cisola19ahsgov-blog

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Works Cited

Balko, Radley. “There's Overwhelming Evidence That the Criminal-Justice System Is Racist. Here's the Proof.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 18 Sept. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2018/09/18/theres-overwhelming-evidence-that-the-criminal-justice-system-is-racist-heres-the-proof/?utm_term=.46149401d243.

“Criminal Justice Facts.” The Sentencing Project, www.sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/.

Lefstein, Norman. “A Broken Indigent Defense System: Observations and Recommendations of a New National Report.” Sex Trafficking and HIV/AIDS: A Deadly Junction for Women and Girls | Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, 30 June 2017, www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/human_rights_vol36_2009/spring2009/a_broken_indigent_system_observations_and_recommendations_of_a_new_national_report/

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Civic Action Assessment of Issue

1. I see my role as a citizen as upholding the importance of equality through volunteering for organizations or calling out the government others are being treated unfairly.

2. I’ve learned that everyone has civic responsibility and that our country cannot work without those who value and act on it.

3. Yes, part of my issue is racial disparities in criminal justice, which I think is the federal governments responsibility to fix since it goes against civil rights. However, it’s also the responsibility of people to bring attention to the issue and put pressure on the government to get it fixed.

4. No, however I did volunteer at the food bank which also is a part of civic responsibility by helping the community.

5. Volunteer at an organization that pertains to my issue in order to try and cause change.

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Executive Action Assessment of Issue

1. Trump has had a large emphasis on fighting the opioid crisis, declaring it a nationwide public health emergency and spending more than $1 billion in funding towards combating substance abuse.

2. I agree that it’s a large issue and I’m glad he’s fighting it.

3. US Department of Health and Human Services and US Department of Justice.

4. For the HHS it’s to improve the general health of all Americans, for the DOJ it is to enforce the law and control crime while ensuring public safety.

5. The secretary of the HHS is  Alex M. Azar II, who has worked in the HHS from 2001-7, leaving during Obama’s term to work privately. He has degrees in his field from Dartmouth and Yale however he has only worked under a republican president or for a corporation.  Matthew G. Whitaker is the Attorney General of the DOJ. He was Session’s Chief of Staff and was appointed by Bush as US General of southern district of Iowa. He worked on the Controlled Substances and Asset Forfeiture Subcommittee, White Collar Crime Subcommittee and the Violent and Organized Crime Subcommittee and has earned a Master of Business Administration, Juris Doctor, and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Iowa.

6. The US Drug Enforcement Administration enforces laws and regulations on controlled substance.

7. Trump has actually increased funding specifically for combating the opioid crisis, taking it out for HIV research. The DEA does a lot of educational program to spread facts about drugs.

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Legislative Action

1. a. Mark Desaulnier wants to end prescription drug abuse. Harris believes in enforcing accurately presented information on drugs. Feinstein believes in fighting drug abuse.

b. Harris sponsored a bill to require the FDA to review promotions for food and drugs to make sure the information presented is accurate. Feinstein introduced a new bill to combat damage from marijuana.

2. a. There are bills that relate to the war on drugs, about 7 on the first page.

b.  H.R.1227

c. The bill would federally decriminalize marijuana

d. Marijuana could legally be bought and sold

e. I would vote yea because in a free country I believe it should at least be up t the states to decide the legality of it.

f. It originated in the House of Representatives and has been submitted to the  Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.

g. Since there are still state bans of marijuana, there still may be an in-proportionate imprisonment of people of color in which case that should be fixed.

S: The subject is Trumps opinions on drug policy and punishment for drug related crime, specifically the death penalty.

A:  Z. Byron Wolf

C: Donald Trump posted a tweet about how China should use the death penalty to stop the abuse of fentanyl

A: The intended audience is probably people who may be slightly critical of Trump’s previous actions

P: The bias is slightly against Trump’s death penalty idea, the author uses a  comaprision: “ he routinely promises they'll be "tough on crime." That's a phrase that brings to mind the 1990s era, which saw a race to make criminal penalties increasingly strict and which the criminal justice reform effort, to some extent, is seeking to unwind.”

S: I agree because the article isn’t very biased, however they do seem to support a less strict policy which I agree with

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State Action

A. Although she does not have a specific position stated on her website related to drug policy, Baker has posted on her Twitter encouraging kids to take the pledge not to use drugs or alcohol illegally. She is focused much more on very local issues that would specifically affect the average person living in the 16th district, and drug policy doesn’t seem to be a priority. State Senator Glazer also does not have any statement on his website related to drug policy but has created several bills in the Senate creating smoking bans. He has ten governing principles, and the ninth one is: “Promote civility and respect for all people and perspectives.” His goal to promote equality could have an effect on his thoughts on racial disparity in criminal justice.

B. I think that it is good for our district assemblywoman to be focused on issues that would specifically affect those living in it, however I think both politicians should have more information on their website related to this issue as they do include their thoughts on some federal issues as well like women’s rights and gun control. Because of the lack of information, it’s hard to say whether or not I agree with their general stance but I do agree with the bills passed by Glazer.

C. Glazer had sponsored several bills creating smoking bans in public areas like parks and beaches.

2. A. AB-2804 (Assembly)

B. Introduced February 16, 2018

C. The bill is recent and is being held under submission in the committee.

D. The bill creates support and services for communities and individuals impacted by drugs and the war on drugs as well as community healthcare.

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The 3 Ps Assessment: Parties, Political Interest Groups, and PACs

a. Republican: Supports limiting drug usage, limiting laws that produce more criminals, and having public officials in charge of correctional institutions.

Democrat: Support criminal justice reform, ending mass incarceration, and investing in more jobs and education rather than jails.

Libertarian: Don’t believe in crime unless there is a victim, making drug usage not a crime.

Green: Supports reducing mass incarceration and investing in opportunities for prisoners to reenter society. Also believe the war on drugs to be a failure and that it should be ended.

Peace and Freedom: Believe in punishing police/prison officials for abusing criminals and ending racial discrimination.

b. I agree with most of them as they have a lot of similar beliefs but in terms of who should be punished/what should be considered crime there are clearly two ends of the spectrum, and the democrats land somewhere in the middle.

c. I agree with the democrats platform the most, to end mass incarceration and invest more in creating opportunities for people rather than punishment.

Identify one national interest group that represents your issue.

a.  Drug Policy Alliance Network

b. Believe in ending the war on drugs and replacing old policies with ones based on science that don’t cause prejudice.

c. 1. Believe in punishing for crimes where there is a victim, eliminating drug usage from being qualified as a crime.

2. Believe in legalization and taxation of marijuana

3. Want realistic, honest education on drugs rather than zero tolerance policy

4. Want drug policies based on health that cause easier access for those who need it

5. Advocate judgement-free approach to helping those struggling  with addiction

d. Want to end criminalization of adults for possessing or cultivating marijuana.

e. They have offices located in many states including California, the only upcoming event is in New York.

f. Current opportunities to get involve include sending letters to Trump and congress.

g. Has a section of the website with drug facts that debunks a lot of myths surrounding certain drugs.

Identify one state interest group that represents your issue.

a. DrugSense

b. They want to inspire civic action in drug policy reform and ending drug prohibition

c. 1. They are  very interested, in citizens becoming informed, and the main part of their website showcases lots of news articles and letters from other sites on the topic of drug policy.

2. Rather than listing facts about different drugs like the other organization, they show a collection of blogposts posted by the same person, sometimes including videos from others

3. Although based in California, they also address International and federal issues with drug policy

4. They support providing safe access for drugs rather than banning them in response to the opioid crisis

5. Believe that the legalization of drugs like marijuana could help combat the opioid crisis

d. They support the legalization of marijuana

e. located in Irvine, California. It doesn’t have any events listed

f. They have a lot of letter writing opportunities, and even showcase letters on their website. 

g. They seem to post everything related to drug policy they can find, usually against drug prohibition, so I’m not sure if this organization backs every single one of these specific ideas or if they just want to get as much information and opinions out to inform people.

Finally, compare the two interest groups

The national group definitely has a more developed, up to date website and more offices and opportunities to physically meet up and get involved which the other group lacks. The national group has more organized beliefs and goals, while since the state group is more focused on spreading information it is kind of all over the place with more variety on subjects. The state group showcases a lot more opinionated material while the national group shows scientific facts, particularly on the effects of drugs.

Choose one PAC or Super PAC that pertains to your civic action issue.

a.  Drug Policy Reform Fund

b. Believe in reform of drug policy.

c. Raised total of $10,000, spent a total of $1,630, and ended with $51,957 cash on hand

d. spent 100% on democrats

e. Donated to by individuals, several are attorneys and other occupations vary. It shows that their goal is shared with a variety of individuals.

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Constitutional Issues

What is the name of the case? Food and Drug Administration v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation

The term it was decided? Bill Clinton’s term.

Briefly summarize the facts of the case. The FDA tried to place regulations on tobacco products and were challenged by the  Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation  who ultimately won the case.

What is the constitutional question the justices were deciding? Whether or not the FDA’s act of placing limitations on tobacco was a power of the FDA granted by Congress.

Which constitutional provisions or amendments are in question? The FDA’s powers granted by congress.

What was the decision? The FDA’s argument was inadequate.

What precedent does this decision establish? That a federal institution can’t regulate a product without adequate cause.

Do you agree or disagree with the court’s decision? Explain. I agree, despite the harmfulness of the substance, federal associations should not have the power to limit citizens rights unless it gets to a certain degree of danger.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dont-let-trumps-use-of-celebrities-distract-you-from-his-criminal-justice-failures/2018/10/16/2bfd7b14-d096-11e8-a275-81c671a50422_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.90d0dc78ce3f

S: The subject of the article is Trump’s expressed interest in supporting criminal justice reform in a discussion with Kanye West compared to the Trump administrations past interactions with the subject.

A: Sally Q. Yates was former Deputy Attorney General who focused on political corruption.

C: The context is the meeting between Trump and Kanye that was the motive for Yates to write this article.

A: The intended audience is probably a more democratic one as the article expresses opinions on what should be done.

P: The perspective is more democratic, although I’ve read about Yates being described as bipartisan her opinion on this matter leans left. Her support for the reform of how we punish people for drug related crimes and her focus on rehabilitation shows this.

S: If the issue regarding same punishments for unequal crimes is how it is portrayed in the article, I agree that should be changed. Clearly, a non-violent person charged for possessing drugs shouldn’t face the same sentence as a large scale drug dealer involved in much more illegal activity. Even if it’s illegal and the government should punish them, that doesn’t mean they can be punished disproportionately to the crime due to the 8th Amendment.

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Media Assessment of Issue

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/555782/

S: This articles main point is to explain Trump’s drug policy and why it is problematic.

A:  Vann R. Newkirk II is the author of this article and is a writer for the Atlantic. He graduated at UNC Chapel Hill with a MSPH in Health Policy & Management and has worked at Daily Kos, Kaiser Family Foundation, and the American College of Surgeons. He writes about politics, mainly health policy.

C: This story was published late March, shortly after Trump delivered a speech about the opioid epidemic. In this speech Trump flaunts how border control enforcement is helping keep drugs out of American communities, but also addresses the large sum of deaths caused by opioid overdoses as well as things the Trump administration has done to try and stop them. The severity of the issue that Trump explains in his speech which the statistical number of deaths per year and other elements of the speech probably drove the journalist to write about this issue.

A: Probably directed more towards liberals as the article is biased and clearly states the writers opinion, and someone that aligns that way would be more inclined to read this and think the same way. Also people critical of Trump as the title implies that the article will be as well.

P: Although the article does state facts and has a pretty good overview of general updates and news with drug policy in the US, it’s not unbiased. The authors claim is that Trump’s policy on drugs is no improvement from what we’ve had previously. I agree, the authors claim isn’t very extreme and presents sensible arguments, such as the fact that introducing the death penalty as a punishment to dissuade people from bringing drugs into the country is not going to administer when racism is still a factor in targeting potential suspects for drug abuse.

S: The evidence used are many quotes from members of the Drug Policy Alliance and a federal prosecutor, where they mainly point out flaws in Trump’s drug policy.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.economist.com/the-americas/2018/08/18/peru-and-bolivia-are-unlikely-allies-in-the-war-on-drugs

S: This article supports America becoming involved with Bolivia’s drug policy and helping them enforce it.

A: The authors name is not stated anywhere on the article.

C: The article is mostly in response to Bolivia’s failed attempts to uphold drug policy in the past few years. Despite the article being published recently in late August there is no mention of recent drug policy updates as it focuses on specifically Bolivia’s government.

A: Maybe people skeptical of other countries drug policies, as the title might lure them and then the article itself might persuade them to believe in the same solution as the author, providing them assistance.

P: The article is subjective, there is information in it however there’s also a clear opinion in it.

S: The author explains the specifics of their tactics in the drug war and times where it hasn’t worked.

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/america-s-racist-response-crack-epidemic-must-inform-way-we-ncna842426

S: The main point of the article is that the opioid crisis needs to be recognized as have white and African American victims, who the author feels are being ignored.

A: The author is Al Sharpton, one of Obama’s former advisors, who also is a civil rights activist.

C: The article was published in January, in response to the opioid crisis being portrayed as taking only white victims.

A: People who fight for civil rights and people who lean left in terms of social issues.

P: The article is subjective, the writer is arguing that we aren’t portraying the opioid crisis properly.

S:  His claim is based on how it is presented now and on how the crack epidemic was presented and how that effected people.

One similarity is that each of these articles represents a certain opinion, and while some parts may be stating facts, the facts chosen and the analysis of them makes them subjective. In terms of differences it was somewhat easy to find articles from left skewed news sources on racism and the drug war, however it was pretty impossible to find a conservative article focusing on racism in America as an effect of the war on drugs.

I mostly agree with the NBC article, although it was in the middle of the chart the article itself I would say would appeal more to those with a liberal bias. I agree because I think that it’s wrong how African Americans were isolated as perpetrators of the crack epidemic, whoever, when the white community is involved in the opioid crisis they are instead portrayed as victims.

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Conceptualizing the Issue and Assessing Types of Action

1. I chose the war on drugs and racial disparities in criminal justice because  I think that wrongfully targeting people of a specific race should be treated as intolerable.

2. It is an issue because our Constitution states that all men our equal, but that mentality hasn’t been carried out correctly in regards to this issue as shown by statistics of white versus African American kids being targeted as suspects of drug abuse.

3. The war on drugs has caused more issues than racial disparities in criminal justice, and has been going on for too long without any success. Therefore, while there still should be laws regarding drug use, the war on drugs all together should be called off.

4. I am following the US FDA, SAMHSA, NIDAnews (all federal agencies related to drug use), SSDP (student run organization for ending drug prohibition), MPP Marijuana Policy (organization for legalizing marijuana) and Drug Policy Alliance (organization that supports drugs policies based on science).

https://twitter.com/democracynow/status/973925555971264513

The federal agencies on twitter related to drug use don’t really address the issue of racism as an effect of drug policy in any recent tweets, and from looking at tags it seems most of the people on twitter posting about this issue are critical of drug policy. I agree with the federal agencies for promoting information on how certain substances affect health, and tips on how to more safely consume such substances if one chooses to. However, I don’t agree with Trumps stance on executing drug dealers, as in the past trying to criminalize drugs has led to a racial disproportion as African Americans are more likely to be targeted, and adding execution as a punishment is not a solution to the issue, rather it could only possibly makes things worse.