• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Southern Coalition for Social Justice

Southern Coalition for Social Justice

Partnering with communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities in the south to defend and advance their political, social and economic rights through the combination of legal advocacy, research, organizing and communications.

  • Home
  • About
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Employment Opportunities
  • News
  • Programs
    • Voting Rights
      • News
      • Featured Cases
      • Resources
    • Criminal Justice
      • News
      • Featured Cases
      • Resources
    • Youth Justice Project
      • News
      • Resources
  • Resources
    • Videos
    • Reports
    • Infographics
    • SCSJ-led Projects
  • Contact
  • Donate

Search Southern Coalition for Social Justice

Progress toward ending the failed "war on drugs"

August 30, 2013 by Kristen Powers

On August 29, 2013 the DOJ announced that it will not interfere with state laws allowing medicinal and recreational use of marijuana. The Drug Policy Alliance explains the DOJ decision here. Drug policy and criminal justice reform advocates have hailed this as a major step forward in ending the “war on drugs” and accompanying collateral consequences of incarceration.
The same day that the DOJ decision was announced, Newark NJ mayor Corey Booker appeared on MSNBC’s All In to discuss his U.S. Senate bid. Booker has decided to focus on a criminal justice reform in his campaign. In this interview, Mayor Booker brings the interrelated issues of the “war on drugs,” the school to prison pipeline, disproportionate targeting of communities of color by law enforcement, and the prison-industrial complex into focus.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

“Let’s just be clear about what’s going on in American right now,” said Booker. “In New Jersey, 14% of my state is African American, and our prison system is over 60% black… Here we are 50 years from the March on Washington; here we are a century more, frankly, from battling the worst kind of white supremacy. Yet we’re creating these pipelines from failed schools to our prisons that are disproportionately affecting African Americans and the poor. But we’re all tied to the same destiny when it comes to solving these problems. We have to solve them, there has to be an urgency. It can’t be about attacking other sides. Figure out what the best things are to increase safety, lower taxpayer expenditures, and elevate human potential.”
Decriminalizing marijuana use certainly sets the stage for a pivot away from harsh criminalization and toward a policy of addressing the addiction and public health ramifications of drug use. As the website TPM reports, “Last week, a poll found that 82 percent of Americans believe the nation is losing the War on Drugs. That same poll found a majority agreed with a decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to reduce the number of mandatory minimum sentences for drug convictions, another important shift in federal policy. It reflects a belief among advocates, one endorsed by the White House itself, that drug addiction should be viewed more as a public health issue than a criminal one. In their mind, that’s the end game for the War [on Drugs].”

Category iconCriminal Justice Tag iconCollateral Consequences,  Criminal Justice,  Mandatory Minimums,  Marijuana,  War on Drugs

Next Article: SCSJ weighs in on Watauga Elections Issues
Previous Article: SCSJ premiers new video

Footer

Contact

1415 West Highway 54, Suite 101
Durham, NC 27707
info@southerncoalition.org
office: 919-323-3380
fax: 919-323-3942
Map

Key Links

About
Donate
Most Recent 990
Staff
Board

The Latest

This story took quite a turn.... #PlotTwist #ncpol twitter.com/shofelle…

About 2 days ago

Yesterday we filed a motion challenging the #NCGA’s legislative privilege asking for documentation related to the passage of a discriminatory voter ID law. bit.ly/2Pldkil

About 3 days ago

Consider a donation to help advance voting rights and social justice on this #GivingTuesday - every little bit helps support our work southerncoalition.or…

About 5 days ago

The work we do is possible through the support of wonderful organizations like @AJFfoundation .... Thankful for all that you do! twitter.com/AJFfound…

About 2 weeks ago

Congressional redistricting #NCGA style, 2019: When the effort to “fix” a gerrymander becomes a fiasco. #ncpolitics wfae.org/post/nc-law…

About 3 weeks ago

Follow @scsj
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Copyright © 2019 Southern Coalition for Social Justice · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design