Mandatory Minimums

Drug Mandatory Minimums

Through out time and especially in the last 35 years, drug abuse has become quite a problem in the United States. However the way we control drug abusers and drug trafficking has changed over the years. However, since the early 90's, the idea and use of what are called Mandatory Drug minimums have been implemented. Though they seem to cut down on some illegal drug crime, the idea and use of mandatory minimums for drug users is unfair and ineffective.

According to the National Criminal Justice Association, half of all offenders entering the federal prison system for drug crimes are first-time offenders. Even more, about 62 percent of federal prisoners are drug prisoners. One could thus speculate that we are bringing in to many first timers, and not enough big dealers on the stipulation of amount in hand..

The United States works on the economic statistic of supply and demand. For all their severity, mandatory minimums for drug offenses are doomed to fail in reducing drug trafficking. When a child abuser goes to jail, there is one less mugger or abuser around to endanger the public. By contrast, incarcerating drug sellers does not reduce the number of people selling drugs.

Mandatory minimums have not actually reduced sentencing discretion. Control has merely been transferred from judges to prosecutors. The government does not gain any ground on the big criminals by bringing in the small time first offender because the small time offender cannot inform on anyone else and thereby render "substantial assistance" to catch the large dealers, which is the basis of fighting the war on drugs in the first place and the only way a first time offender can be released from a mandatory minimum and receive a lesser sentence. In general, we are filling up our prisons with clueless offenders who help us get no where in the war against drugs and cost us more money in taxes to hold them in prison. In fact, the Federal Bureau of Prisons budget increased by more than 1,350 %, from 220 million in 1986 to about 3.19 billion in 1997. That is must more money out of each U.S. citizens pocket to pay for a guy with as little as an ounce of marijuana, which is not even enough these days make over 50 dollars in some places. What's even