Drug Policy:

Sterling, Eric E.

doi:10.1300/j377v23n01_04

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Their new strategy to gain the votes of Southern Democrats, who had opposed the previous bill, included adding to the bill's targets the increasingly popular drug heroin and also cocaine, which was seen as popular among African-Americans in the South. More important, they placed their emphasis explicitly on supposed domestic problems replete with racial slurs (Sterling, 2004;Musto, 1973. The Southern Democrats found this bill's expansion of federal police power more palatable when it was presented as a response to such purported facts as, "most of the attacks upon white women of the South are the direct result of a cocainecrazed Negro Brain" (Musto, 1999, p. 305).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…White labor leaders, politicians and publishers created the narrative that Mexicans were marijuana users and marijuana use caused violence. As Sterling (2004) says, "The drive to maintain white privilege helped to outlaw marijuana. "…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…So what if the crime rate was declining, Americans seem to always believe that crime is increasing or that some "crime wave" is occurring despite actual crime levels (Chevigny, 2003;Roshier, 1973). Likewise, they seem to always blame it on cultural or racial outsiders (Tonry, 2009;Sterling, 2004;Chevigny, 2003;Nunn, 2002).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A Brief History of Prohibition and Treatment Solutions for Substance Abusers

Duncan¹,

Nicholson²,

White³

et al. 2014

Int. J. Criminol. Sociol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A Brief History of Prohibition and Treatment Solutions for Substance Abusers

Duncan¹,

Nicholson²,

White³

et al. 2014

Int. J. Criminol. Sociol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As we noted, drug prohibition and criminalization reflect and perpetuate racial injustice in many contexts (Musto 1999;Vagins and McCurdy 2006;Provine 2007;Fellner 2009;Campos 2012;Lopez 2014;Csete et al 2016;Luna 2016;Netherland and Hansen 2016;Rosino and Hughey 2018). These policies have been directly linked to police militarization and brutality (ACLU 2014) and are among the important contributing factors to mass incarceration and mass supervision, especially of Black and Hispanic men (Sterling 2004;Alexander 2010;Pfaff 2017).…”

Section: Drug Prohibition Harms Communities and Feeds Systemic Racismmentioning

confidence: 96%

Racial Justice Requires Ending the War on Drugs

Earp

Lewis

Hart

et al. 2021

The American Journal of Bioethics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Historically, laws and policies to criminalize drug use or possession were rooted in explicit racism, and they continue to wreak havoc on certain racialized communities. We are a group of bioethicists, drug experts, legal scholars, criminal justice researchers, sociologists, psychologists, and other allied professionals who have come together in support of a policy proposal that is evidence-based and ethically recommended. We call for the immediate decriminalization of all so-called recreational drugs and, ultimately, for their timely and appropriate legal regulation. We also call for criminal convictions for nonviolent offenses pertaining to the use or possession of small quantities of such drugs to be expunged, and for those currently serving time for these offenses to be released. In effect, we call for an end to the "war on drugs." KEYWORDS race and culture/ethnicity; health policy; regulatory issues A series of prominent killings of unarmed Black people by police in spring 2020 has renewed calls to address systemic racism in the United States and around the world. Among those killed was Breonna Taylor, whose home was wrongfully entered by officers without warning as part of a drug-related search. As we will detail, Black people in the United States are disproportionately targeted, arrested, and incarcerated for crimes related to non-medical drug use, and this is one area where social reform is urgently needed. We are a group of bioethicists, drug experts, legal scholars, criminal justice researchers, sociologists, psychologists, and other allied professionals (see Appendix for details) who have come together in support of a policy proposal that is evidence-based and ethically recommended. We call for the immediate decriminalization of all psychoactive substances currently deemed illicit for personal use or possession, 1 and, ultimately, for their full legalization and careful regulation. In effect, we call for an end to the "war on drugs."In principle, the "war on drugs" aims to protect people from harm and promote public health. In practice, it has worsened many aspects of public health while inordinately harming certain racialized communities (Mauer and King 2007). In addition, the "war on drugs" has fostered a condescending moralism that conflates drug use with violence or bad character and casts drug users-especially Black and Hispanic drug users-as criminals-in-waiting who deserve to be punished (Mallea 2014). Indeed, the very language of a "war" can work to reinforce "a set of beliefs and values that stress the use of force and domination as appropriate means to solve problems and gain political power" (Kraska and Kappeler 1997). In contrast to this approach, we argue for ending the drug war and investing in the most heavily affected communities. If managed carefully, this shift in policy will not only improve public health, reduce crime and recidivism, lower unemployment and poverty rates, and save governments large sums of money (which could be better spent; see Box 1); it will strike a necessary blo...

show abstract

“We Want a Living Solution”: Views of Harm Reduction Programs in Black U.S. Communities

Eversman

2015

Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Illicit drug use in the US remains concerning, with injection drug use linked to transmission of blood-borne diseases as HIV/AIDS; persons of color, including Black Americans, experience disproportionately higher transmission rates. Harm reduction programs such as methadone and needle- and syringe-exchange (NEP/SEP) are empirically demonstrated to reduce HIV transmission, yet are believed largely opposed by Black communities. Using interview data from 21 service providers of substance abuse and related service organizations located in and/or serving predominantly populations of color, this study explored perceptions of harm reduction programming for illicit drugs and race in the US. Criticizing each program for unique reasons, respondents deemed them largely inadequate and inappropriate responses to community drug problems. While some believed these programs worsen Black communities, others believed they are becoming more accepted there. Views were informed by racial dynamics surrounding drugs in society, burdens borne by program host communities, and racialized stereotypes of drug use.

show abstract

Drug Policy:

Cited by 4 publications

References 24 publications

A Brief History of Prohibition and Treatment Solutions for Substance Abusers

A Brief History of Prohibition and Treatment Solutions for Substance Abusers

Racial Justice Requires Ending the War on Drugs

“We Want a Living Solution”: Views of Harm Reduction Programs in Black U.S. Communities

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About