THE FAILURE OF THE

SYSTEM
Julia Penrose 11/29/2015

There is an ever-escalating disaster in the United States, and that is the incarceration
system. The United States accounts for about 5 percent of the total world population but has
about 25 percent of the prison population according to a statistic from the Huffington Post
website. The contrast in inmate numbers in the U.S versus other countries is so high that it is
now the most heavily incarcerated country in the world. The following chart represents the
extreme slope of incarceration rates in various countries, with the U.S in the lead. The U.S has
astonishing 700+ prisoners per 100,000 people, whereas Europe has a little more than 100 per
100,000 people and Europe has population more than twice that of the United States.
One of the main reasons the
incarceration rate is so high in the
U.S is because of the epidemic which
is known as The War on Drugs,
which is term associated with the
prohibition of drugs, anti-drug media
campaigns, and military action in
preventing illegal drug trade. The
War on Drugs has caused many downfalls in the American society, one of which being a heavy
economic toll. Matt Sledge, journalist for Huffington Post states in his article The Drug War

And Mass Incarceration By The Numbers, that Americans has spent over 1 trillion dollars in tax
dollars on the drug war. The money contributed did nothing to change drug addiction rates, and
even increased incarceration rates, in which about 2.2 million Americans are in prison or jail
according to the Sentencing Project website.
Non-violent drug offenders account for one-fourth of all inmates in U.S prisons, and
many are subjected to mandatory minimums for non-violent drug offenses, and three strikes
laws which can put some people away for life. As a whole, drug offenders account for half of the
U.S prison population.

This chart from the Federal Bureau of Prisons shows the

staggering

amount
of drug

offenders incarcerated compared to more heinous crimes. So this means over 100 thousand
prisoners or more are in prison for drug offenses, many of which are non-violent, as stated
before, that are non-violent offenders.

One of the biggest injustices with The War on Drugs is when in comparison to violent or
sexual crimes, some drug offenders can get longer sentences than for example, Sexual offenses
are a big one. For example, according to New Yorks Penal code, Sexual Conduct against a Child
in the second degree is a Class D Felony which equals 2 to 7 years imprisonment. In Californias
Penal code, Rape charges can land someone 3 to 8 years imprisonment. Now at the same time, as
far as drug charges go, according to the DrugPossessionLaws website, a person can be penalized
up to 15 years of imprisonment for obtaining several or more ounces of marijuana. Now in
California, distributing marijuana can be a 2 to 4 year felony sentence.
The inequality in drug offenses versus sexual offenses is too much of a common
occurrence. One of the ways to stop the war on drugs and to focus on more important crimes
would be to decriminalize marijuana, because there are various known benefits to consuming it
for medical reasons, and also reduce sentence rates for first drug offenders and non-violent drug
offenders. Its highly likely the incarceration rates would go down significantly.
Marijuana is one of the biggest components of the drug war. That being said because
there has been great accomplishments made with marijuana testing and research particularly with
medical marijuana. According to the U.S Government Accountability Office, some of the
diseases or illnesses that marijuana can provide relief to include: Anorexia, Epilepsy, Multiple
Sclerosis, and several more. It is known that Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol as stated on
the NBC news website, experts say there has never been a documented overdose death from
marijuana use in someone without an underlying condition. While alcohol poisonings can
linked to 2,000 deaths a year in the U.S. With increasing awareness that marijuana can be

beneficial to some, and less harmful than alcohol and tobacco both of which are legal in the U.S.
It is possible in the distant future marijuana could be legalized in all 50 states.
If the citizens of America give more attention than ever before to the imbalances in the
incarceration system, it is likely that the laws could be changed immensely, because it may be the
government officials and courts creating these laws, its the citizens that ultimately vote who gets
to be in office.

Works Cited

Bigamy, Incest, and the Crime against Nature- California Penal Code ,Onecle Inc. 289 (2015)
web.
"California Marijuana Possession Laws." Drug Possession Laws. N.p., 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
Editorial Board "End Mass Incarceration Now." The New York Times. The New York Times,
24 May 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
Engel, Pamela. "9 Charts And Maps That Will Make You Ashamed Of America's Prison
System." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 19 Sept. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
"For Which Symptoms or Conditions Might Marijuana Provide Relief? - Medical Marijuana ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.
"New York Marijuana Possession Laws." Drug Possession Laws. N.p., 2015. Web. 12 Oct.
2015.
Security and Fire Safety Annual Report 2014. New York Sexual Offenses Penal Code. Sarah
Lawrence College, 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
Shapiro, Maren. No High Risk: Marijuana May Be Less Harmful than Alcohol, Tobacco. NBC
News. N.p., 26 Feb. 2015. Web. 25 Oct. 2015
Sledge, Matt. "The Drug War And Mass Incarceration By The Numbers." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 04 Aug. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.