Are The Roots of Drug Laws Just As Racist As Gun Laws?
As you have probably heard me say in the past, gun laws in the US are rooted in racism. They were first put on the books during slavery for obvious reasons and were expanded later to keep newly emancipated slaves from engaging in reprisals against their former masters. In addition, those gun laws prevented blacks folks from being able to protect themselves from hooded terrorists who prowled at night.
Imagine my surprise when after viewing a documentary on Netflix this past weekend - The House In Which I Live - when I learned that drug laws against Opium, Cocaine, and Marijuana usage were also created out of racism.
For one, the state of California was the first in the nation to outlaw Opium. Apparently, the legislature was addressing the concerns of their constituents who had issues with an influx of Chinese men who were willing to work long hours for low pay on the rail lines. Since, they could not outlaw Chinese people directly, they chose to outlaw their drug of choice - Opium. By tightly controlling the drug, they were able to regulate and jail the people who used it.
In a similar fashion drug laws were being enacted across the country to ban Cocaine and Marijuana usage. These drugs were associated with hysteria-driven accounts of Black men and Mexican men - respectively - who were also known to work long hours for low pay. If you can't outlaw minorities - again - then the law makers had to attack the drug they were each - respectively - alleged to have used. Regulate the drug and control the user.
I am not a user of currently illegal drugs, so I have no dog in the fight. However, when viewed through the prism of history I can't ignore that Opium, Cocaine, and Marijuana were not outlawed for altruistic, medical, or humanitarian reasons. They - along with guns - were tightly controlled and regulated for the purpose of controlling people.
Certainly, we can debate whether our current War on Drugs is effective or if we are experiencing unintended consequences that can't be sustained.That argument is for another day but when you consider that our country has over 2.2 million people incarcerated at an annual cost of 80 billion dollars per year, some changes should be considered - especially for non violent offenders.
Think about it.
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About The Author
Rick Ector is a National Rifle Association credentialed Firearms Trainer, who provides Michigan CCW Class training in Detroit for students at his firearms school - Rick's Firearm Academy of Detroit. Ector is a recognized expert in firearm safety and has been featured extensively in the national and local media: Associated Press, UPI, Fox News, USA Today, New York Times, NRAnews, Guns Digest, Tactical-Life, The Truth About Guns, The Politics Daily, Fox News Detroit, The Detroit News, The Detroit Examiner, WJLB, WGPR, and the UrbanShooterPodcast.
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