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The drug war has nothing to do with making communities livable or creating a decent future for black kids. On the contrary, prohibition is directly responsible for the power of crack dealers to terrorize whole neighborhoods. And every cent spent on the cops, investigators, bureaucrats, courts, jails, weapons, and tests required to feed the drug-war machine is a cent not spent on reversing the social policies that have destroyed the cities, nourished racism, and laid the groundwork for crack culture.

Ellen Willis#8

EconomyJusticePolicyRacism

About this quote

What does it mean?
The drug war harms black communities and wastes money that could fix social policies.
In plain terms
Drug enforcement hurts communities more than it helps.
What can you take from it?
Prohibition creates more crime than it solves.

Where it applies

  • policy debate
  • social justice

Putting it to work

  • redirect funding
  • challenge prohibition

Questions to consider

  • Is prohibition helping communities?
  • Where should money actually go?

Another view

It assumes enforcement never reduces supply.

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