1986-1991 was a critical time for the African American community as a whole. At this time the community was facing a high amount of oppression making them take out their frustration on the use of drugs. At the forefront of substance abuse were the black females who recorded twice the number of drug offences compared to their male counterparts. Despite the high number of black women incarcerated for drug abuse, authorities do not emphasize this issue. Criminologists often focus on male-oriented cases ignoring the plight of the female community. Feminists specialized in criminology have thus dubbed the exclusion of black female drug offenders as discriminatory policy. This has given rise to the campaign that accuses criminologists of the war on drugs as the war against black women.
The early form of the war on drugs constituted the arrest of low-level drug users and dealers as opposed to high-ranking people in the trade. This removed the attention from the drug lords who control the dynamics of the industry across the globe. Another issue regarding the control of drug use was the misrepresentation and improper recording of the people arrested. Fabricated statistics saw the Increase in the number of blacks arrested for the use of drugs and the decrease in the arrest of whites. This triggered a national out raw which advocated for the equal treatment of all races regarding the eradication of drugs.
Heroin was mostly abused by blacks as opposed to whites faring differently from marijuana which was consumed equally by both blacks and whites. The term the war on drugs as the war on women is used to display the level of disregard the society has for the welfare of black women. Women associated with drug use recorded fewer cases of the application of force and violence during their consumption or purchase. Poverty and unemployment are the leading factors for the reason of drug on both male and female cases.
The state of Florida recorded drug peddling as the single most recurring primary offence in the years 1993-1994. Drug peddling was the main offence reported in the criminal files and records. These records only represent the cases concerning drug use as opposed to drug use accompanied with lesser charges. An analysis of the statistics of the incarcerated women lists black women who take the lead representing 51% of the population. Black males take the second slot recording 49% of the country’s population. In the third position are white women who record a competitive 43%. White males take the last slot recording 38% representing the lowest group about the consumption of drugs.
In conclusion, the fight against drugs has come a long way for the time of its rise ten years ago. The United States has the highest number of consumers owing to several factors. This rate has been on the rise due to the political, social and economic factors experienced today. At the top of the list are black women who are notorious for the frequent consumption of the substance. This is not ideal because a large number of the same culprits are single mothers. It is thus ideal for authorities to place more emphasis on black women to tackle the bulk of the problem.