Pubdate: Sun, 18 Jan 2015
Source: East Valley Tribune (AZ)
Copyright: 2015 Kirk Muse
Contact: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/opinion/submit_a_letter/
Website: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2708
Author: Kirk Muse

'WAR ON DRUGS' DISCRIMINATES

Thanks for publishing the outstanding letter from Mike Ross: "War on Drugs."

In 1963, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I have 
a dream" speech, the United States had about 200,000 total prisoners.

Today, largely because of our war-on-drugs policies, the United 
States has more than 2.2 million prisoners. It's obvious that the 
so-called war on drugs is actually a war on politically selected 
people, and black and brown people are the politically selected people.

Even though blacks and whites use and sell illegal drugs at about the 
same rate, blacks are 13 times more likely to go to jail or prison 
for a so-called drug crime. I believe this is the root cause of the 
black community distrusting and disliking of the police.

The whips and chains of slavery have been replaced with prison cages.

Kirk Muse

Mesa
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