Mandatory Minimums and the Decriminalization of Drugs
During the second Reagan Administration, and the infamous War on Drugs, mandatory minimums were enacted in order to curb the widespread distribution of drugs. This “one size fits all” sentencing method has led to the prison system being flooded with nonviolent drug users, including marijuana which is now being legalized in many states with pushes to legalize it federally. Moreover, drug additions and overdoses have not gone away as a result of these policies. Despite this, mandatory minimums, in most cases, are still in effect for many drug and gun charges; however, many strides have been taken to reduce the number of people incarcerated for simple marijuana possession charges.
Most notably, and recently, President Biden issued a federal pardon to all US citizens in prison for possession charges. This act, a controversial one at that, was the first major change, federally, to move towards the decriminalization of marijuana and the abolition of mandatory minimums for these crimes. Statistically shown to primarily impact communities and people of color (over 50% of all charges), these laws are overflowing our prison systems, and a large percentage of those incarcerated are from lower-income communities of color.
When mandatory minimums were instituted in 1986, the United States incarcerated 100 people for every 100,000 citizens. In 2008, after only 32 years, that number rose to 760 per 100,000. The crime rate in that same time period fluctuated, but never grew to a level that would warrant this level of mass incarceration. There have been many strides, primarily during the Obama Administration, to begin to get rid of mandatory minimums. These strides did not come through Congress, however, and were never signed into law. Instead, Attorney General Eric Holder instructed prosecutors to only enforce mandatory minimums for the most serious drug offenses (e.g., distribution and possession of hard drugs). This was progress, and made a small dent in lowering the incarceration rate nationwide; however, during the Trump Administration, Attorney General Jeff Sessions revoked this memo and released one of his own, instructing state prosecutors to do the opposite. Tanya Golash-Boza, a writer for Politico, categorized this as “a throwback to our failed experiment in mass incarceration in the 1980s and 90s”, also known as the War on Drugs. Since then, more significant strides have been taken by the Biden Administration; however, some states are deciding to start the process of reducing incarceration rates themselves while shifting their prison systems’ priorities away from retaliation.
States such as Oregon, home of one of the highest rates of drug and alcohol addiction, have taken this philosophy to a new level, decriminalizing almost all hard drugs and moving toward a system based on rehabilitation. This newfound law, the first of its kind in the United States, came via ballot measure in the 2020 election. Now, rather than flooding Oregon State Prisons with drug possessors and abusers, those convicted are faced with a small citation (similar to a parking ticket), as well as a $100 fine. Moreover, the fee can be waived after the completion of a health screening. Now, rather than spend taxpayer funds on maintaining a cramped prison system, Oregon is funneling money into counseling and rehabilitation programs, and while there have been some difficulties in implementing this system (with their healthcare system not being prepared for it), this program is the solution to the high incarceration rate in this country.
Mandatory minimums, incarceration of nonviolent drug users, and the stigma of retaliation over rehabilitation are the major factors that contribute to 1-in-37 adults being imprisoned. Our crime rate has not been impacted nearly as much as our incarceration rate, yet the US has the 6th highest rate of prisoners per capita (behind El Salvador, Rwanda, Turkmenistan, American Samoa, and Cuba). While this rate is lower than it has been in the past, many solutions are on the table that can shrink our prison population, save taxpayer money, and ensure that people with drug addictions are not punished, but supported and led back to society as functioning members. Our policies on drugs, for the most part, have changed very little since President Reagan enacted the War on Drugs, but the stigma around addiction is beginning to change.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/5-charts-show-mandatory-minimum-sentences-dont-work