\u201cFour Decades and Counting: The Continued Failure of the War on Drugs\u201d has really made me aware of the history of this issue. President Nixon declared war on drugs, and it all seemed positive and helpful. No one will oppose a war on drugs, so other governors started to implement their own reforms in their states. This was where this war started to become detrimental to communities of color, especially. All the passed laws and acts are so controversial because most common, privileged people would not think twice about them, so they weren\u2019t an issue that the public saw till recently. A lot of awareness has come through the summer protests, but it is still not enough.<\/p>\n
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Nonetheless, this topic can\u2019t be more relevant today. The war on drugs has been such a devastating phenomenon for communities of color, but that rarely is something discussed within other communities or politics because people assume the war on drugs is a good thing. People think, \u201cWhen has anti-drugs been a bad thing?\u201d But they don\u2019t bother to do the research. The movement isn\u2019t bad because drugs are good; it is bad because it implements racial bias and devastates communities of color and the prison system. I think it is also interesting to note that Oregon has just decriminalized all drugs this week. With this decision, the rest of the United States can look towards Oregon and see how it affects its inhabitants, its prison systems, and its government. Many folks see Oregon as irrational, and this decision as crazy, but I believe it is because they are uneducated or blinded by their own privilege. I would love to see other states follow Oregon. Still, I also recognize how that might not happen anytime soon or ever because drugs are such a polarizing and emotional topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cFour Decades and Counting: The Continued Failure of the War on Drugs\u201d has really made me aware of the history of this issue. President Nixon…<\/p>\n