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[smokelearnpreach]

#makeitmakesense

make it make sense- all of it. All of the numbers demonstrate the war on drugs fueling the mass incarceration of men and women of color, of the impoverished, of the uneducated and underrepresented. We must continue to educate ourselves to get woke, but also stay woke and updated on the new laws and policies being implemented in several neighboring states, and where you live most importantly. Speak out for those that can not and highlight the stigma that fuels the argument for the war on drugs. We are one and we must remove this sense of morality the government has on passing laws and judicial approaches to things that do not affect society directly. Crimes related to drug distribution and usage happen for the same reasons crimes spiked after the prohibition era. People should choose what they want to do with their bodies and if it becomes a problem needing mediation, the court system could offer the support of rehabilitation rather than jail time. We should not judge someone on what they choose to participate in, but rather suggest help when it becomes necessary. Similar to alcoholism, when people drink we do not judge them but when it becomes noticeable that the person needs a support system, options like rehab are encouraged. 

[smokelearnpreach]

It is known that within the SUNY system, New Paltz has one of the strictest drug policies of all the SUNY schools. After a student is charged with a drug conviction twice, they are automatically expelled from the school. After the first conviction, you need to do counseling and take Title IV training and assistance. Nevertheless, you have to be presented in front of a board to be considered done with the programs assigned to you after conviction. I believe that the system is also proceeding on a morality platform. As a resident assistant, I have witnessed malpractices when it comes to University police handling marijuana and drug issues on campus. In situations where the student is white, I have noticed more compassion in officers knowing the consequences of their actions- comments like “you’re a college student, so I am going to let this one slide…’ have been used right in front of me and I have been left speechless knowing that my friends and fellow students of color are being treated unfairly and more disciplined in this area. To be revoked of your right to higher education and to be stripped of your time as an undergraduate student based on a 2 strike policy on something that is on its way of becoming legalized seems irrational. Also, looking at the numbers of students of color that get prosecuted and expelled due to marijuana violations, we see the same trends occurring simultaneously with the federal criminal justice system. More people of color within both Universities and communities back home are being targeted on the same things and are being stripped away of their freedoms and human rights based on the corrupt policing that occurs with these marginalized groups. 

[smokelearnpreach]

The TED Talk by Bart de Koning presents a clear argument and that's that the approach politicians and the justice system have had on the War on Drugs has been deemed to fail in multiple aspects, by killing individuals, increasing the length of the sentence, adding more police enforcement into these communities, and increasing the amount of time and money allocated for resources on drug control. All of these things have not changed the trends, but rather we see more and more drugs being imported and in the streets since the 1970s initiative on drugs. Koning mentions the promising experiments in England that target crime, and it’s interesting because the American criminal justice system and policing were established on English practices. In England, they are using scientific experiments to find a solution to crime and drug control. They are looking at results in numbers of successful cases of individuals that move away from drugs and crime through rehabilitation and support by the government, compared to rates of crime in people who are sentenced to jail time. 

[smokelearnpreach]

It is evident that the War on Drugs fuels mass incarceration; in the images presented above with mass incarceration we see a target in men, but black men specifically. In comparison, when looking at these trends but concerning their convictions, we also see a disproportionate amount of black individuals in federal prison for drug offenses. The numbers don’t lie.  

[smokelearnpreach]

Even with reforms on drug laws, we still have 456,000 people held in jail or prison for drug offenses. If you look closely you could see that in local jails with 35,000 people convicted of a crime, we still see 4x that number held in custody still yet to be convicted! This can be due to a lack of resources or funds for bail and even lack of advocacy for themselves. A lot of these individuals don’t know their rights or feel discouraged to speak out. It is evident with this, that the war on drugs is not to fix the issue on drugs in the streets but to target individuals who fit the category of a drug dealer/user.  

[smokelearnpreach]

I urge everyone to get informed with the new policies in place in the New York States, especially if you are like me and reside here, but also just anywhere you live or go to frequently. These policies don’t only affect people who sell and use but they also affect everyone else who may be targeted by the police for potentially carrying. In the case of the image above, these are the penalties for the amount of weed you possibly may have on you. It is amazing to see the decriminalization taking place currently in New York because 2 ounces of weed is a lot!!! There are few people I know that would even carry this much, so to know that the penalty is only $200, less than what the weed would cost, is progressive in my eyes.

[smokelearnpreach]

Who are we targeting in reality?...

It’s the population that it targets! It's the decision that they made when choosing one drug over the other! If white men were the main consumers for marijuana and crack, the storyline would be different. Marijuana and crack would be socially acceptable and in the end, whatever drug was most commonly spread in black communities would be criminalized. 

[smokelearnpreach]

Ethan Nadelmann said something interesting and that is that most of the money that goes towards ending the distribution and use of illegal drugs is dispersed into organizations that punish rather than help these people. The United States took it upon itself to be on the war front of the war on drugs, just like it did when it decided it was rational to prohibit alcohol and look how that ended. “There has never been a drug free society”. Our desire for drugs has always reminded the same as our desires for other things like food and sex; whether that be for medical purposes, religious ties or socially. Marijuana and other drugs have always reminded prevalent in our society and in the late 19th century when the drugs that are currently illegal were not, middle aged white women were mostly known for using opioids as a form of pain relievers. Drugs like these didn’t become a problem until the population that were known for using them changed and it was no longer a white people problem. 

[smokelearnpreach]

Steven Wisotsky is a noteworthy author with two books demonstrating the effects of the war on drugs on specific communities. He has written both “Beyond The War on Drugs: Overcoming a Failed Public Policy” and “Breaking The Impasse in The War on Drugs”. Both books speak on the reality that is the government's initiative on the war on drugs. 

[smokelearnpreach]

You know what else I find interesting is that not only are illegal drug use prohibited but it is also shunned upon if you have paraphernalia that indirectly represent the use of drugs, like a cloud 9 or 4:20 sticker on your car or a t-shirt that had a weed plant on it. These kinds of assumptions can sometimes lead to illegal searches and a violation of our freedom of speech and expression. If you post anything in this content you can also be denied a job or a chance at a higher education. 

[smokelearnpreach]

It’s my body.

For the government to make laws on what we do to ourselves, to our bodies, and to our health, is based on a premise of morality and it is truly outdated. Marijuana only affects those who use it, this applies to all other drugs. Crimes acted on under the influence of a drug, are not due to that specific drug; for there are no drugs that turn you into a murder, theft, rapist, etc. The most someone on drugs can do to you is make you feel uncomfortable. We must let people choose what they want to consume and honestly mind our own business. The government does it’s job by providing rehabilitation facilities for those that want to work on a drug addiction, the same way it provides mandated gym classes in high school to keep students active and finds it acceptable for people to go to gyms when they are overweight or want to work on their bodies to stay in shape. 

[smokelearnpreach]

During the class, we say, "Here are the ways that we've heard of. Here are the legal ways. Here are some maybe unorthodox ways that we've had to do",

Latta (U.S. Customs and Border Patrol)

Millions of pounds of illegal drugs are confiscated every year by the police and U.S Customs and Border Patrol, but one should question what indeed happens with the drugs once they are seized. According to authorities, the drugs are destroyed and burned in crematories, incinerators, or through specialized businesses. I know movies and erratic thoughts are no foundation for a solid argument, but for Latta to mention “unorthodox ways”, I question how unorthodox they may be. The article that Latta did speak for, does mention that burning these illicit drugs does cause harm to the atmosphere, so is burning the drugs the best alternative in the end?. 

[smokelearnpreach]

Who is June for?

Can you believe that the war on drugs was declared on June 18th, 1971? It's interesting the number of respected days within the African American community that are also around this day of the year. Not only is Martin Luther King Jr. Day on June 18th, but Juneteenth Juneteenth (June 19th) is a holiday that celebrates the liberation and emancipation of those that have been enslaved in the United States. 

[smokelearnpreach]

I don't know why the United States government likes to create branches that indirectly target communities of color, like the DEA and ICE. They both were established by white men in power who sought to control the actions of unrepresented individuals, either by personal traveling or international smuggling of drugs to then distribute illegally here. Additionally, they like to brainwash society by saying that they are needed and beneficial. 

[smokelearnpreach]

Only listen to this if you plan on REALLY listening to it. 

[smokelearnpreach]

(“I call it nice, you call it a 'drug car' I say 'disco', you call it a 'drug bar' I say 'nice guy', you call me Mr. Good Bar I made progress, you say, "Not that far")

ll Cool Jay 

I remember listening to this song when it played after listening to N.W.A, and I didn’t know who ll cool J was but the words to the song really made me think and also surprised at the amount of artist that are out there and speak on the criminalization by the police on the communities of color. In the song Illegal Search by ll cool J, he mentions how targeted he feels as black man when the police automatically assumes that he is doing something illegal just because he may “look good”. This indirectly makes the assumption that people of color in urban areas and within marginalized communities, can’t look good or make money without their white counterparts or the police thinking they may be illegally obtaining the goods they have.

[smokelearnpreach]

Please make it make sense.

A lot of people for the war on drugs are in denial and blind of the effects that it has specifically on people of color on the same behaviors the white community acts on. For example, in states where legalizing drug policies are getting implemented, former felons can not open a dispensary. The craziest part of it all, is that oftentimes the felons that can not make a profit from selling in these liberalized areas , have prior felony charges of drug convictions. Poor people who once profited from selling illegally, now can not profit and get out of poverty by selling legally. Please make it make sense.