P overty & A ddiction P enalization i n A
frican-American s
addiction Penalization
African-Americans are more likely to get penalized, instead of treated, for using substances.
When people are arrested for drug-related crimes, they are faced with criminal penalties such as incarceration.
E ver since the “War on Drugs” of the 1970s, extreme punitive measures for substance use has disproportionately affected African-Americans. Though at this time there was less data from psychologists on substance abuse disorder, the measures put in place continue to penalize and oppress the Black community as well as make it harder for them to seek treatment. In recent years, the largest percentage increase in drug overdose deaths has been in the African-American population. Our continued treatment of substance abuse as a crime rather than a health disorder is directly to blame for that. Black and Hispanic individuals are more likely to be imprisoned after drug arrests than to be diverted into treatment programs like their White counterparts. Additionally, imprisonment leads to a higher risk of overdose upon release. During the time of incarceration, one loses tolerance and upon release, the same dose that they may have tolerated before now becomes fatal. Statistics show that African-Americans are not any more likely to use
substances than White people, but they are the ones who get penalized instead of treated. According to the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, “6.9% of African Americans have a substance use disorder, compared to 7.4% of the total population, and 3.4% of African Americans have an illicit drug use disorder compared to 3% of the population.” But in penalization, African- Americans are incarcerated six times as often as White individuals. Black males also spend more time incarcerated than White males for similar crimes. Of the 12 million incarcerated total in state and federal prisons today, one-fifth were incarcerated for drug related offenses. Following the punitive measures put in place in the 197s, the 1980s and 1990s saw the greatest divergence in rates of African-Americans and Whites incarcerated. This time period was when the incarceration policies of the War on Drugs were most pursued. For example, harsher penalties for crack cocaine were given than for powder cocaine, despite them being the same drug. But crack cocaine had higher rates of
Percents
In penalization, African-Americans are incarcerated six times as often as White individuals.
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