It was never about marijuana alone, which is why it was grouped with more dangerous drugs. The point was to have police at their discretion nab supposedly incorrigibly bad people (who’d come to be known as “superpredators”), on a pretext, in the belief that they were on a path to more serious crime, and should be intercepted beforehand and then treated severely to forestall that. Mass incarceration was not unintentional; it was seen as preemptive.
34
The mantra “The War on Drugs,” is a misnomer, covering up racial, political, & economic objectives;focusing on selected populations, selected “drugs,” with a long history in the US. America's 1st anti-drug law, an 1875 San Francisco ordinance, outlawed the smoking of opium in opium dens; before Rockefeller ran for office, & Nixon used this “tool” to divide US with mixtures of facts, fictions, fantasies and fears. It was passed because of the fears that Chinese men were ruining,white women in opium dens;prejudice against the Chinese was the covert issue, just as concern about cocaine use related to the myth of attacks upon Southern white women by“cocaine-crazed Negro brain."Federal legislation followed in 1888, restricting smoking opium and to keep the Chinese out of the opium trade. During these late 19th century white people continued to drink alcohol “normally,” and problematically, used opiates such as laudanum, and heroin (advertised as a cure for morphinism),and a range of over the counter addicting mixtures. Only the smoking of opium by a THEM was outlawed. The concepts of “misuse,” “abuse,” and the stigmatizing of selected users had yet to be created by influential, stakeholders. History records, globally, that attempts to control man’s “chemical appetites” are unsuccessful (Prohibition). Creating a WE-THEM world is successful! WE enable THIS thru OUR complacency, compliance by transmitting ”toxic concepts,” and becoming coopted to non-drug “willful blindness.”
18
There should be a war on drugs - but it should truly be under the banner of a public health crisis. And like other public health issues we should address it through the health system, not the police/court system. No one gets arrested for obesity or cigarette smoking, public health crises with even greater impact. Now, during this election cycle, is a great time to make this policy known. Don't reward politicians who say they've addressed or will address this health issue with more police resources. Call them out - ask how they've helped move this to 100% health care resources.
28
Just decriminalize drugs and let the chips fall where they may.
The "war on drugs" has had the same societal impact as the Prohibition did in the 1920s. All of it destructive.
The real cause of the high violent crime rates are driven by drug gangs and their wannabes, so the only practical solution is to take the profits out of the trade.
Decriminalization will not be without its costs. There will be a percentage of people on this population bell curve of ours who will be quite content to sit in front of their tubes, munching away while life passes them by. But at this point, let's face it. That's their risk and the controversies over mass incarceration, racism etc far outweigh some individuals falling by the wayside.
That's only reality.
The "war on drugs" has had the same societal impact as the Prohibition did in the 1920s. All of it destructive.
The real cause of the high violent crime rates are driven by drug gangs and their wannabes, so the only practical solution is to take the profits out of the trade.
Decriminalization will not be without its costs. There will be a percentage of people on this population bell curve of ours who will be quite content to sit in front of their tubes, munching away while life passes them by. But at this point, let's face it. That's their risk and the controversies over mass incarceration, racism etc far outweigh some individuals falling by the wayside.
That's only reality.
33
Get busted for small quantities pot - if you're from money you lawyer up, get your charges reduced and later dropped. If you have no money you get civil representation, plea down the charges, and get haunted by the arrest for the rest of your days. In either scenario the cops make money and become even more zealous in their pursuit of this victimless crime. It's pretty clear where the lines are drawn
21
The war on drugs is a violation of individual rights, inc/the right to property, production, trade and the pursuit of profit. Its part of the Progressive attack on individual rights since the late 19th century. And, as Ayn Rand observed, the rise in drug usage is a result of the attack on man's mind by Progressive education. Abolish the DEA, all drug laws and public education. Man's independent mind is the solution to all problems.
6
Very well done, and in the old parlance, "right on." Unfortunately this "war" like an awful lot of other such things is just Jim Crow racism through another lens. The USA - racist through and through.
19
Really good short history about the war on drugs, visually arresting and beautifully narrated.
12
Historians will look at this era of "The Nixonian War on Drugs" the same way we contemporaries look at "Slavery" today. They will say, "how on earth was this allowed to go on for so long?" Somebody should have done something.
However, they will also say, I wasn't around during the time of this murderous War on Drugs, and there is nothing that I should apologize for.
However, they will also say, I wasn't around during the time of this murderous War on Drugs, and there is nothing that I should apologize for.
18
Excellent point Jay Z, too bad you compromised your video by skipping over Bill Clinton's role in the high incarceration rates and falsely attributing Nixon and Reagan the devastating anti-drug laws to them. Makes me wonder about your motives. And the Times didn't notice either. Humm
53
I am glad that Jay-Z is using his fame (&$) to promote this idea of Prop 64.
I wish more wealthy people would use their time and energy doing more advocating for the many. The legalization of marijuana is long overdue.
Why is it if I live in Washington state or Colorado I can today grow and consume a product that where I live would result in a drug SWAT team showing up at my door and then being incarcerated.
Have we ever lived in more hypocritical times as we do right now?
It all about the money generated by keeping it illegal-billions annually.
And the poor pharma business would have competition-can't have that!
I wish more wealthy people would use their time and energy doing more advocating for the many. The legalization of marijuana is long overdue.
Why is it if I live in Washington state or Colorado I can today grow and consume a product that where I live would result in a drug SWAT team showing up at my door and then being incarcerated.
Have we ever lived in more hypocritical times as we do right now?
It all about the money generated by keeping it illegal-billions annually.
And the poor pharma business would have competition-can't have that!
29
Is there some way (an algorithm or big data) so-called news can be directed to relevant audiences? If so, articles dealing with non-whites (particularly blacks) could be made available solely to that audience. For example - the vast majority of white people have no interest in or care about what blacks think or feel. Nothing personal. No animosity. Just not interested. I'm sure the same is true for the non-white people. Why would non-whites be interested in white people? They have little, if anything in common. It seems like the obvious best practices policy for all concerned. Separate but equal, if you will..
7
Coincidentally, I am rewatching the television show 'The Wire'--one of the strongest statements ever made for drug legalization and against the 'War on Drugs.' You have to watch the whole thing, but especially Season 3, to see both the absurdity and the tragedy of the police prosecution of this useless war. The Jay Z video is powerful & I especially liked the scene where the artist re-enacts the famous photo of American soldiers in WW II at Iwo Jima as police officers attacking the drug war. There is nothing patriotic or sensible about making our police force into a quasi-military force. The 'enemy' is not our young men of color.
17
I certainly agree with Mr. Carter's position that the Prohibition of cannabis is an "epic fail". But when he bring his racialism into the picture he's ignoring at least one important fact: most rappers like himself glorify drugs, misogyny and thuggery in their 'rhymes'. A lot of young blacks take this nonsense seriously.
Does Mr. Carter consider this practice helpful to reduce the disparity of whites and blacks imprisoned for drugs? I think he's a little naive if he thinks this music contributes to social justice.
Does Mr. Carter consider this practice helpful to reduce the disparity of whites and blacks imprisoned for drugs? I think he's a little naive if he thinks this music contributes to social justice.
41
Hooray! We need more prominent people drawing attention to the catastrophe that is the war on drugs.
The only responsible thing to do is educate children from kindergarten about the dangers of drugs.
As long as there is demand, somebody will always provide the supply.
Isn't our entire economic system based on that simple truth?
The only responsible thing to do is educate children from kindergarten about the dangers of drugs.
As long as there is demand, somebody will always provide the supply.
Isn't our entire economic system based on that simple truth?
15
It was actually a huge success for the correction corporations. They made huge amounts of money off of this. It is like this legalize drugs like they did with alcohol. Prohibition never works.
15
The War on Drugs is a powerful visual and I was transfixed. Question -- at the end, why are all the presidents since Nixon shown except for the one who has been in office for the past 8 years?? That omission really undercut the effectiveness of this video for me. (and I say this as an ardent supporter of President Obama)
18
It is a FLASE analogy to compare white people legally selling cannabis in Colorado and maybe "getting rich" to black people illegally selling cannabis in Louisiana and maybe going to jail / prison. Doing so only obscures the truth.
That truth is that if you look at it from behind the scenes, the WoD has been from its inception conceived as a tool of political control and happily utilized by law enforcement to target political and social non-desirables, whoever they may be at the moment, and ensure that they were crippled and neutralized.
If you look at it from another perspective, on the surface, yes, it's simply a waste of money and resources on a "war" that can never be won. But that money and those resources are also the bread and butter that law enforcement feasts on and that fuels this perpetual cycle of a never-ending, unwinnable "war," Law enforcement, of course, knows this, but they are in bed with politicians who continue to promote and prolong this useless scenario when they KNOW that things like "drugs" such as cannabis are more benign than alcohol. They're in it for the money. Do you think they want to lose any funding?
Don't expect anything to change until politicians do. Once that happens, law enforcement will then be forced to change
Black people are free to move to Colorado (or Washington, Oregon, Alaska, DC.....) and open their own cannabis growing / selling businesses, where it is LEGAL.
That truth is that if you look at it from behind the scenes, the WoD has been from its inception conceived as a tool of political control and happily utilized by law enforcement to target political and social non-desirables, whoever they may be at the moment, and ensure that they were crippled and neutralized.
If you look at it from another perspective, on the surface, yes, it's simply a waste of money and resources on a "war" that can never be won. But that money and those resources are also the bread and butter that law enforcement feasts on and that fuels this perpetual cycle of a never-ending, unwinnable "war," Law enforcement, of course, knows this, but they are in bed with politicians who continue to promote and prolong this useless scenario when they KNOW that things like "drugs" such as cannabis are more benign than alcohol. They're in it for the money. Do you think they want to lose any funding?
Don't expect anything to change until politicians do. Once that happens, law enforcement will then be forced to change
Black people are free to move to Colorado (or Washington, Oregon, Alaska, DC.....) and open their own cannabis growing / selling businesses, where it is LEGAL.
11
Marijuana never should have been made illegal at the onset. The war on drugs is similar to the war on poverty. It is endless and it is a massive failure. These wars primarily blamed the victims and made pariahs of them. Social engineering was equated with criminality and with morality. The result was to create a vast criminal class and a social underclass of (wrongly believed to exist) morally unfit citizens.
There are common themes that are expressed by those who supported and still support the need for criminal prosecution of marijuana; The first is that users of marijuana and drug users in general are morally unfit. The second is that they are criminals and the third is that they, the users, are responsible for their own illegal addiction and willful disregard of laws against the use of marijuana and drugs. There was also the unfounded belief that poverty begat crime and drug abuse. Never mind that those impoverished actually suffered from lack of access to decent education, decent affordable housing, affordable health care, and most importantly to jobs and the opportunity to join the former middle class.
The unjust marijuana laws did nothing to address the real causes of crime or to lift people out of poverty, despair and hopelessness. The laws only pushed people further from achieving social and economic equality.
Blacks and everyone else imprisoned for minor marijuana offenses should be released. Other drug users (not dealers) should also get a reprieve.
There are common themes that are expressed by those who supported and still support the need for criminal prosecution of marijuana; The first is that users of marijuana and drug users in general are morally unfit. The second is that they are criminals and the third is that they, the users, are responsible for their own illegal addiction and willful disregard of laws against the use of marijuana and drugs. There was also the unfounded belief that poverty begat crime and drug abuse. Never mind that those impoverished actually suffered from lack of access to decent education, decent affordable housing, affordable health care, and most importantly to jobs and the opportunity to join the former middle class.
The unjust marijuana laws did nothing to address the real causes of crime or to lift people out of poverty, despair and hopelessness. The laws only pushed people further from achieving social and economic equality.
Blacks and everyone else imprisoned for minor marijuana offenses should be released. Other drug users (not dealers) should also get a reprieve.
9
All of this coming form a former crack dealer who's music message is drugs, money and whatever. Whats so sad about this whole concept, except for the art work, which is amazing, is that celebrities have to find causes and reasons to keep themselves in the limelight. Jay Z seems to think that being a hypocrite will keep him out front.
28
In spring 1973, I was one of the people who led the first protest demonstration in NYC against the Rockefeller drug laws, a march outside the prison at the corner of 11th Ave and 20th Street, demanding not just repeal of those laws but the decriminalization of all drugs from heroin on down.
It was obvious at the time to every thoughtful person that the “War on Drugs” was never intended to decrease drug use, but rather to increase it, and thereby swell the budgets and perks for the governmental agencies troughing up for funds to wage this phony war (and also provide money for secret ops and alliances aimed at suppressing democratic movements in the Americas).
No capitalist could ever have believed the war on drugs would do anything but expand drug use enormously. Nothing was more obvious than that governmental actions to choke down easy availability of drugs would put the market forces of capitalism, the most powerful economic engine humanity has ever developed, into galvanizing entrepreneurial activities to create customers by spreading drug use to areas and individuals never before involved in drug use.
The explosive growth of drug use was the real goal of the so-called war on drugs, and for the rapacious governmental and law enforcement agencies who have been able to milk it all these decades for hundreds of billions of dollars, social acclaim, and paramilitary hardware to play with and enforce anti-democratic power structures, it has been an enormous success.
It was obvious at the time to every thoughtful person that the “War on Drugs” was never intended to decrease drug use, but rather to increase it, and thereby swell the budgets and perks for the governmental agencies troughing up for funds to wage this phony war (and also provide money for secret ops and alliances aimed at suppressing democratic movements in the Americas).
No capitalist could ever have believed the war on drugs would do anything but expand drug use enormously. Nothing was more obvious than that governmental actions to choke down easy availability of drugs would put the market forces of capitalism, the most powerful economic engine humanity has ever developed, into galvanizing entrepreneurial activities to create customers by spreading drug use to areas and individuals never before involved in drug use.
The explosive growth of drug use was the real goal of the so-called war on drugs, and for the rapacious governmental and law enforcement agencies who have been able to milk it all these decades for hundreds of billions of dollars, social acclaim, and paramilitary hardware to play with and enforce anti-democratic power structures, it has been an enormous success.
13
"Coddorado" repudiated the determination of its People to legalize cannabis by making it up to a level 1 drug felony in 2013; all sales of cannabis across most of the State are felonies as is growing just seven plants for personal use. Our incompetent, lying media have repeated the false claim that "Colorado legalized marijuana" so many times that few can imagine the truth: a counterrevolution against our Constitution has been underway since passage of Amendment 64. C.R.S. 18-18-406 contradicts constitutional protections for the use of cannabis and outrages the express intent of the Amendment (as stated in its "Purpose and findings" section).
6
Addiction is a truly democratic disease. It does not care who you are - if you are human you can become an addict. Equality is guaranteed when using drugs and alcohol.
Equality is not guaranteed in America. Separate and NOT equal is assured when the problem of drugs and addiction is approached from a dominant white government. Drugs have been used to keep the black community "in its place'.
It is a very ugly fact. And it is being exposed finally.
Equality is not guaranteed in America. Separate and NOT equal is assured when the problem of drugs and addiction is approached from a dominant white government. Drugs have been used to keep the black community "in its place'.
It is a very ugly fact. And it is being exposed finally.
7
This was an amazing film showing facts, that were left unknown to many, as well as myself, it also show‘s how important the “Black Live Matter Movement “is to African American’s The movement for Justice and Equality for Black People not just Whites, The Woke Tee sold at the “Made In America” concert was wore by blacks and whites showing that all people are tired of the present situation with African American’s living in America. I was shocked to see how many people who purchased this particular tee-shirt. (Earning the “woke” badge is a particularly tantalizing prospect because it implies that you're down with the historical fight against prejudice) Shawn Carter impressed me with the shirts as well as this short film. Although the film pointed out what most of us already know, it also revealed another fight that black face in attempting to become owners and legal distributors of a legal drug that the government is making billions of dollars from.
8
I'm afraid Mr. Obama is not helping this cause, either. As I just received as response from the White House from my letter asking for legalization before leaving office! His answer was that Marijuana was detrimental to the future of America and the growth of young minds and he would NEVER seek legalization of Cannabis or any other already scheduled narcotic!
So much from the man who use to be a crack addict and probably smoked more weed than Snoop Dogg?!
So much from the man who use to be a crack addict and probably smoked more weed than Snoop Dogg?!
5
The real issue should be "How much damage does drug use do society (rich/poor/black/white/... regardless of whether it's legal? Can addicts/users hold a job? raise a family?" A simple "let's put everyone in jail" isn't going to work - the underlying social issues are the real problem.
13
I agree with pretty much everything said. But in the last image of the presidents why is Obama not included?
Here are some of the key findings from the report:
Over the course of Obama’s first term as president, his administration spent nearly $300 million on marijuana enforcement in states where medical cannabis had already been legalized.
Between 1996 and 2013, the federal government conducted 528 raids on medical marijuana dispensaries.
During Obama’s first term as president, his administration oversaw 270 raids on medical marijuana dispensaries.
Between 2009 and 2013, President Obama’s administration spent $100 million more cracking down on medical marijuana dispensaries than George W. Bush’s did.
https://www.greenrushdaily.com/2016/02/24/number-dispensary-raids-risen-...
Here are some of the key findings from the report:
Over the course of Obama’s first term as president, his administration spent nearly $300 million on marijuana enforcement in states where medical cannabis had already been legalized.
Between 1996 and 2013, the federal government conducted 528 raids on medical marijuana dispensaries.
During Obama’s first term as president, his administration oversaw 270 raids on medical marijuana dispensaries.
Between 2009 and 2013, President Obama’s administration spent $100 million more cracking down on medical marijuana dispensaries than George W. Bush’s did.
https://www.greenrushdaily.com/2016/02/24/number-dispensary-raids-risen-...
27
Before halfway through, I was cursing in anger watching the injustice brilliantly portrayed by this video. It's true: the war on drugs is another racist tool. By the light of that truth may all drug laws be reexamined and changed or moderated to reflect not only common sense, but justice for all. By the light of that truth, may justice include those men and women who have already been sentenced to suffer the injustices of our country's failed war on drugs. Former felons can't sell medical marijuana? Give me a break.
7
People in other parts of the world just don't understand Americans' widespread use of drugs. It is difficult to explain to them why we have so many people addicted to drug use and to getting high/stoned.
6
The War on Drugs has not been an "Epic Fail" for everyone.
In some cases it created fantastic results.
A prime example is the Republic of Colombia, who is weeks away from signing a historic peace agreement to end 50 years of war. This agreement would never have been possible without the financial aid from the American government and the war on drugs.
In some cases it created fantastic results.
A prime example is the Republic of Colombia, who is weeks away from signing a historic peace agreement to end 50 years of war. This agreement would never have been possible without the financial aid from the American government and the war on drugs.
3
When you put people in prison you ruin their lives. So, they had some illegal drugs on them, which could have negative impacts on them and the lives of those around them and they are arrested to try to stem the flow. When they are placed in prison, the negative impact on them and that of their family and community it not merely assumed, it is certain.
Most people never recover from several years in prison, economically, socially and psychologically. They are returned to the streets wounded, nearly unemployable and thus almost incapable of supporting themselves or their families. This is the appropriate response to people seeking pleasure, a high, from taking drugs?
White America was scared, upset and determined to do something following the massive urban riots of the late 1960s. One side of the coin was anti-poverty programs. The other was to crack down on the black community as never before, to pass draconian laws that required long, mandatory prison sentences for even the lowest level of drug dealing. In her book, "From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime", Elizabeth Hinton deals with how one "crusade" easily morphed into another, making America the greatest incarceration nation in the world.
The tragedy is how long and how difficult it is to turn off the industrial-prison complex and, further, how very difficult it is to change the minds of those involved in throwing people in jail. Arrest is one of the most common life experiences for young black men in America.
Most people never recover from several years in prison, economically, socially and psychologically. They are returned to the streets wounded, nearly unemployable and thus almost incapable of supporting themselves or their families. This is the appropriate response to people seeking pleasure, a high, from taking drugs?
White America was scared, upset and determined to do something following the massive urban riots of the late 1960s. One side of the coin was anti-poverty programs. The other was to crack down on the black community as never before, to pass draconian laws that required long, mandatory prison sentences for even the lowest level of drug dealing. In her book, "From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime", Elizabeth Hinton deals with how one "crusade" easily morphed into another, making America the greatest incarceration nation in the world.
The tragedy is how long and how difficult it is to turn off the industrial-prison complex and, further, how very difficult it is to change the minds of those involved in throwing people in jail. Arrest is one of the most common life experiences for young black men in America.
8
Even Stevie Wonder can see that the war on drugs has been not only a failure in terms of reducing drug use, it has been a boon to law enforcement who has seen their budgets for manpower and equipment skyrocket. Concerning the differences in sentencing, this began in the 80's when Crack cocaine began to decimate urban Black communities. The thought was that if prison terms were harsher, people would stop selling crack (which was way cheaper and more potent than powdered cocaine) in the Black communities. It didnt happen and even though the federal government began reducing the sentences to match powder cocaine, it didnt begin until around 2011. Its past time to rethink how we combat drug use and start looking at what really works. Many countries including Portugal have focused on treatment instead of prison with great results as well as a reduction in prison populations.
3
While I agree with the basic premise that the War on drugs is a failure, this video perpetuates the myth that people are being incarcerated for possession of marijuana. This is simply false. There are many who are arrested/suspected of much more serious crimes who make a plea deal, agreeing to serve time for pot possession if the other charges are dropped. When data is collected these cases look like someone was put in prison for simple possession, when in fact this is not the case (although it may be the only charge now on record). Just as Al Capone went to prison for tax evasion 9though suspected of much more serious crimes), people get incarcerated for possession only when a plea deal is made to avoid much more serious charges. This is why all the incarceration data is flawed and deceptive.
13
Of all the news and events and opinions this is what the NY Times believes is good journalism or opinion? Wow. It is another example of shallow, poorly contrived race bating polemics.
First, as a society evolves it will have good laws and bad laws. We may not like that but that is how it is. It is about progress as perfection is an ideal that is unreachable.
The narrative of this "opinion" is about oppression not drug legalization per se. We therefore need to believe that the causation of the crackdown of illegal drugs (the war on drugs) was not to enforce the law but to throw young men of color into jail - and therefore create a criminal class. It is a grand conspiracy theory that is popular but not proven. The laws were enacted to protect people - as flawed as they may be.
As for the statement "Why are white men poised to get rich doing the same thing African-Americans have been going to prison for?" False. African-Americans can get rich too, but not felons or, in Jay Z's case, a former drug dealer (apparently he had no choice) and a felon that is now a wealthy man looking to invest in marijuana business. Oh, white felons cannot invest too.
Poverty and lack of opportunity causes good people to make decisions that might get them in trouble with the law. This was and is especially true in the inner cities as well as rural areas.
We need new drug laws, but not revisionism to drive the case. And certainly not from Jay Z.
First, as a society evolves it will have good laws and bad laws. We may not like that but that is how it is. It is about progress as perfection is an ideal that is unreachable.
The narrative of this "opinion" is about oppression not drug legalization per se. We therefore need to believe that the causation of the crackdown of illegal drugs (the war on drugs) was not to enforce the law but to throw young men of color into jail - and therefore create a criminal class. It is a grand conspiracy theory that is popular but not proven. The laws were enacted to protect people - as flawed as they may be.
As for the statement "Why are white men poised to get rich doing the same thing African-Americans have been going to prison for?" False. African-Americans can get rich too, but not felons or, in Jay Z's case, a former drug dealer (apparently he had no choice) and a felon that is now a wealthy man looking to invest in marijuana business. Oh, white felons cannot invest too.
Poverty and lack of opportunity causes good people to make decisions that might get them in trouble with the law. This was and is especially true in the inner cities as well as rural areas.
We need new drug laws, but not revisionism to drive the case. And certainly not from Jay Z.
13
Where can I buy the artwork created in the piece. Beautiful.
I'm not here to confirm or disprove the veracity or otherwise of this video. The one thing I love is the art work and Jay Z's smooth and artistic narration :)
1
I just want to get envolved. Please, take me to your leaders. All us "Fat Cats" aka old white men need to get out of our comfortable lives and force our ignorant peers out of the way so we can start moving to solve the problems of our out of control government.
Again, make contact with me so I can help you stare down the "Fat Cats" running the integrity of our country down.
Love the tune Shawn, contact me!
Again, make contact with me so I can help you stare down the "Fat Cats" running the integrity of our country down.
Love the tune Shawn, contact me!
1
Drug use should be treated as a health issue, not a legal issue.
6
The war on drugs is an insane policy. This war on drugs has been going on for 40 something years, drug usage is up and the prison population is a national disgrace. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results so that perfectly describes the failed war on drugs. We now have a huge prison industrial/criminal justice complex with a huge number of people feasting at the trough of this insanity.
6
The war on drugs may have failed, but it seems to have been very profitable for Jay Z.
18
Brilliant film and more prescient than ever with the impending election which may signal an opportunity for change on drug laws, incarceration policy and recognition of our justice system's entrenched double standard on these issues. This should be required viewing in our nation's schools!
2
Sing it brother.
The scales have fallen from our eyes.
The scales have fallen from our eyes.
3
I am really getting tired of the "the reason there are so many blacks and minorities in jail is that so many of us commit crimes" so things are as they should be. Numbers that reveal the truth are so easily used to distort it as well. So blacks make up approx 13% of the US population in 2015. That's about 40 million ppl. Even if we make up 31% of the prison pop, which is just over 2.2 million as of 2015, or less than 1% of the total population, that's about 700, 000 of all prisoners. So there are not so many of us committing crimes and the majority of us are not in jail or in prison.
We work, we pay taxes, and we just wanted to treated with the respect and dignity that we have earned as individuals who are minorities. And since we still live in a very segregated country, where people of color live around mostly other people of color, the real victims here are the innocent, hardworking people who are both terrorized by the criminals in their communities and then maligned as likely being criminals themselves because they are black or Hispanic and have the misfortune to live in a high crime, drug infested area because maybe that is all they can afford.
We work, we pay taxes, and we just wanted to treated with the respect and dignity that we have earned as individuals who are minorities. And since we still live in a very segregated country, where people of color live around mostly other people of color, the real victims here are the innocent, hardworking people who are both terrorized by the criminals in their communities and then maligned as likely being criminals themselves because they are black or Hispanic and have the misfortune to live in a high crime, drug infested area because maybe that is all they can afford.
115
Yes it's the numbers that and distortion in the math, that's what's wrong here.
Sorry, police don't simply walk around the streets picking up ten innocent and putting them in jail. I know that what many want to think but it's simply not true.
Sell drugs, go to jail. More blacks drugs than whites (or at least get caught more) so there's the math in a nutshell.
Sorry, police don't simply walk around the streets picking up ten innocent and putting them in jail. I know that what many want to think but it's simply not true.
Sell drugs, go to jail. More blacks drugs than whites (or at least get caught more) so there's the math in a nutshell.
9
All well and good to let marijuana offenders out of prison and expunge their record, but if there isn't some kind of 're-entry' program for those incarcerated long periods, many will simply be returned to prison breaking other laws.
The entire 'War on Drugs' was so poorly conceived and carried out so poorly for so many years, some sudden shift will do little to help those for whom it has been so awful. Yes, the shift must take place, but hopefully it will be done with a lot more thought into the long-term repercussions of change.
The entire 'War on Drugs' was so poorly conceived and carried out so poorly for so many years, some sudden shift will do little to help those for whom it has been so awful. Yes, the shift must take place, but hopefully it will be done with a lot more thought into the long-term repercussions of change.
18
Surveys that show whites and blacks use and sell drugs at the same rate are meaningless when it comes to arrests rates. The surveys ask respondents if they have used or sold drugs within the past year. A person who took one puff on a marijuana cigarette passed around a party six months ago gives the same answer to that question as a person who smokes marijuana daily and habitually carries a supply of marijuana cigarettes. A person who made a one-time marijuana, cocaine, or heroine buy and resold some to his friends gives the same answer as a dealer who conducts dozens of drug transactions a day. To have relevance to arrest rates, the surveys would have to ask respondents is they are drug dealers or routinely buy and carry around a supply of drugs for their personal use.
20
How would you say this applies to the racial disparity in population/drug arrests?
2
Good points. And if someone uses or sells drugs in public, like on a street, then they are much more likely to get arrested than if they use/sell drugs in private, like in a home. People who live in cities are more likely to be using or selling in public than those who live outside of cities. And African-Americans are more likely to live in urban areas than whites.
6
Why are there so many blacks and minorities in jail?! Because they commit most of the crimes! JayZ should talk, as he has been in jail many times for many things! Listen to the obnoxious violent rap noise. And look at Baltimore and Ferguson and Reading PA and Philly, Los Angeles and Miami. Just because you are poor, doesn't mean you should commit crimes or use drugs including pot. Stop using drugs including so called medical pot marijuana! Get tougher on crimes and drugs especially pot, not weaker! All drugs are addictive and make people stupid and commit crimes to get their next fix. What part of DOPE don't you understand?! Jail all who use drugs permanently. Stop littering, listening to rap noise, committing crimes, destroying your neighborhood and other's property, guns, drugs, etc and all will be fine. Get tougher on crimes not weaker.
Only those who use drugs including pot, are the ones who want weaker laws not stronger so that they don't get busted and go to jail. War on drugs IS working but ONLY if we get tougher not weaker. Simple.
Only those who use drugs including pot, are the ones who want weaker laws not stronger so that they don't get busted and go to jail. War on drugs IS working but ONLY if we get tougher not weaker. Simple.
20
What nonsense! I agree that rap is noise; but the noise you're making is just as loud and just as dumb.
6
We should have learned our lesson from prohibition and its role in the emergence of organized crime. Cultural differences in the way people engage in the drug trade probably explains a lot of the difference in incarceration rates. Drug dealing can be done in a covert fashion or in a very conspicuous and threatening fashion, and there are consistent cultural differences in how the drug trade is conducted.
26
> We should have learned our lesson from prohibition and its role in the emergence of organized crime.
We learned to rationalize the govt's violation of individual rights, inc/the right to property.
We learned to rationalize the govt's violation of individual rights, inc/the right to property.
3
The war against drugs
is still red hot,
It is a war that has caught
the imagination
of the powers up high,
against the highs
of a people
looking for an out
in tumultuous times,
looking for pleasure in pain,
or relief from fear,
or fun
when the back breaking work is done,
or trips into the unknown
to discover what the mind is
when it is blown--
Even if it is not pretty
what some minds are
when they are blown,
How are they saved
by the war on drugs?
How are they saved
behind the walls of a prison?
How are they redeemed
when how and what they crave
or chase relentlessly
is chased as a crime
relentlessly
by the law?
is still red hot,
It is a war that has caught
the imagination
of the powers up high,
against the highs
of a people
looking for an out
in tumultuous times,
looking for pleasure in pain,
or relief from fear,
or fun
when the back breaking work is done,
or trips into the unknown
to discover what the mind is
when it is blown--
Even if it is not pretty
what some minds are
when they are blown,
How are they saved
by the war on drugs?
How are they saved
behind the walls of a prison?
How are they redeemed
when how and what they crave
or chase relentlessly
is chased as a crime
relentlessly
by the law?
1
Why is this written in verse?
3
Great video. Great artwork. Powerful and important message. The war on drugs has indeed been an epic fail. The blatant institutional racism and injustice to black and brown citizens - yet one more example - perhaps the most powerful one in terms of devastation brought to poor communities of color - is there for everyone to see, but denied by the Trump deplorables who believe there is no racism against blacks and that if anyone is a victim of racism today it's whites, who are falsely charged with being racist and while being victimized by Mexicans, Muslims and violent Blacks who are driving the country into a hellhole for all those innocent, great Whites. Even for his obvious, last-minute con job "outreach" to blacks, Trump never talks about reforming drug laws or the criminal "justice" system or the prison industrial complex or police brutality or the lack of equal protection under the law.
Now Jay-Z is a talented artist and even better and astute businessman. I'm glad he is promoting this important message. But there is some real irony in the fact that Jay-Z carefully crafted persona and in many ways his success is based on his being a small time drug-dealer when he was coming of age during the Reagan war on drugs. Let me cynical enough to say that even this video is designed to help his brand. Seems like Jay-Z also figured out how to profit and make millions and even billions from the war on drugs.
Now Jay-Z is a talented artist and even better and astute businessman. I'm glad he is promoting this important message. But there is some real irony in the fact that Jay-Z carefully crafted persona and in many ways his success is based on his being a small time drug-dealer when he was coming of age during the Reagan war on drugs. Let me cynical enough to say that even this video is designed to help his brand. Seems like Jay-Z also figured out how to profit and make millions and even billions from the war on drugs.
38
Most drug laws are stupid. Anyone being put in jail for marijuana is a waste of time. The war on drugs has to be intellectualized. If all drugs were legal there would be few drug crimes.
But I don't think the police Focus on black people to arrest them for drugs. I think it has more to do with the crime rate the murder rate the violent crime rate that blacks are involved in that cause this discrepancy. Let's not forget the blacks are eight times more likely to murder than the next group on the list. It was the black communities that called for something to be done that brought along the crime bill. The police are just scapegoats for BLM and other far left ne'er-do-wells.
But I don't think the police Focus on black people to arrest them for drugs. I think it has more to do with the crime rate the murder rate the violent crime rate that blacks are involved in that cause this discrepancy. Let's not forget the blacks are eight times more likely to murder than the next group on the list. It was the black communities that called for something to be done that brought along the crime bill. The police are just scapegoats for BLM and other far left ne'er-do-wells.
13
There is never an end to the lies and distortions. It's tiring and we're sick of it.
1
You miss the point, skater 242. As the people from LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) say eloquently:
"History has shown that drug prohibition reduces neither use nor abuse. After a rapist is arrested, there are fewer rapes. After a drug dealer is arrested, however, neither the supply nor the demand for drugs is seriously changed. The arrest merely creates a job opening for an endless stream of drug entrepreneurs who will take huge risks for the sake of the enormous profits created by prohibition. Prohibition costs taxpayers tens of billions of dollars every year, yet 40 years and some 40 million arrests later, drugs are cheaper, more potent and far more widely used than at the beginning of this futile crusade."
"History has shown that drug prohibition reduces neither use nor abuse. After a rapist is arrested, there are fewer rapes. After a drug dealer is arrested, however, neither the supply nor the demand for drugs is seriously changed. The arrest merely creates a job opening for an endless stream of drug entrepreneurs who will take huge risks for the sake of the enormous profits created by prohibition. Prohibition costs taxpayers tens of billions of dollars every year, yet 40 years and some 40 million arrests later, drugs are cheaper, more potent and far more widely used than at the beginning of this futile crusade."
123
Why no one asks the simplest question of all: How do we make Americans stop consuming drugs?
6
That's a simple but deep question. In my opinion Americans are using drugs to help cope with the fake life we're are sold but 99% will never achieve.
That question opens up pandora's box!
That question opens up pandora's box!
7
"why do I keep comparing myself to crackers when Lead Poisoning starts with me?"
Arresting and prosecuting people for drug offenses guarantees one thing - they will forever be tarnished by their criminal record. They will have a hard time getting employment, will not be eligible for student loans. Very often the hopelessness of the situation will send them right back into the drug of choice that got them into trouble in the first place. What is needed is treatment, compassion, and understanding; not judgment and alienation. Portugal has legalized drugs and the positive effects of this are astounding. Clearly what we have been doing in this country is not working. Look at the number of overdose deaths that are increasing daily. It is way past time for change.
10
No matter how sad the consequences. When you break the law their are consequences. If we decided tomorrow that drinking and driving is okay, should we turn everyone loose that has been arrested back onto our highways. If you know what the law is, or was at the time. And you decide to do it anyway, that shows poor judgement. The same poor judgement that will be turned out back on the streets to make perhaps even worse decisions.
4
Law and morality are two different things. The Nazis had all kinds of wonderfully morale laws. THe confederacy had laws regarding slavery.
2
The present-day version of the 19th-century debtors' prison, where incarceration guaranteed the inability to pay back your creditors. Madness defined.
7
Its a matter of choices and consequences. Right or wrong, it is illegal, you knew that going in. You made a choice and there are consequences attached. Deal with it.
4
Nice going, putting an ex-Brooklyn drug dealer on your opinon pages to bloviate about who we should be locking up -- anyone but him. That's Trump-ian hypocrisy, especially for someone who skirted jail time himself. He should be thankful, keep his mouth shut, count his millions and stick to being a second banana in the entertainment world.
29
while this was fun, and true, I'm not sure what it adds that hasn't been said before.
Also, by highlighting the racial aspects, it's not helping because that feeds into national fault lines on a subject more touchy and divisive than the debate about drugs. Do you want to be right, or solve the problem? Because shouting about why you're right can undermine solving it. People dont' like to admit they're wrong, and especially that they support something that's racist.
When we equate tough drug laws with racism, what anti-drug people hear is that they're racists, and no one wants to be that or admit being that if they are, so they double down on being anti-drug.
Also, to contrast very recent laws in Colorado and elsewhere against how it was in the 90s in NY is weak. in fact, NY has relaxed many drug possession laws, especially marijuana, and this is true in many states.
Legalizing marijuana and loosening drug possession laws has broad cross-political appeal, and we should continue to discuss the issue in a way that leads to positive action instead of further feeding the poisonous national divide over who is a racist and why.
Also, by highlighting the racial aspects, it's not helping because that feeds into national fault lines on a subject more touchy and divisive than the debate about drugs. Do you want to be right, or solve the problem? Because shouting about why you're right can undermine solving it. People dont' like to admit they're wrong, and especially that they support something that's racist.
When we equate tough drug laws with racism, what anti-drug people hear is that they're racists, and no one wants to be that or admit being that if they are, so they double down on being anti-drug.
Also, to contrast very recent laws in Colorado and elsewhere against how it was in the 90s in NY is weak. in fact, NY has relaxed many drug possession laws, especially marijuana, and this is true in many states.
Legalizing marijuana and loosening drug possession laws has broad cross-political appeal, and we should continue to discuss the issue in a way that leads to positive action instead of further feeding the poisonous national divide over who is a racist and why.
7
Who better to tell you that the war on drugs has failed than a drug dealer.
33
SO true.
2
I am a 65 yo female with a family history of Alzheimer's onset in elder years. I read that THC/marijuana has a potential to prevent/reduce dementia based - at present - on studies with rats engineered to develop Alzheimer's. I WANT to try to PREVENT a disease that is likely to descend upon me in the next decade by using marijuana (as a college student in late sixties, I'm not marijuana-naive). Yet I live in a state with draconian penalties for being found with only one joint (as a male acquaintance in his thirties experienced within last three years) - and felony status for larger amounts (as an acquaintance of my children discovered when carrying a half-pound within the last decade.) So I'm facing a deadly disease with few medical options for prevention/treatment - and I want the marijuana option given my familial medical time bomb BUT I'm in Texas. No medical marijuana laws and a great fear of the legal consequences of illegal drug transactions.
Yes, the drug laws have failed us - with the greatest burden falling on our African-American citizens, but a significant burden nonetheless on the remainder of us.
Yes, the drug laws have failed us - with the greatest burden falling on our African-American citizens, but a significant burden nonetheless on the remainder of us.
13
For anyone who doubts the accuracy of Shawn Carter/Jay Z's claims in this article and accompanying video, please go pick up a copy of "Chasing the Scream" by Johann Hari. It is a very readable and well-researched book on the history of the war on drugs. The accounts, the legwork, and the data all point toward an incredibly biased and destructive system. The argument for a new and more equitable policy on the legal classification of drugs is in no way a cop-out or defense of poor decisions of addicted people or loophole for violent criminals to exploit. What we have had is questionable policy compounded all along with selective enforcement. The wealthy or connected have always had an advantage in avoiding scrutiny and harsh outcomes while the residents of red-lined neighborhoods have suffered greatly from the combination of unregulated substances, hyper-competitive violence, and intense policing that are part and parcel of flawed us vs. them policies. Don't marginalize the views of a hip-hop artist for the sake of a comfortable knee-jerk reaction. Think about why so many people with small amounts of drugs have had their lives harmed irreparably and their freedom taken away for long periods of time because the only tool we seem to want to use on this issue is a hammer.
21
The war on drugs was, in reality a covert attempt to ethnically cleanse America of as much of its Afro-Americans population as is possible in a covert operation.
Britain overtly culled its population of undesirables (Scots, Irish) in a similar fashion. It passed a series of draconian laws, and sent the convicted criminals to Australia, its penal colony on the other side of the world. That option no longer existed for America in the 60s, if it did, I have no doubt it would have been tried.
Seeking innovative ways to limit Afro-American's political impact after the passing of the Civil rights act, White America decided to stealthily cull the Black population in a similar fashion. The war on drugs was a cover for this. By creating a dual tracked justice system, with the Black track designed to incarcerate as many people, predominantly young males, as possible for as long as possible. It worked. In most societies minorities tend to have slightly higher reproduction rates than the general population. The Afro-American community has remained stable, because the more young Afro-American males in prison, the less Afro-American babies.
Britain overtly culled its population of undesirables (Scots, Irish) in a similar fashion. It passed a series of draconian laws, and sent the convicted criminals to Australia, its penal colony on the other side of the world. That option no longer existed for America in the 60s, if it did, I have no doubt it would have been tried.
Seeking innovative ways to limit Afro-American's political impact after the passing of the Civil rights act, White America decided to stealthily cull the Black population in a similar fashion. The war on drugs was a cover for this. By creating a dual tracked justice system, with the Black track designed to incarcerate as many people, predominantly young males, as possible for as long as possible. It worked. In most societies minorities tend to have slightly higher reproduction rates than the general population. The Afro-American community has remained stable, because the more young Afro-American males in prison, the less Afro-American babies.
11
Thank you. We're not all ignorant and stupid. We are well aware of what is going on and why.
Completely disagree with the logic and conclusion but love the presentation. Well done.
1
My position:
Legalize ALL of it. Marijuana, cocaine, heroine...ALL of it. Then retroactively pardon, compensate, and expunge the records of anybody previously convicted of a drug-related "offense".
The war on drugs is and has been constitutionally suspect and morally indefensible from the beginning.
Legalize ALL of it. Marijuana, cocaine, heroine...ALL of it. Then retroactively pardon, compensate, and expunge the records of anybody previously convicted of a drug-related "offense".
The war on drugs is and has been constitutionally suspect and morally indefensible from the beginning.
19
You've obviously never spent any quality time with a tweaker.
4
Would you do away with drug treatment programs? If not, I guess they'd be limited only to accepting self referrals – in other words, no court-, no hospital overdose-, no workplace-, or no family-referrals.
Would you want drug testing for safety sensitive safety employees? For example, pilots and flight crew/mechanics; train engineers and switch operators; semi-truck and school bus drivers; subway operators; pipeline and hazmat operators; ship captains and crews?
Would you want police officers and firefighters to be tested? Folks with secret and top secret clearances? Would you want armed services (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Reserves to be drug tested?
Would you want drug testing for safety sensitive safety employees? For example, pilots and flight crew/mechanics; train engineers and switch operators; semi-truck and school bus drivers; subway operators; pipeline and hazmat operators; ship captains and crews?
Would you want police officers and firefighters to be tested? Folks with secret and top secret clearances? Would you want armed services (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Reserves to be drug tested?
4
JZ asks, why is there not more compassion shown to drug dealers? You've got to be kidding me. Drug dealers (of all races) enrich themselves by exploiting people inflicted with what JZ himself refers to as an illness. Yet, he wants more compassion show to these criminals?! Drug dealers are a step or two below pedophiles among society's predators. Listen closely to the language of this video and you will note his use of the passive voice as a way to create the dichotomy in which "whites are getting rich" while "blacks are going to jail." Yes, institutionalized racism exists but let's see some numbers. I'm not exactly sure what is the main point here: Drugs should be legalized and this will solve the problems of black America? It's always a bit sad when I hear JZ's bumbling and inarticulate attempts to be a philosopher and social critic.
12
I agree with you, but "blacks are going to jail" is in not the passive voice.
1
A mass war on anything is destined to be an epic fail. A mass war on something that has colored humanity for millennia is simply laughable. Beyond ending the war on drugs, we must investigate the therapeutic properties of these substances, specifically marijuana (THC and CBD) and MDMA (May have usage against depression, PTSD, etc.). If the federal government wants to regain a positive standing in the eyes of its citizens, it can start by reclassifying marijuana, currently schedule 1. That's the same as heroin, and means that no federal dollars can go into researching its potential benefits. I would wager that many of humanities greatest ideas and most beautiful creations have been made by creators dabbling in some sort of mentally mind altering substance. Renee, our epic fail isn't smoking weed instead of building a better world. It's not smoking weed to realize the beauty of the world that already surrounds us.
1
The war on drugs can only be considered a failure if you believe the goal was to help Americans deal with the problems associated with drug use. It is a complete success if your goal was to increase the state resources that go to police and prisons. Police and prison officials have profited in ways they could only dream of while schools flounder and fail to teach students the basic skills they need to be successful. America learned a great lesson from the war on drugs: As long as you attack poor brown people - people will support you or at least ignore the issue. Of course if one is going to condemn the system that created the violent horror of our police/prison system, it might be noted that this system also created Jay Z's massive wealth.
6
"Epic Fail" does not begin to adequately characterizing the War on Drugs. In the last four decades, Federal and State governments have spent over ONE TRILLION OF YOUR TAX DOLLARS to fight this "war" and where are we? When right here, right now, anyone, any age, anywhere can get any drug they want whenever they want it, guess what? This is not only a war you're losing, but it's a war you cannot win. Until and unless the government decides to seriously consider the de-criminaliztion of all drugs, it will continue to waste ungodly amounts of money for no defensible reason. I would urge people to set aside their prejudices and, instead, seriously evaluates the pros and cons of legalization in a rational and constructive manner.
50
This has long been a social justice issue which has decimated communities of color for decades. As it's been an extreme policy developed under the guise of "keeping our communities safe" it has served the white power structure in maintaining institutional, individual and structure racism while blaming black and Latino men of failing to live up to their responsibilities as fathers and family men. Blame the victims and let the children grow up without positive roles models to look up to. I applaud Jaz Z et.al. in adding to the voices in bringing additional awareness. However, raising awareness is not enough. We need an increase in non-violent social action across this country which has the potential of becoming more welcoming to its growing coloring.
23
If you have any doubt that there are people who can rise above their trials and oppression and take responsibility to do so themselves and take some joy in it, read "The Education of Little Tree."
3
First, I agree that the war on drugs is just as much a failure as Prohibition was, and has make criminals rich and powerful. It was mostly Italian-Americans who made it during Prohibition, and it is mostly people of color now; and in both cases the upper echelon's did little time while the street people paid with their lives, either killed or jailed.
However, I feel little sympathy for either group. When one participates in an activity one knows is illegal, one has to be prepared to suffer punishment when caught.
In a perfectly just world all those who break the law would be punished and none of those who do not would be. Those who are caught and punished are not suffering injustice; they did the crime and now do the time. The people who are not caught are the examples of injustice, they have broken the law with impunity and should be caught, tried , and punished.
I see this as two completely separate issues. First, the laws need to be changed. What a person wants to put into his or her body is that person's business, be it pot, crack, cigarettes, or giant sodas. Secondly, however, as long as the laws are on the books, those who decide to break them should be punished in accordance with the laws.
As to Prop 64 in California, how is that even legal? I thought the Constitution prohibited ex post facto laws, and retroactively changing the law is a textbook example of one.
However, I feel little sympathy for either group. When one participates in an activity one knows is illegal, one has to be prepared to suffer punishment when caught.
In a perfectly just world all those who break the law would be punished and none of those who do not would be. Those who are caught and punished are not suffering injustice; they did the crime and now do the time. The people who are not caught are the examples of injustice, they have broken the law with impunity and should be caught, tried , and punished.
I see this as two completely separate issues. First, the laws need to be changed. What a person wants to put into his or her body is that person's business, be it pot, crack, cigarettes, or giant sodas. Secondly, however, as long as the laws are on the books, those who decide to break them should be punished in accordance with the laws.
As to Prop 64 in California, how is that even legal? I thought the Constitution prohibited ex post facto laws, and retroactively changing the law is a textbook example of one.
2
Prop 64 passed 60-40 in California and it reduces any drug possession charges to misdemeanors the people have spoken period, laws can always be changed.
2
It's difficult to accept moralizing from a former drug dealer who also celebrates that lifestyle. Drug intervention is not a failure like social programs are not failures. Difficult problems defy simplistic definitions of success or failure. Sentencing is one issue. Black incarceration is one issue. Crack cocaine and marijuana are radically different drugs with radically different solutions. The world is long on folks like Mr. Combs (and Donal Trump) who will light fires of discontent without offering real solutions, but short on folks like the Brooklyn DA, Ken Thompson, who focuses on DNA evidence to legitimize convictions. I prefer the latter.
BTW: Here's an article in the NYT, factually stating the opposite of failure: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/27/us/drop-in-homicide-rate-linked-to-cra...
BTW: Here's an article in the NYT, factually stating the opposite of failure: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/27/us/drop-in-homicide-rate-linked-to-cra...
7
Great expression of truths, but what's not being said or understood is the so call War on Drugs was the POC proof of concept for privatized prisons. Much like Wall Street with the housing market. The Government allowed individuals to gain access to home they knew they could feasibility afford to flood the market with unrealized growth to sell Securities at high returns. Much like drugs crime laws. Give the little man harsh time they'll roll on the Big Guys (Government) but who cares the process flow for retention is high amongst economic crimes that we will have live stock (prisoners) generations over to earn money from below wage work, while placing the Middle Class in the path of drug usage to keep the demand of supply high. All generating income, debt and profits depending on which bucket your interest falls in your happy with the outcome.
Love it all but confused at the end... why is Obama not on there in the drawing?
i know they also left out carter i think and ford, but ...
Were at the end of an 8 year term that hasnt changed most of the policies described here... because hes a friend of Jay? bc hes not white? just detracts from what is otherwise a powerful message..
i know they also left out carter i think and ford, but ...
Were at the end of an 8 year term that hasnt changed most of the policies described here... because hes a friend of Jay? bc hes not white? just detracts from what is otherwise a powerful message..
4
This is fascinatingly dishonest, and typical of Jay-Z's epic dishonesty. It puts the viewer in a weird position, because everything he is saying is true, but he is the worst possible person to be saying it. It is true that many many blacks are incarcerated for what should be very minor offenses. But HE is the worst of the worst. He wasn't smoking dope or selling a little weed, he was a crack DEALER. It's also true that it's unfair that whites and blacks get different punishments for the same crime, but that doesn't mean hard drugs aren't still a scourge, especially on the black community. He is really a degenerate. He has it all twisted around to think this means HE is not a bad person. No, Mr. Carter, you are the worst of the worst. You are the one that makes everyone else look bad.
30
Jay Z and Molly Crabapple are inviting us all to stand on the right side of ignorance. 'Why were white men poised to get rich doing the very same thing that African-American boys and men had long been going to prison for?' It has something to do with the LAW! Duh!
4
Intentional or not, our drug policy has become another example of institutional racism, which this film so effectively highlights. Fixing that won't be easy.
We need to go back and question why we have drug laws in the first place. What compelling reasons does government have to restrict any action which a person wants to take regarding their own body? Their may some very good reasons, but my guess is that we've lost sight of them over the years.
Our next step would then be to develop solutions which truly address those legitimate overriding social concerns about drug use, if they do exist. Clearly, our current punitive approach has been a colossal failure, pragmatically and morally. What fresh approaches might better reduce any negative social impact from drug use, without creating even greater problems for various sectors of society?
Perhaps we should look to the drug usage by middle and upper class white American society, and the governmental tolerance for such use which this film points out. Would applying effective decriminalization actually enhance the overall social good? Can society tolerate people self medicating better than the current mass incarceration of our poor minorities?
I do not claim to have the answers to those questions. But this short film pleads for all of us to start working towards addressing them. We've been at this "War On Drugs" far too long, with far too many lives ruined from it, to continue with it as we have been any longer.
We need to go back and question why we have drug laws in the first place. What compelling reasons does government have to restrict any action which a person wants to take regarding their own body? Their may some very good reasons, but my guess is that we've lost sight of them over the years.
Our next step would then be to develop solutions which truly address those legitimate overriding social concerns about drug use, if they do exist. Clearly, our current punitive approach has been a colossal failure, pragmatically and morally. What fresh approaches might better reduce any negative social impact from drug use, without creating even greater problems for various sectors of society?
Perhaps we should look to the drug usage by middle and upper class white American society, and the governmental tolerance for such use which this film points out. Would applying effective decriminalization actually enhance the overall social good? Can society tolerate people self medicating better than the current mass incarceration of our poor minorities?
I do not claim to have the answers to those questions. But this short film pleads for all of us to start working towards addressing them. We've been at this "War On Drugs" far too long, with far too many lives ruined from it, to continue with it as we have been any longer.
22
Drug use is as ancient as our species. Reliefs found imside Egyptian tombs many thousands of years old depict social gatherings where men and women sit separately (just as they do today in that part of the world), and entertained by singers, scantily-clad dancers and musicians. Each reveler grips a large lotus plant and holds it up to their faces so it covers their noses. Are they drinking from it? Are they inhaling something in it oor through it? We can't be certain, about that or the role lotus fronds played. But in wall murals it appears to be some kind of intoxicator.
Some Egyptologists believe ancient Egyptian priests burned hashish inside their temples; as incense. Worshippers got stoned during the religious ceremonies.
We know that an extensive drug trade between what is now India, Pakistan, Egypt, Persia, Rome, China and Afghanistan existed for many thousands of years. As far as we know no legal penalties for participating in it existed. It was a normal, accepted part of life in the ancient world.
Did it destroy lives? Undoubtedly -- as it does now. But the ancients' approach to drug use, and abuse, was very different from ours; and perhaps much wiser.
All that aside, it's possible to win a war against a gang, clan, tribe, sect, group or nation. But it's impossible to defeat an activity, or an abstraction. The "war on drugs" is waged against an activity, why it can only fail.
Some Egyptologists believe ancient Egyptian priests burned hashish inside their temples; as incense. Worshippers got stoned during the religious ceremonies.
We know that an extensive drug trade between what is now India, Pakistan, Egypt, Persia, Rome, China and Afghanistan existed for many thousands of years. As far as we know no legal penalties for participating in it existed. It was a normal, accepted part of life in the ancient world.
Did it destroy lives? Undoubtedly -- as it does now. But the ancients' approach to drug use, and abuse, was very different from ours; and perhaps much wiser.
All that aside, it's possible to win a war against a gang, clan, tribe, sect, group or nation. But it's impossible to defeat an activity, or an abstraction. The "war on drugs" is waged against an activity, why it can only fail.
3
Jay Z conveniently skips over an important fact in this narrative: If you never use or sell drugs, then none of the other events can take place. I agree that incarceration levels are too high and that racial imbalance exists. However, this does not permit us to ignore the original principle. The first step in this whole chain of events is an individual choice by a person to use or to sell drugs. Accordingly, any sort of "victim narrative" does not play well in light of this fact.
18
The war on drugs was a massive success in imprisoning black folks for doing the same things with drugs while black that white people do while white.
White supremacist malicious intent was behind the war on drugs. Disenfranchisement and unemployment were inevitable consequences of incarceration. Prison is the carefully carved colored American legal exception to the 13th Amendments abolition of slavery and involuntary servitude.
See "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in an Age of Colorblindness" Michelle Alexander; "The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime and the Rise of Modern Urban America" Khalil Gibran Muhammad; 'High Price: A Neuroscientist's Journey of Self-Discovery That Defies Everything That You Think You Know About Drugs and Society" Carl Hart
White supremacist malicious intent was behind the war on drugs. Disenfranchisement and unemployment were inevitable consequences of incarceration. Prison is the carefully carved colored American legal exception to the 13th Amendments abolition of slavery and involuntary servitude.
See "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in an Age of Colorblindness" Michelle Alexander; "The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime and the Rise of Modern Urban America" Khalil Gibran Muhammad; 'High Price: A Neuroscientist's Journey of Self-Discovery That Defies Everything That You Think You Know About Drugs and Society" Carl Hart
3
Racism in the criminal justice system is abhorrent and must be addressed. But let's not kid ourselves - there is a lot of money to be made on the new "legalization" efforts for marijuana, and the Drig Policy Alliance is right there in it and sponsored by many who hope to profit.
2
Am I correct that at the end of this video Obama's face is left out of the sequence of Presidents?
If so, is Jay Z unwilling to admit that our dark-skinned President is doing nothing about the travesty of the war on drug users, just as his predecessors did nothing?
If so, is Jay Z unwilling to admit that our dark-skinned President is doing nothing about the travesty of the war on drug users, just as his predecessors did nothing?
3
And that's all you saw?????
Lest you forget that Obama did not set the DoJ or the DEA loose on Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, Washington or DC, as Regan, GHB or GW would have when they LEGALIZED cannabis, conflicting directly with federal law.
Lest you forget that Obama did not set the DoJ or the DEA loose on Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, Washington or DC, as Regan, GHB or GW would have when they LEGALIZED cannabis, conflicting directly with federal law.
4
This is such a complex sociological issue. What began with good intentions (surely drug addiction should be discouraged) and lawmaking (by majority whites) quickly became twisted by money and power. There was money to be made (as during prohibition) but the monied (i.e., the white majority) of course benefited most. There was punishment to be handed down but whites soon realized that they had to be careful lest they be punished too harshly, so laws evolved to "effectively target" minorities. This horrid if false image of what minorities want, do, feel has now become the common view of those with money and power. How to reverse this perverseness is
they sociological challenge of our time. America can not persist without solving this problem.
they sociological challenge of our time. America can not persist without solving this problem.
28
> the monied (i.e., the white majority) of course benefited most.
Hilter valued coincidences between Jews and the problems of German culture. Coincidence is not cause. The universe is causal, not the modernist realm of coincidences.
Hilter valued coincidences between Jews and the problems of German culture. Coincidence is not cause. The universe is causal, not the modernist realm of coincidences.
When you look at senseless violence in the black community, so called "black on black crime," it can be directly traced to the high incarceration percentages in the community. Is one a product of the other or vise versa? Growing up in Brooklyn, I can attest that the incarceration rate is leading to higher violent crime. There are so many young men in prison, that prison is their formal education. Upon release, just like any other graduate of higher education, they come back to the community and practice their professional - Freshly educated by the biggest and best in their fields. Two teenage girls were murdered in Long Island and left in the street this week - a direct result of the higher education system - the prison industrial complex. High incarceration rates is what is driving these high murder rates we see now across the country. An entire generation has been raised on prison culture - and not so ironically, Jay Z himself has and still glorifies and gets rich off of this culture. The black rappers, actors, and athletes all emulate jail culture - Saggy pants, guns, violence, drug dealing, neck tattoos - perpetuating the problem and mainstreaming it.
141
True but hardly headline news.
1
Excellent video simply illustrating a profound problem. I hope that it will open some eyes.
Thank you NYT for putting it at the top and center of your website.
I have been fighting this blatant and cruel injustice for 25 years. My young friend, mandatorily sentenced to LIFE IN PRISON at the age of 18 in 1992, will soon be eligible for parole after serving 25 years in prison. He drove the car on a marijuana run. No previous violations, perfect prison behavior for 25 years.
No one believes this story because it is so outrageously unjust. There are many, many more.
I hope that my friend is granted parole next year. He is now 42 years old; years of imprisonment for one error of judgement. A good kid, talented, a lot of potential, not violent.
Thank you NYT for putting it at the top and center of your website.
I have been fighting this blatant and cruel injustice for 25 years. My young friend, mandatorily sentenced to LIFE IN PRISON at the age of 18 in 1992, will soon be eligible for parole after serving 25 years in prison. He drove the car on a marijuana run. No previous violations, perfect prison behavior for 25 years.
No one believes this story because it is so outrageously unjust. There are many, many more.
I hope that my friend is granted parole next year. He is now 42 years old; years of imprisonment for one error of judgement. A good kid, talented, a lot of potential, not violent.
90
It's not just the 25 years this man spent in prison. I can't envision that a 42-year-old man with no work experience will ever be able to find a job even with help and encouragement from caring people like you. If marijuana had been legalized rather than demonized, its pain relieving properties could have been harnessed for good.
3
Coming for a guy who made millions rapping about the drug dealing game. Now that's rich.
How many kids in Chicago die each year chasing the dollar, clothes, cars and women that Jay-Z glamorizes in his lyrics. You, sir, are the problem.
How many kids in Chicago die each year chasing the dollar, clothes, cars and women that Jay-Z glamorizes in his lyrics. You, sir, are the problem.
130
This is 100% correct. Jay Z made millions rapping about drugs, and disrespecting black women in much of his rap lyrics. I can't take him seriously, because he is a walking contradiction. A lot of impressionable black youth fell victim to believing that they could ONLY become drug dealers, gangsters and rappers because of the likes of jay z and others like him.
4
like he told you sell drugs....no, hov did that so hopefully you wouldn't have to go through that
3
i think that's a bit of a cheap shot. i wonder if making this comment if you've actually listened to jay-zs music? yes, many of his rap lyrics talk about selling drugs, chasing clothes and women because that was his experience and he was sharing it. a big part of rap music is storytelling and sharing the good, the bad and the ugly. i don't disagree that there are people who only hear this part and try to imitate, not understanding the larger picture. but also, his music has evolved over time.
his message and the inspiration of jay-z is how he overcame and moved past that life. he inspires millions of people of all colors and creed. the way i see it, if a drug dealer can lift himself up from the gutter to become a successful entrepreneur, married to Beyonce, rubbing shoulders with the President, surely i can work hard to overcome the obstacles in my own life.
and now he is shining a light on the circumstances and unfair government policies that created the toxic environment he grew up in, that had him drug-dealing, idealizing chasing women and expensive cars.
and let's be clear, kids in Chicago are NOT dying each year for the dollars, cars & clothes. They are dying because they are unloved. They have not been shown their value and their worth. And we as a society are ALL responsible for that. Not just Jay-Z.
his message and the inspiration of jay-z is how he overcame and moved past that life. he inspires millions of people of all colors and creed. the way i see it, if a drug dealer can lift himself up from the gutter to become a successful entrepreneur, married to Beyonce, rubbing shoulders with the President, surely i can work hard to overcome the obstacles in my own life.
and now he is shining a light on the circumstances and unfair government policies that created the toxic environment he grew up in, that had him drug-dealing, idealizing chasing women and expensive cars.
and let's be clear, kids in Chicago are NOT dying each year for the dollars, cars & clothes. They are dying because they are unloved. They have not been shown their value and their worth. And we as a society are ALL responsible for that. Not just Jay-Z.
2
YES!! Almost all of the harmful consequences from illegal drugs are caused not by the drugs but by the "war on drugs." And this includes the issues raised by Black Lives Matter - wouldn't you view police as an invading army if they came into your community to arrest you, fine you and seize your property. I urge all Americans, and especially the black community, to consider Libertarian Gary Johnson.
8
anyone lacing heroin with fentanyl and selling it to unknowning users who die from OD is committing premeditated murder...these cases are in their own category of evilness, whatever the race of the dealer, street level on up, including anyone they bribe to get the tons of this poison into US from China
2
Yes consider him a lost cause.
1
Perhaps we also might, while reexamining this issue, face up to the fact that drug use is not caused primarily by those who supply the drugs, but by those who buy and use them. This country also once, quite foolishly, tried to prevent ingestion of alcohol via something called Prohibition. That failed as well.
44
Isn’t it odd that ‘our’ government furnishes 300 joints per month to some folks…
And locks others up for the same.
And locks others up for the same.
9
Bravo to Jay Z and thank you NYT for publishing this Op-Ed piece.
"Epic Fail" is a perfect description of U.S. drug policy. And those of us against criminalization are NOT "in favour of drugs". We're just appalled at seeing lives ruined by a cure that is generally worse than the disease. Didn't Prohibition teach us anything?
Not only are people-of-colour disproportionately affected in the U.S., but the entire drug supply chain has degraded the societies of many Third World countries in Central and Latin America as well as the far east. (The Taliban's main source of income is selling illicit drugs.)
What a colossal waste of lives, money and resources. (See the web page of LEAP - Law Enforcement Against Prohibition at http://www.leap.cc/ for some good information from people on the front lines.)
"Epic Fail" is a perfect description of U.S. drug policy. And those of us against criminalization are NOT "in favour of drugs". We're just appalled at seeing lives ruined by a cure that is generally worse than the disease. Didn't Prohibition teach us anything?
Not only are people-of-colour disproportionately affected in the U.S., but the entire drug supply chain has degraded the societies of many Third World countries in Central and Latin America as well as the far east. (The Taliban's main source of income is selling illicit drugs.)
What a colossal waste of lives, money and resources. (See the web page of LEAP - Law Enforcement Against Prohibition at http://www.leap.cc/ for some good information from people on the front lines.)
77
tons of fentanyl from China [how but via bribery can tons enter the US?] now lacing heroin make any dealer of these "monster highs" a premeditated murderer...it's happening big time...
1
Amazing sad how racist and unjust America remains.
11
I Absolutely agree
As has been true since the days of Saint Ronnie, evidence-based policy making has been shown the back door in deference to ideological haranguing, mostly based in either class or race bias (throw in some misogyny, too). We are at the edge of the abyss folks...and that is not hyperbole.
13
Legalize cocaine? Heroin?
1
Deny the everyday use of drugs? Destroy communities and families through jailing instead of education and treatment? Wate billions on on a failed, morally bankrupt program of ethnically biased incarceration?
2
I hope you realize that education and treatment will involve the complete overhaul of society.
Irrelevant to me the race/gender of illegal drug users and pushers. They're all a danger to society. Arrest them all, incarcerate them all at work farms where they have no access to drugs/alcohol/pot and must work at hard labor from dawn to dusk. Stop whining about the consequences of your choice to use/sell illegal substances, druggies. Purge yourself and become useful, rather than destructive, to society.
14
How has the drug war not been destructive? And the point of the article is the "purging", as you call it, is used to target particular groups of people. The drug war is simply an extension of ethnic cleansing.
3
You are soooooooo missing the point here ... Nothing you state is incorrect ... I actually agree with you, but that is NOT what this is about ... What's in question is the morality of a government/system that has made it a point of creating a "war" to stop a thing. Then, turns right around and makes it legal AND profits BILLIONS from it ... Any rational mind would at least have to capitulate, at the very least, to the HYPOCRISY... AT THE VERY LEAST !!!!
2
And make sure you use the correct gender bathroom at the work farm.
1
Agreed. .Its not working!
Get your head out of the sand and/or out of pharmaceutical industries tush.
At this very minute the DEA has a proposed ban on Kratom without prior research or legit reasons. Ban has more holes than swiss cheese.
OVER a hundred thousand people have signed petition against it.. made utube videos. . Emailed congress and state representatives.. protesting outside DC and locally in home states.
Why would DEA want to ban a plant that is helping so many not take pills?
#iamkratom #keepkratomlegal #savekratom
Get your head out of the sand and/or out of pharmaceutical industries tush.
At this very minute the DEA has a proposed ban on Kratom without prior research or legit reasons. Ban has more holes than swiss cheese.
OVER a hundred thousand people have signed petition against it.. made utube videos. . Emailed congress and state representatives.. protesting outside DC and locally in home states.
Why would DEA want to ban a plant that is helping so many not take pills?
#iamkratom #keepkratomlegal #savekratom
12
While Jay Z is correct about the war on drugs being an epic fail, I feel the short film oversimplified what has always been a very complex problem. I grew up in the south Bronx and my family and many other families I know lost so many in my parents generation to prison, addiction, and death. I lost a father to violence while I was still an infant, one of my uncles was killed, another overdosed. I had quite a few school mates with learning disabilities from their parents crack use. My mom never used, but her friend did and she neglected all her children. My ex-husbands dad lost a good career.as an acct after getting hooked on crack and was lost to the streets for nearly 20 years. I work in disability law and come across life long users who have never really worked and cannot work, but are still quite young and will have to be supported for the rest of there lives.
If Jay and the other athletes and entertainers who have taken up this cause really wanted to help, open businesses in your old communities and put minorities to work. Invest in education programs where there are failing schools. Maybe stop rapping about and glorifying selling drugs and disrespecting women and write a few songs about going to school, working, and respecting family and community.
If Jay and the other athletes and entertainers who have taken up this cause really wanted to help, open businesses in your old communities and put minorities to work. Invest in education programs where there are failing schools. Maybe stop rapping about and glorifying selling drugs and disrespecting women and write a few songs about going to school, working, and respecting family and community.
414
First off the 'white' man is totally missused in this country. Irish, Scots, Jews were enslaved and face genocide. And we won't even talk about Indians, but this is not taught. As far as getting rich off drugs - don't legalize it then. You can't have it both ways. And Jayz is part of the problem in the black community - all the rapping about drugs, sex, violence - stop it. Young kids do not need this message. They need education, belief, morals instilled in them. If you want to make a chance Jayz, do something about that instead of being a talking clown.
12
There are positive rappers out there, but you hear them only on little scratchy local radio stations and they don't get RICH for their message. Maybe that's the problem. If Mr Z is so upset there's a lot he could do, oh yes sirree, instead of making this copout.
2
Yes Girrrrrl, PREACH!
2
This is a powerful statement of truth. The "War on Drugs" is responsible for the terrible nationwide drug problem we have. It's effectiveness can be measured if you think about its slogan (Nancy Reagan) "Just say no." Wouldn't it have had a bit more punch if she's said, "Just say, ' No. thank you'.........." The stunning nativity of this statement is testimony to the ignorance of this issue - then and now. The white population didn't care until drugs moved from the ghetto to the suburbs. I am 78 years old and white, living in a suburb of Boston. My son has been in and out of prison for 24 years, just about half of his life.
52
Kudos to Jay Z and Molly Crabapple, and to Californians for having Prop 64 on the ballot. I wish I had the opportunity to vote YES on Prop 64, which is a step towards justice for all those who have been harmed by our criminal justice system and its woefully misguided policies. There's no way to give back the time to all the people who have been needlessly incarcerated, but justice would be partially served by welcoming them back into society with clean records and with remuneration for the harm done to them.
27
The so called war on drugs is an epic fail and I have also sadly laughed aloud at the irony that there are now whites who stand to get rich on something that blacks were imprisoned for. However, there is one aspect about the war on drugs narrative that has always bothered me in that we really haven't had an honest conversation about the disparate incarceration rates for crack cocaine vs. powder -- even though, as Mr. Carter states, "it's the same thing". Yes, imprisonment rates for minorities disproportionately exceeded those of whites convicted of drug crimes but I think we overlook the reality that crack cocaine trafficking spawned ruinous street violence that the powder business (or marijuana) did not. That's why the sentencing for crack was so draconian. It is well-past time that we addressed the many failures of war on drugs but I also think its important that we assess these failures and the path forward with intellectual and moral clarity.
67
Okay, in what alternate universe do you live where powder cocaine didn't spawn violence, but crack cocaine did? Crack may have been the proximate cause of street violence in US cities in the mid-80s, but cocaine turf wars killed people here as well. More important, "high class" powder cocaine has been responsible for vast amounts of murder and depravity throughout the rest of the world, especially in the Andean region.
The real money has long been in powder, not crack or basuco. And the real money drives the murder.
The real money has long been in powder, not crack or basuco. And the real money drives the murder.
5
As Richard Pryor said after spending a few days in jail filming a movie " those guys belong in jail"...
1
The world was built on our backs, Jay Z. I will never get back what my grandfathers gave to building bridges and digging tunnels and making NYC amazing. My grandmothers will never get back the wages they never earned cleaning, cooking, and raising incredible human beings. We move forward on the sweat of our heritage. And we make sure our children do not bring 30 packs of heroin to kindergarten. Drugs do not make a human being whole. They might make them rich, but never human. Our epic fail is smoking weed instead of building an epic world for our beautiful children.
45
"Smoking weed" is not the epic fail. Indeed, building an epic world has often happened by people who consume cannabis. Why else has there been such a demand? It is a balm. Until politicians realize that, they are doomed continue to demonize this wonderful plant.
13
I'm not entirely sure of the point of the above comment (Renee E). But let's phrase this another way: Black Americans will never gets back basically building the entire South and its enterprises after being sold as property into forced labor (and never paid "wages"). Nor will they get back votes they couldn't cast from voter restrictions. (Just last month, North Carolina had such a law struck down. History is now.) I'm not sure what "old world" (i.e. white) values that comment is supposed to be espousing (the progeny of indigent European immigrants have better values in child rearing?) but it is tone-deaf and myopic and has nothing to do with current-day American drug policy. If Jay Z hadn't narrated this, and instead Tom Hanks was talking about the heroin epidemic in rural Massachusetts, what would your comment be?
14
Renee you are every part the problem with the stigma of weed. It is not your fault. Lobbyists have been pushing sugar, opioids and other legal substances that has created the greatest breakdown of humans in history. Now should kids be smoking weed? Of course not! The developing mind should be clean. But responsible cannabis use would probably surprise you. Across the spectrum you will find doctors, lawyers, politicians, housewives, scientists that use cannabis as medicine. And to your point about heritage... well your grandmother might have been stiffed on wages but she is probably white and did not face the brutal reality of growing up black in this country.
2
Thank you to Jay-Z for picking up the mantle of social justice and not just hiding behind his millions. There is a strict hypocrisy going here that relegated black men to prison cells for years however, white men are salivating at the impending 'green rush' MJ will inevitably bring. Much of this will be glossed over but its another example of how white privilege continues to affect everything in society even in there are many who are blind to it or refuse to believe its real.
56
C'mon Jay Z is an Opportunist not an Activist! He was a Gang member drug dealer and his Rap is violent and vulgar!
The past is loaded with mistreatment of people.
We need to live in the present and plan for the future.
Let's stop identifying ourselves by color and treat each other in the manner we expect to be treated.
The past is loaded with mistreatment of people.
We need to live in the present and plan for the future.
Let's stop identifying ourselves by color and treat each other in the manner we expect to be treated.
22
Legalize it. It's the only way to ensure racial justice in policing and enforcement on marijauna. It's the best way to weaken the Cartels. Legalization won't solve every problem, but then neither did ending Prohibition.
232
Prop 64 is a scam. Funded by big-pharma, Monsanto, and the prison industrial complex. Read the facts at noon64.net/facts. It INCREASES criminal provisions, ELIMINATES ALL MEDICAL ACCESS RIGHTS (Prop 215), and creates a monetized system of permit-access. "The money behind Prop 64 has nothing to do with good public policy, and everything to do with making some obscenely rich people even richer." Read the truth if you care... noon64.net/about
2
This coming from a person who admits he was drug dealer in his youth.
You play, you pay. Sorry Mr. Carter. You are not part of the solution but part of the problem. How many lives did you ruin by selling drugs? No doubt to your own people too.
Who cares what this felon has to say.
You play, you pay. Sorry Mr. Carter. You are not part of the solution but part of the problem. How many lives did you ruin by selling drugs? No doubt to your own people too.
Who cares what this felon has to say.
85
I do. And the editorial staff at the NYTimes does. Many readers of this paper do. I'm sure his legions of fans, worldwide community organizers, visual artists, the wrongly incarcerated, the prison developers, teachers, policymakers, and the millions who smoke marijuana worldwide also care.
14
Yes, he sold drugs. He is trying to make a difference now and be a part of the solution -- so your comment doesn't make sense. You're discounting the message because of the history of the messenger? It also doesn't diminish the message that young people have gone to jail for the very things now making others legally rich. Your ire should be at the failure of our laws and criminal justice system instead of trying to get a cheap crack off at Jay Z.
44
"His own people"...you mean fellow Americans, right?
Because if black and Latino people aren't "your people" too (American), can you let them know before they pony up for next year's federal taxes?
Thanks.
Because if black and Latino people aren't "your people" too (American), can you let them know before they pony up for next year's federal taxes?
Thanks.
14
I find this kind of righteous revisionist history absurd. Drugs have been illegal. Period. I find a great irony that people are now lining up to become dealers legitimizing the damage to person, family and community that drugs have wrought and that this is now a good thing.
21
Drugs ruin lives that are headed towards ruin. Cocaine was legal a 120 years ago. Drug policy was enacted to control the other and incarcerate the other. Legalize and regulate. Treat people like adults, sure some will ruin their lives on drugs just the same as alcohol. Make it all legal and be more honest about the human condition. Drugs ruin lives mostly not because of the drug, but because of the prison time associated with it. Prison ruins lives
37
"Drugs have been illegal. Period"
Actually, that's a bit of revisionist history right there. Drugs have not always been illegal. The history of drug prohibition is actually a fascinating and complex story, with a lot of bad information resulting in bad laws (many of them with racist overtones) that still exist today. And speaking of legitimizing the damage to person, maybe you would like to revisit alcohol prohibition, with the attendant crime and other issues that it produced. Prohibition always seems to be the cure that's worse than the disease.
Actually, that's a bit of revisionist history right there. Drugs have not always been illegal. The history of drug prohibition is actually a fascinating and complex story, with a lot of bad information resulting in bad laws (many of them with racist overtones) that still exist today. And speaking of legitimizing the damage to person, maybe you would like to revisit alcohol prohibition, with the attendant crime and other issues that it produced. Prohibition always seems to be the cure that's worse than the disease.
12
And what about alcohol Chris? Alcohol has attributed to more early death for humans and the ruination of families for decades. Make sure not to lump ALL drugs into "drugs". If you simply replaced cannabis with alcohol over the last 40 years America would be an even more incredible place than it is today.
7
I don't listen to a whole lot of what Jay Z does but this video is absolutely true! Good job!
25
Not just "white men" of Mr JZs self defeating prediction.