCce  issue   •  We  DO  NOT  LIVE  IN  A  UTOPIAN  SOCIETY,  therefore  we  DO   NOT  HAVE  PERFECT  POLICIES    
18. Recently  in  the  News   •  Example:  El  Chapo  aka;  Joaquín  Guzmán’s  elaborate  escape   from  a  Mexican  prison   •  As  life  evolves,  the  drug  trade  conCnues  to  reap  profits  and   finds  new  ways  to  reinvent  itself  and  create  a  beIer  product   •  All  laws  have  loopholes   •  Purposely  vague  legislaCon…  judgment  vs.  biases    
19. Look  at  the  InVluence…  
20. Over-­‐Crowded  Prison  System   •  1980,  Prison  populaCon:  500,000   •  2013,  Prison  populaCon:  2,300,000     •  U.S.  populaCon  out  of  Global  populaCon:  5%   •  U.S.  prison  populaCon  out  of  Global  incarceraCon:  25%   •  1980,  50,000  imprisoned  for  drug-­‐offenses   •  2013:  Increased  by  1100%   •  Spend  $23  billion  on  prisons  annually  (1994)   •  Today  we  spend  upwards  of  $80  billion  annually   •  Do  away  with  mandatory  minimum  sentencing  
21. Marijuana  SpeciVically   •  According  to  a  NaConal  Household  Survey  (1991):     •  3.1  million  individuals  smoked  marijuana  daily   •  19.5  million  had  smoked  marijuana  within  the  past  year   •  2012  NaConal  Survey  on  Drug  Use  and  Health  showed  that   18.9  million  individuals  ages  12+  per  month  smoked   marijuana   •  The  financial  rewards  of  a  50  cents  tax  on  a  $1  joint  would   raise  an  esCmated  $2.2-­‐$6.4  Billion;  compared  to  alcohol  and   tobacco  taxes    
22. Conclusion   •  Xenophobia  exists  in  many  policies  created  in  the  past  by   legislaCve  bodies…BUT  THIS  SENATE  CAN  CHANGE  THAT!   •  MisinformaCon  campaigns  have  crept  into  convenConal   thought  regarding  The  American  Drug  Policy   •  Racial  profiling  and  mass  incarceraCon  are  problems  directly   associated  with  The  American  Drug  Policy   •  Truly  has  been  ineffecCve  in  stopping  the  ‘drug  problem’   •  Reform  is  necessary!  
23. Sources   •  Burke,  Anna  Celeste.  "Between  EnCtlement  and  Control:  Dimensions  of  U.S.  Drug     •      •    Policy."  Social  Service  Review  66.4  (1992):  571-­‐81.  JSTOR.  Web.  1  Mar.     •      •    2016.     •      •      •  "Criminal  JusCce  Fact  Sheet."  NAACP.  NaConal  AssociaCon  for  the  Advancement  of     •      •    Colored  People,  2009.  Web.  1  Mar.  2016.     •      •      •  Gieringer,  Dale,  Ph.  D.  "Revenues  From  LegalizaCon."  NORML:  Working  to  Reform     •      •    Marijuana  Laws.  N.p.,  June  1994.  Web.  1  Mar.  2016.   •      •      •  Gorman,  D.  M.  "'War  on  Drugs'  ConCnues  In  United  States  Under  New  Leadership."     •      •    BriCsh  Medical  Journal  307.6900  (1993):  369-­‐71.  JSTOR.  Web.  1  Mar.  2016.  
24. Sources  Continued   •  Nadelmann,  Ethan  A.  "U.S.  Drug  Policy:  A  Bad  Export."  Foreign  Policy  70  (1988):  83-­‐   •      •    108.  JS.  Web.  1  Mar.  2016.     •      •      •  "New  SoluCons  for  Drug  Policy."  Effec@ve  Drug  Policy  and  Laws.  N.p.,  n.d.  Web.  1       •      •    Mar.  2016.   •      •      •  "Policy  and  Research."  The  White  House.  Office  of  NaConal  Drug  Control  Policy,  n.d.     •      •    Web.  1  Mar.  2016.   •      •      •  Reinarman,  Criag,  Peter  D.  A.  Cohen,  and  Hendrien  L.  Kaal.  "The  Limited  Relevance     •      •    of  Drug  Policy:  Cannabis  in  Amsterdam  and  in  San  Francisco."  American     •      •    Journal  of  Public  Health  94.5  (2004):  836-­‐42.  Abstract.  NCBI.  Web.  1  Mar.     •  2016.    
25. Sources  Continued…   •  Scherlen,  Renee.  "The  Never-­‐Ending  Drug  War:  Obstacles  to  Drug  War  Policy     •      •    TerminaCon."  PoliCcal  Science  and  PoliCcs  45.1  (2012):  67-­‐73.  JSTOR.  Web.     •      •    1  Mar.  2016.     •      •      •  Simon,  David.  "David  Simon:  'I  Don't  Want  Anybody  in  Jail  for  Using  Drugs.'"     •      •    Interview  by  Andrew  Anthony.  The  Guardian.  Guardian  News  and  Media,  11     •      •    May  2013.  Web.  1  Mar.  2016.   •      •      •  Winterbourne,  MaI.  "United  States  Drug  Policy:  The  ScienCfic,  Economic,  and  Social       •      •    Issues  Surrounding  Marijuana."  Stanford  Undergraduate  Research  Journal  of     •      •     Social  Science  (2012):  95-­‐100.  SURJ.  Web.  1  Mar.  2016.   •      •      •  Yost,  Pete.  "Eric  Holder  Proposes  Drug  Sentencing  Reforms."  The  Huffington  Post.     •      •    TheHuffingtonPost.com,  12  Aug.  2013.  Web.  1  Mar.  2016.   •      •  "6  Facts  about  Marijuana."  Pew  Research  Center.  N.p.,  4  Apr.  2015.  Web.  2  Mar.  2016.   •      •