The+Drug+War

ARTICLE ABOUT PRISONS VS. EDUCATION [] Producer: Aaron Editors: Ryan & Sam Researchers: Shahzaib, Antonio, & Solomon Interview w/ Kurt Schmoke, Dean of Howard Law School media type="custom" key="12702112"~
 * Is The Drug War Working?**


 * Research (Divided into your main ideas)**



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 * New Articles:**

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[] Main Idea 1: Police departments targert minorities more than whites [|Call Off the Global Drug War]
 * Summary:** In the past 10 years the global consumption of drugs has increased immensly (34.5 percent). President Jimmy Carter had a message in 1977 said that the country should decrminalize people that have less than an once of marijuana and made a full program for treatment of drug addicts. He followed up saying that filling out prisons with young people who have no threat to society are a waste of law enforcement. In the 80s, president Ronald Reagan and Congress started to change the balanced drug policies, including the treatment and rehabilitaion of addicts, to the futile efforts to control drug imports from foreign countries. At the end of 1980, just before Jimmy Carter left office, 500,00 people had been put in America. At the end of 2009 the went up to 2.3 million people. There was 743 people in prison for every 100,000 Americans, this was a higher portion than in any other country and 7 times a s great as in Europe. 7.2 million Americans are either in prison, probation, or parole. Thats more than 3 percent of all American adults!

[|In No-Win War on Narcotics, a Call for Some Legalization]
 * Summary :**The summary is about the how people think that the drug war is being lost. That United States has a lots of opportunities but is the biggest consumer of illegal drugs. Almost each 18 seconds, someone is being arrested for a drug crime in USA. The nation's jails and prisons are overcrowding with drug offenders. Some former cops even think that legalizing drugs should be a suggestion.
 * Facts :** More than 1.7 million people were arrested for drug charges in 2008. More than 44% was for marijuana possesion. 4 out of 10 in americans favor at least one drug in legalization -- Marijuana. Three in four americans believe that the war on drugs is being lost. But some other that work with addicts have seen how addiction to drugs shatter families, they doubt that legalization would stop drug abuse.

[|Fear and Loathing Surrounds Decriminalisation]


 * Summary**:

__//**2. What would be your opionion, if all the drugs were legalized?**//__ 3. Whats your thought on marijuana, how it is now? __//**4. What you think, should drugs be legalized or just leave it how it is?**//__ 5. Do you think if, all the drugs were legalized the use would decreased? __//**6. Do you think, the goverment is wasting time on people with small drug charges?**//__ 13. Has the drug war had any effects on the number of people using and abusing drugs? 14. When you were the mayor of Baltimore, what was your stragety for dealing with drugs? 16. Whats the difference of decriminalizing drugs and legalizing them? 18.
 * Interview Questions**
 * 1.**
 * //__7. It costs more money to imprison people than it is to educate them. Do you believe that the money for schools is going to the prisons?__//**
 * //__8. The drug war has been going on for forty plus years and nothing had changed. Should the government just give up on the drug war?__//**
 * //__9. Should the government take these drug addicts and put them in rehab instead of prison?__//**
 * //__10. Should the government educate and rehabilitate drug addicts instead of putting them in prison?__//**
 * //__11. Can you give us the brief history of the drug war?__//**
 * //__12. Who are the oppenents of ending the drug war?__//**
 * 15. Do you think that the governement targets more minorities in the drug war than whites?**
 * 17. Would you legalize all drugs? And if you did, how would it be regulated?**

[] [] 13. Has the drug war had any effects on the number of people using and abusing drugs?
 * Dean Schmoke**
 * President carter questions**
 * 15. Do you think that the governement targets more minorities in the drug war than whites?**

e-mailed Interview request for Dean Schmoke- former mayor of Baltimore. DEA - 202-307-7787
 * Experts Contact & Info:**

e-mailed cparell@stanford.edu and julieruggiero@stanford.edu w/ request for an interview with Joseph McNamara with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

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[|Call Off the Global Drug War] __SIRS__

__**INTRO SCRIPT**__ Do you know what the war on drugs is? (Pause) The term "The War on Drugs" was first used by former president Richard Nixon.(Pause/Show Pictures) The war on drugs started in 1971 and has been going on for 40 years. (Pause) In the past 10 years the global consumption of drugs has increased by 34%. Every 18 seconds, someone in America is arrested for a drug related crime. (Pause) (Picture of minorities getting arrested). According to Forbes magazine in 2011,African Americans are 62% of the drug offenders that go to prison. Yet African Americans are only 12% of the U.S. population. Black men are sent to prison on drug charges at 3 times the rate of white men. Every 18 seconds someone in America is arrested for a drug related crime. The nations jails and prisons are overcrowding with drug offenders.Many of these arrests are for minor drug charges.

At the end of 2009, 2.3 million people were put in jail. There are 743 people in prison for every 100,000 americans. THis is a higher portion than any other country and 7 times as great as in Europe. 7.2 million Americans are in prison, on probation or on parole. add one more sentence stating % of minorites that are in prison.

Is the war on drugs working? Is it time we rethink the war on drugs?

Link to picture used in film [] [] []
 * __INTRO ARCHIVAL, B-ROLL, A-ROLL FOOTAGE AND IMAGES__**
 * [|Men Arrested]
 * [|Protesting Women]
 * [|Men Prosteting]
 * [|Arrested Men]
 * [|Kid used drugs; arrested]
 * [|The black race; behind bars]
 * [|Protesting Sign]
 * [|Protenting People Video; New York]
 * [|Drug Bust]
 * [|Drug Bust Mexico]

__1:48__ __"The war on drugs has become a war on people of color people of color are disproportionally arrested more and incarcerated more but drug use is about the same in the white community and the black and brown community.__ __2:53__ __"It's easier to arrest people who are dealing on the streets then it is to investigate people who maybe doing, for example, cocaine in office suites or at resort areas or things of that nature."__ __3:13__ __"For too long, law inforcement departments were rewarded by the number of arrests of people who are dealing on the streets make easier targets__
 * "5:59**
 * "Most of the people that get**
 * arrested now in the war on drugs are arrested for marijuana offensively “**
 * 8:30**
 * “Country will go along with having alternative penalties but they won’t along with having no penalties. What I’m suggesting is that we could shift as a intermediate step towards eliminating the drug war we can shift from criminal penilties to some civil sanctuaries "**
 * 9:08**
 * If i told a 16 year old the was expecting their license if you smoke marijuana you wont be able to get your license until you're 17 or 18. on a 16 year old that has a tremendous affect**

Part 2 Script (Main Idea 1): Many different people and well known sources do believe the drug war does target blacks and other minorities over whites. It is also believed that the lower class(poor & mid-class) are targetted more often than the upper class(rich people). It is also more likely that the lower class gets arrested as well as them being treated more harshly then the upper class. Drug transactions between blacks are easier to target among police. More than 25.4 million americans have been arrested on drug charges since 1980. Black polulations are extremely disporportionate in many states. Louisiana has a population of 33% of African Americans, but 76% of an African American jail population. Arkansas has a 16% of African Americans, but 52% of African Americans in there jail population. Black men get arrested 13 times the rate of white men.

Former President Jimmy Cater is an outspoken critic of the drug war. We sent President Carter some question via e-mail and he was nice enough to send us a letter responding to our qustion for this documentary.

Cut to President Carter quote here- 2nd paragraph EDUCATION TREATING AS A MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE INTERVIEWS: DS: 4:07 - 5:17 LETTER: In the letter we received from Jimmy Carter he stated Last year, the Global Comission on Drug Policy made some courageous and profoundly important recommendations on how to bring more effective control over the illicit drug trade. It's primary proposals are to provide treatment rather than imprisonment for people who use drugs but do no harm to others.

Part 3 Script (Main Idea 2): The government spends more money on locking people up than school education. The letter we received from Jimmy Carter he stated Last year, the Global Comission on Drug Policy made some courageous and profoundly important recommendations on how to bring more effective control over the illicit drug trade. It's primary proposals are to provide treatment rather than imprisonment for people who use drugs but do no harms to others. According to our research the government spends about $6,500 per student on decent public education. Yet prisons spend on average $34,500 per prisoner which is about 5 times as much. In New York State $56,000 per inmate and $16,000 per student. California spends $47,000 on an inmate and $9,000 per a student. The main point of these facts are that the proportions are obsurd and this is unreasonable. We asked the Dean of Howard Law School, Kurt Schmoke what his thoughts on the government spending more money on inmates in prison than students. He claims that most people that are arrested for small drug charges shouldn't go to prison, there is an alternative solution to this issue. Read more: [|http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/14/states-spend-times-incarcerating-educating-studies-say-464156987/#ixzz1rdt2HySu]

Conclusion: In conclusion we have seen that minorities are unfairly targetted into prisons than whites. Also we have found that the government spends more money incarcerating people than educating others. Even though this information is true, it's unfair to the millions of children who deserve a good public education. Having a darker complexion shouldn't have an effect on you being favored by police departments. Also the money being spent on inmates should never be more than a students education.

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