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Tougher drug laws mean nearly 1/3 arrested by age 23

Unbreakable

Unbreakable

Bluelighter
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Oct 22, 2009
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Nearly one in three Americans will already have been arrested by the age of 23, recent research suggests.

A study analyzing data from the federal government’s National Longitudinal Survey of Youth found that 30.2 percent of 23-year-olds reported being arrested for something more serious that a traffic violation.

It’s the first time since the 1960s that researchers have tried to determine how often young people are arrested. A similar study in 1965 found that only 22 percent reported being arrested by age 23.

“I was astonished 44 years ago,” Carnegie Mellon University professor Alfred Blumstein told USA Today. “There’s a lot more arresting going on now.”

Researchers believe that a toughening of drug laws and the increased size of police forces contribute to the the increase. Five times more Americans are incarcerated now than in the 1960s.

Source:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/12/19/tougher-drug-laws-mean-nearly-13-arrested-by-age-23/
 
we just keep winning dont we? i bet one would do well to calculate how much money local and state governments have made and spent from incarcerating so many youth. my question is, what is the point? What are we teaching these kids? To keep up on your government surveys? lol
 
I'm part of the nearly 33.3%. I was arrested for marijuana before I even turned 19. The war on drugs only succeeds at taking money and freedom from people like me.
 
Luckily I avoided being arrested many times.... I almost was with my last stunt in July. It doesn't shock me though because cops let the power get to their head. A cop was going to arrest me (this wasn't the thing in july but another time....the one in july I ended up in a back of a sheriffs car with my sister then sent to a group home and then a placement) because he thought I was being a ghetto snob (as he said it when I wasn't even acting "ghetto" or anything close to it) because I wouldn't tell him what I wanted to be when I grow up. Yeah, officer I will tell you so I can hear the oh you won't be able to do that if I charge you with assault right now but at least the other cop was cool. He was like no don't arrest her she's a good kid (he knew the situation going on at home cause shit the cops were here all the time). So if cops can arrest you for whatever reason they want it is pretty obvious if you have drugs of any kind you're fucked.... I try not to be in a car when holding or my friends are... One night a cop stopped us but didn't get out of the car and he asked us what we were doing and we were like just turning around... Thank fuckin jesus cause shit our car smelled of pot and the trunk was full of weed, pills and mdma.... The guys I with were dealing at the time. Shit my heart fuckin came out of my chest but luckily he believed us and drove away. I would of been fucked..and doing that shit is too risky nowadays. Get caught, get locked up, never get a job because this economy is rough enough and on top of it lose federal aid for college. Fuck that.
 
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This report is actually a really big deal, get this on TV and see what a drug enforcement representative has to say about it.. I just want to hear what every person in charge has to say about it, not only in DEA, but in politics too.
 
That so many people are arrested - and for drugs - is truly ridiculous.

But, it is important to note that it is NOT just "tougher drug laws" that mean so many people get arrested.
It is a huge, concerted effort: more cops, more surveillance, more lawyers, more judges, more prisons, more guards...
It is a society-wide effort. Just making the laws is not enough to arrest anyone without the rest of the assembly line in place.
This is something our society is (societies are) investing major resources into.
It is sold to the public by using the propaganda that passes for "drug education", as well as a lot of fear mongering.
Having this as our priority means that we have fewer resources for other things: rapists and violent gangs and white collar (governmental) crime continue unabated.

Each person put in prison for drugs is another life wasted, another person who is suffering due to loss of liberties, but it also represents another rapist or murderer not caught or released early because there is no more room in the jails.

Like the war in Vietnam 40 years ago, the drug war is a losing effort for the US.
When will the government admit that and rethink public policy?
 
I propose that every federal tax return contain the following sentence:

I would like to contribute ________ dollars to enforce the nation's drug laws.
Click to expand...

Then devote only those monies to drug enforcement.

Nobody would give shit. The drug war would end overnight.
 
235360287471352662 said:
I propose that every federal tax return contain the following sentence:



Then devote only those monies to drug enforcement.

Nobody would give shit. The drug war would end overnight.
Click to expand...
This should be the same for all the controversial "homeland security" & foreign policy shit the government does. It would save people so much money if they only realized how much it actually costs them!
 
and once your charged with a petty drug crime your life becomes that much more difficult...for simple marijuana possession charges i got my license taken aways plus all the other bullshit but i wasnt even driving..its all a designed sytem for failure and to just take take take...our money, tax money, freedom, rights etc...we need to use common sense a little bit more
 
Everybody goes through phases in their lives, and unfortunately some people go through a drug phase that may result in an arrest. Instead of just naturally growing out of the phase and going on to lead a productive life, many of these people are charged with felony crimes, go through a morally and mentally damaging bid in prison, and come out worse way worse off (unable to get employment, trust, etc..) than if they had just grown out of it on their own.

Way more than 1/3 of the people commit crime more "seriously" than traffic violations before the age of 23. It's just that not all of them get caught, which is what makes it so stupid that some employers will deny employment to a person with 1 thing on their record. Chances are, they have people working for them that have committed much worse crimes than the applicant, but they just happened to get away with it, while the applicant may have been unlucky and got ratted on for having a few percocets outside a college party.
 
Yeah my work won't hire anyone with shit on their record. The worst thing is people working here have done so many things it makes me smh at how they just got lucky they weren't arrested...
 
i think this is a symptom of a sick society. next time your on cable chek out how many programs are on about law enforcment, border control, jail and prison. it really is sad. the only good thing i see is that there are more programs about drugs and drug use (granted most are about the LE and incarcerationon) now on tv. i saw two shows about medical marijuana on at the same time, and a commercial about a show called drugs inc. i dont get it?
 
They're trying to build a slave state. It's happening everywhere. Phase 1: Take power and opportunity away from people by giving them a criminal conviction for something as inevitable as drugs (this also helps to divide society, along with many more government influenced "difference of opinions"). Phase 2: Privatize prisons (allowing big companies, who basically are the ones in power, to make profit from american citizens). Phase 3: ??? Phase 4: Profit. Power. Control.

They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,

Following the rights movements
You clamped down with your iron fists,
Drugs became conveniently
Available for all the kids,
Following the rights movements
You clamped down with your iron fists,
Drugs became conveniently
Available for all the kids,

I buy my crack, my smack, my bitch,
Right here in Hollywood,

Nearly 2 million Americans are incarcerated
In the prison system, prison system
Prison system of the U.S.

They're trying to build a prison

They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison, (for you and me to live in)
Another prison system,
Another prison system,
Another prison system.

Minor drug offenders fill your prisons
You don't even flinch
All our taxes paying for your wars
Against the new non-rich,
Minor drug offenders fill your prisons
You don't even flinch
All our taxes paying for your wars
Against the new non-rich,

I buy my crack, my smack, my bitch,
Right here in Hollywood,

The percentage of Americans in the prison system, has doubled since 1985

They're trying to build a prison

They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
Another prison system,
Another prison system,
Another prison system.
For you and me, you and me.

They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
For you and me,
Oh baby, you and me.

All research and successful drug policy shows
That treatment should be increased,
And law enforcement decreased,
While abolishing mandatory minimum sentences,
All research and successful drug policy shows
That treatment should be increased,
And law enforcement decreased,
While abolishing mandatory minimum sentences.

Utilizing drugs to pay for secret wars around the world,
Drugs are now your global policy,
Now you police the globe,

I buy my crack, my smack, my bitch,
Right here in Hollywood,

Drug money is used to rig elections,
And train brutal corporate sponsored
Dictators around the world.

They're trying to build a prison

They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison, (for you and me to live in)
Another prison system,
Another prison system,
Another prison system. (for you and me)
For you and I, for you and I , for you and I.
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
For you and me,
Oh baby, you and me.
 
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Posting the song would have sufficed, cheers for making me scroll down through lyrics I already know! They added so much depth to the conversation. D:
 
235360287471352662 said:
I propose that every federal tax return contain the following sentence:



Then devote only those monies to drug enforcement.

Nobody would give shit. The drug war would end overnight.
Click to expand...

meh, you don't think that Beer Companies, and Pharma companies wouldn't kick in millions of dollars to protect their interests.
 
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