4 ms·

I agree. "Born out of racism" is too strong. I'm not even sure what it means exactly. Was racism rampant at the time? Yes. But the war on drugs still would've h

I agree. "Born out of racism" is too strong. I'm not even sure what it means exactly. Was racism rampant at the time? Yes. But the war on drugs still would've happened if there was no racism. Those rugurgitated figures on black vs white drug use vs convictions misses the boat. Go to any city and recognize the color of people that control the drug market. The majority of them are not white. The police don't focus on users, they focus on dealers-- that's where the violent crime is. If you don't want to buy drugs in the city, go to a jamband show. A microcosm of this phenomenon is the nitrous scene. Who makes up the nitrous mafia? Black dudes in black hoodies. They sell to nearly all-white hippies. If you try to sell nitrous(compete with the mafia) you will be beaten up or killed. The nitrous mess is a blight on the otherwise positive, peaceful music scene. If you were to try to stop it, who would you go after? The peaceful users who are in actuality the root of the problem, or the violent dealers?

jakelazaroff 7y ago
> Go to any city and recognize the color of people that control the drug market. The majority of them are not white. The police don't focus on users, they focus on dealers-- that's where the violent crime is. The disparity is in charges of possession. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/racial-disparity-in-marijuana-arrests_n_3381725 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/racial-disparity-in-marijuana...
- seandoe 7y ago
  Even with simple possession charges, police are looking to bust dealers(or at least players in the game), not users. With players you can make deals and move up the chain, users are a dead end. The disparity in charges of possession doesn't necessarily signify racism to me.
sandworm101 7y ago
The early days of the drug war, the ban on pot, was very much a racial thing. There were "scientific" studies and political speeches focusing on how dangerous it would make the negro population, how black men high on pot would be raping white women. Generations later, the crackdown on crack cocaine, as opposed to the more expensive normal cocaine, also broke down along racial lines. The drug wars in other countries, those without America's racial history, have been very different. What makes the US drug war what it is, as opposed to say Canada's or the UK's, is its grounding in America's 'unique' race relations.
- lurquer 7y ago
  In how many African countries, Middle Eastern, or Asian countries is marijuana legal? Race has little to do with the criminalization of such drugs, as evidenced by the answer to the above question.
  - dragonwriter 7y ago
    The international criminalization was driven in large part by Western pressure (and sometimes directly a remnant of Western colonialism).
    - lurquer 7y ago
      Ah yes, the United States force countries to criminalize drugs as a part of its racist master plan to keep down the black man. (I wonder what the Chinese think of your claim that the pressures of western colonialism is why drugs are illegal? Thank goodness the British forced China to criminalize opium...)

jakelazaroff 7y ago

> Go to any city and recognize the color of people that control the drug market. The majority of them are not white. The police don't focus on users, they focus on dealers-- that's where the violent crime is. The disparity is in charges of possession. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/racial-disparity-in-marijuana-arrests_n_3381725 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/racial-disparity-in-marijuana...

seandoe 7y ago
Even with simple possession charges, police are looking to bust dealers(or at least players in the game), not users. With players you can make deals and move up the chain, users are a dead end. The disparity in charges of possession doesn't necessarily signify racism to me.

sandworm101 7y ago

The early days of the drug war, the ban on pot, was very much a racial thing. There were "scientific" studies and political speeches focusing on how dangerous it would make the negro population, how black men high on pot would be raping white women. Generations later, the crackdown on crack cocaine, as opposed to the more expensive normal cocaine, also broke down along racial lines. The drug wars in other countries, those without America's racial history, have been very different. What makes the US drug war what it is, as opposed to say Canada's or the UK's, is its grounding in America's 'unique' race relations.

lurquer 7y ago
In how many African countries, Middle Eastern, or Asian countries is marijuana legal? Race has little to do with the criminalization of such drugs, as evidenced by the answer to the above question.
- dragonwriter 7y ago
  The international criminalization was driven in large part by Western pressure (and sometimes directly a remnant of Western colonialism).
  - lurquer 7y ago
    Ah yes, the United States force countries to criminalize drugs as a part of its racist master plan to keep down the black man. (I wonder what the Chinese think of your claim that the pressures of western colonialism is why drugs are illegal? Thank goodness the British forced China to criminalize opium...)