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Number of Blacks Jailed for Drugs Declines

But number of white inmates increases

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Apr 14, 2009 5:52 PM CDT
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(Newser) – A profound shift may be under way in the racial makeup of the nation's prison population, the Washington Post reports. For the first time in 20 years, the number of blacks imprisoned for drug offenses is falling sharply while the number of whites is rising, the Washington Post reports. One possible reason for the shift: A falloff in the use of crack cocaine and a rise in the use of crystal meth.

The number of blacks in state prisons for drug crimes fell from 145,000 in 1999 to 113,500 in 2005, says the Sentencing Project. In the same period, the number of whites imprisoned for drugs rose from 50,700 to 72,300. The rise of crystal meth, which has mostly white users, may not tell the whole story. "It's also hard to imagine that (drug courts) are not having some effect," said the director of the Sentencing Project. "Most drug courts are in urban areas where African Americans live."

A Guantanamo detainee peers through his hands from inside his cell at the Camp Echo detention facility.
A Guantanamo detainee peers through his hands from inside his cell at the Camp Echo detention facility.   (AP Photo)
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There is some data out there that suggests that drug courts and drug treatments reduce recidivism.
- David Muhlhausen, a senior policy analyst for the conservative Heritage Foundation

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 7 comments
Shannonals
Apr 19, 2009 9:43 AM CDT
It's not a Black or White issue. That's why our country is warped, everything is about race
Mad
Apr 15, 2009 11:20 AM CDT
Hopefully, with change and reason sweeping the nation, we will soon come to realize that drug addition is a medical problem, not a legal one, requiring doctors and medicine to treat, not lawyers and prisons
riffran
Apr 15, 2009 8:52 AM CDT
Here is another thought...maybe just maybe, education and programs in place to help stop the issue itself, such as outreach programs, drug addiction treatment ect....are possibly working?....and as for "victimless" crimes, well I don't know about that. I bet if you asked the family members of those who wrecked their health, or were incarcerated if they feel victimized or not......Ive been to AA and NA and ALANON meetings in support of some freinds, who had or were coping with those problems, and unless the person is a homeless orphan, with no social contact..(so to speak) there are victims.

 
drugs • African Americans • sentencing • jail • crystal meth • crack cocaine • prison population • white people • blacks

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