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Crisis of Crime

Crisis of Crime aims to educate about criminology and criminal justice reform. Is our Criminal Justice System broken, or working as intended? I suppose it would depend on who you ask. Join me as I explore criminological theory as well as topics such as systemic racism, discrimination, and reforms.

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Crisis of Crime

The War on Drugs and Dog-Whistle Politics

July 24, 2020 • Rachel Means • Season 1 • Episode 8

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Today's episode is about the War on Drugs. I start off with the history of illegal substances in the US, and then explore two different perspectives on how the War on Drugs started. One perspective is from Michelle Alexander, the author of The New Jim Crow, and the other is John Pfaff, author of Locked In. Additionally, I take a deep dive into the racist dog-whistle politics behind the War on Drugs. I finish speaking about what would happen if we decriminalized or legalized illegal drugs.

Sources for today's episode:
WLM. (2020). Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup. The Wood Library Museum of Anesthesiology. Retrieved from: https://www.woodlibrarymuseum.org/museum/item/529/mrs.-winslow's-soothing-syrup

Historical Highlights. (2020). The Pure Food and Drug Act. History, Art, and Archives: The United States House of Representatives. Retrieved from: https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1901-1950/Pure-Food-and-Drug-Act/

DEA. (2020). Illegal Drugs in America. Drug Enforcement Administration Museum. Retrieved from: https://www.deamuseum.org/idatour/index.html

Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914, S. 785, 63rd Congress, (1914).

ReaganFoundation. (2011, Aug 3). President Reagan's Address to the Nation on the Campaign Against Drug Abuse [video]. Youtube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj8gAQ_cQ7Q

Richard Nixon Foundation. (2016, April 29). President Nixon Declares Drug Abuse “Public Enemy Number One” [video]. Youtube. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8TGLLQlD9M

Pfaff, J. (2017). Locked In: The true causes of mass incarceration and how to achieve real reform. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Alexander, M. (2012). The New Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York, NY: New Press.

RDL. (2020). The Rockefeller Drug Laws. The Blanch Law Firm. Retrieved from: https://www.theblanchlawfirm.com/practice-areas/other-matters-we-handle/the-rockefeller-drug-laws/