Essay --

Criminal Justice Extra Credit Essay Nibedita Saha 16th Dec 2013 P100 â€Å"The House I Live In† By: Eugene Jarecki â€Å"The House I Live In† is a 2012 documentary film by Eugune Jarecki about America’s ongoing drug war, which caused chaos that influenced many parts of the society such as the racial ethnic groups, families, financial aspects, foreign immigrants, as well as politics. The United States of America and its’ drug war results in it being the number one longest and most widespread drug abuser in the world. Being 5% of the world’s population, the US prison holds about 25% of all prisoners. Women were arrested as the highest per capita rate in the nation. The biggest drug industry is within the US with 10-16 billion USD spent on illegal drugs spending. The aim is to get a drug free America, however with the highest number of prisoners being 2.3 million, it is evident that an increasing number of younger kids wish to get involved in this drug line and smuggle/sell/use drugs. This obviously results in a further build up of the war on drugs. This drug war started through propaganda, which is misleading information. It is explained that the entire game was about cops and survival, something like a good guys versus bad guys game. The law enforcement blames it on the community, calling it corrupt with no morality. Furthermore, they accuse laws of using drug laws to deteriorate the society. Why are African Americans chosen as the targeted group that’s inordinately prosecuted? Is it due to racism or does this racial group really commit the most crimes in America? Most victims of this extensive drug war are young blacks, who are chased with a passion. An example would be Maurice, an African American who has been arrested for possession ... ... and so laws against cocaine were created in order to return the whites all their jobs. Punishments for crack cocaine, mostly used by blacks were much harsher than powder cocaine, used by whites. Moreover, politics has shaped this drug war profoundly. President Reagan’s wife’s slogan â€Å"just say no† impacted the drug war just like her husband who signed the mandatory minimum penalty. With numerous impacts from different areas of the community such as racial ethnic groups, families, financial aspects, foreign immigrants, and politics, the drug was is an ongoing epidemic that brings more negative influence to the society than positive. Many different methods are being used by the correctional services to prevent the drug wars from getting worse and to eventually put an end to it. This is being done for the benefit of our communities and hopefully it will be successful.