Sigh. No.
Marijuana has played a big role in mass punishment, yes. And perhaps as a gateway charge to more-serious criminal justice contact (tho the data here is really unclear).
But only about ONE percent of ppl in prison are there for MJ; only 15% for any drug.
Marijuana has played a big role in mass punishment, yes. And perhaps as a gateway charge to more-serious criminal justice contact (tho the data here is really unclear).
But only about ONE percent of ppl in prison are there for MJ; only 15% for any drug.
Now, sometimes I get favorably cited by the anti-legalization crowd for making this point. That’s not my point.
We should legalize and regulate weed.
But undoing mass incarceration means changing how we think about violence.
And we’ve made it a zero-sum game.
We should legalize and regulate weed.
But undoing mass incarceration means changing how we think about violence.
And we’ve made it a zero-sum game.
Because people think a majority of ppl in prison are there for drugs (bc pols keep saying things like this), they are unwilling—in a very bipartisan way—to confront how we punish violence.
We think there’s an easy solution. There is not.
We think there’s an easy solution. There is not.
Fifty-five percent of all state prisoners have been convicted of homicide, sex assault, assault, or robbery.
If you look at the 10% longest-serving, 95% are in for serious violence.
Over 1-in-4 state prisoners in for just homicide or sex assault.
That’s the reality we face.
If you look at the 10% longest-serving, 95% are in for serious violence.
Over 1-in-4 state prisoners in for just homicide or sex assault.
That’s the reality we face.
That is NOT an argument for prisons, or a backhanded defense of mass incarceration.
Prisons are bad places for handling even serious violence.
But if we cling to the madness that reefer got us here, we will never ask the hard but inevitable questions abt violence.
Prisons are bad places for handling even serious violence.
But if we cling to the madness that reefer got us here, we will never ask the hard but inevitable questions abt violence.
This is a fair question. What makes Leovy’s Ghettoside such an important book is she points out that a lot of that drug-market violence would happen in the absence of drug markets, just w diff superficial triggers.
Also, don’t forget that the drug responsible for the most crime is alcohol.
Legalize cocaine, and coke-market violence falls, but coke-fueled DUI deaths, bar fights, and serious DV go up.
It’s... damn complicated.
Legalize cocaine, and coke-market violence falls, but coke-fueled DUI deaths, bar fights, and serious DV go up.
It’s... damn complicated.
