Reagan and The War on Drugs

Richard Nixon officially started the war on drugs in 1971, but his war was modest in comparison to the attacks launched under the Reagan Administration. The Reagan Administration marks the start of increasing incarceration rates due to expansion of the drug war. Between 1980 and 1997 the number of people in jail for non-violent drug offenses increased from 50,000 to 400,000. The issue was that the Reagan Administration did not push for whites and blacks to be targeted equally for their offenses. This was demonstrated when the Reagan Administration did not push for Ronald Reagan's own daughter to serve hard time after she developed a cocaine addiction. The war on drugs under Reagan unfairly targeted African American populations, and this is demonstrated by the grossly disproportionate numbers of African Americans in jail for drug offenses, even when considering the equal rates of usage between whites and blacks.
In addition, the Reagan administration and it's war on drugs also led to blockage of scientific studies about AIDS reduction. Reagan's war on drugs blocked syringe exchange programs that have been proven to prevent AIDS, and also DO NOT cause increased usage of drugs. This led to increasing numbers of people contracting AIDS and HIV. These outdated drug policies are still in place today and continue to proliferate institutional racism in the criminal justice system, and continue to treat addiction as a crime rather than a disease.

Newman, T. (March 7, 2016). HuffingtonPost.com. Nancy Reagan's Role in the Disastrous War on Drugs. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-newman/nancy-reagan-war-on-drugs_b_9400628.html