Drug Prohibition & the U.S. Prison System

An estimated 1,550,000 adults were behind bars in the United States on June 30, 1995, over triple the number from 1980. (1) In 1992, the United States had a rate of incarceration comparable to that of Russia, over twice the rate of Singapore, five times that of England, and more than 10 times the rate of the Netherlands.

The increasing rate of incarceration of drug prohibition violators, together with the increased number of prohibition arrests, have fueled the massive increase in U.S. correctional populations over the past sixteen years. Women, African-Americans, and Hispanics are disproportionately affected.

One quarter of Americans behind bars are incarcerated for drug law violations.

• In June, 1995, drug law violators constituted approximately 25%, or 388,000, of adults serving time.
  • 8% of all inmates, 51,950 out of 502,000, were incarcerated for drug law violations at year-end, 1980.
  • One-third of the increase in prison and jail populations since 1980 is due to the increase in drug law violators behind bars.
• It costs approximately 9 billion dollars a year to keep drug law violators behind bars.

The majority of federal prison inmates are incarcerated for drug law violations …

• 58,260 drug law violators were in federal prisons on December 31, 1994, an 850% increase from 6,120 in 1980.
• 16,401 people were committed (2) to federal prisons for drug law violations in 1992, a 364% increase from the 3,675 committed in 1980.

Inmates in Federal Prisons

… receive longer sentences than previous drug law violators …

• The average drug law violator sentenced to federal prison in 1992 has no chance of release before late 1997.
  • Drug law violators released from federal prisons in 1992 served an average of 33 months; those sentenced that year can expect to serve at least 70 months prior to release. The increase in time served is due in part to federal sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimums lengthened in the late 1980s and early 1990s. (3)
  • Drug law violators convicted of possession received an average sentence of 22 months; those convicted of trafficking received 84 months.

… and one-third are non-violent offenders with little or no criminal history.

• 16.6% of federal prisoners in 1994 were non-violent drug law violators with no criminal history; an additional 4.6% had minimal criminal history.
  • Two-thirds of these non-violent drug law violators received mandatory minimum sentences.
  • 42.3% were couriers or played other peripheral roles, yet many received mandatory sentences.
  • Mandatory sentences depend on the quantity of the drug, rather than the severity of the crime, thus sometimes applying long sentences to peripheral players.

State prisons and local jails hold over 300,000 drug law violators. The number of drug law violators committed to state prisons has increased rapidly since 1980, while the number of violent offenders has increased at a much slower rate.

• An estimated 220,000 drug law violators were in state prisons mid-year, 1995, a 1070% increase from 19,000 in 1980.
  • 22% of state prison inmates were incarcerated for drug law violations.
• 101,600 drug law violators were committed to state prisons in 1992, an increase of 1055% from the 8,800 committed in 1980.
  • Drug law violators represented nearly 1/3 of all new commitments to state prisons in 1992.
  • By contrast, between 1980 and 1992, the number of violent offenders committed to state prisons increased only 55%.
  • In 1989, marking the beginning of a trend, the number of drug law violators committed to state prisons exceeded the number of violent offenders by 8,600 (90,800 to 82,200, respectively).

New Commitments to State Prisons

• An estimated 118,000 drug law violators were in local jails on June 30, 1995, a 340% increase from 26,826 in 1983.
  • 23% of the total jail population were detained for drug law violations.

The number of women imprisoned for drug law violations has skyrocketed.

• 5,243 women were in federal prisons for drug law violations on December 31, 1993, a 2200% increase from 228 in 1979.
  • 68% of all female federal prisoners in 1993 were drug law violators, compared to 20% in 1979.
• 12,633 women were in state prisons for drug law violations mid-year, 1991, a 970% increase from 1,181 in 1979.
  • 33% of all female state prisoners mid-year, 1991, were drug law violators, compared to 10% in 1979.
  • 40% of women committed to state prisons in 1992 were drug law violators, compared to 11% in 1979.
  • According to Bureau of Justice projections, 6,193 black women were in state prisons for drug law violations mid-year, 1991, an 828% increase from 667 in 1986.

African-Americans and Hispanics have been disproportionately affected by drug prohibition.

• On December 31, 1994, nearly 7% of African-American men were behind bars, compared to less than 1% of white men.
• The increase in blacks incarcerated for drug law violations accounts for 60% of the increase in the black state prison population from 1986 to 1991, and 91% of the increase in federal prisons from 1990 to 1994.

Drug Law Violators in State Prisons by Race/Ethnicity and Rate (per 100,000 U.S. residents)

Prohibition enforcement has escalated the U.S. correctional population. The increase in African-Americans behind bars is largely accounted for by drug laws, trends in arrest and prosecution, and sentencing requirements. Mandatory minimum sentences force judges to incarcerate many prohibition violators who would not otherwise be sent to prison. These sentences appear to apply more often to blacks than whites. For example, while a conviction in federal court for possessing 5 grams of crack cocaine results in a 5-year mandatory sentence, 500 grams of powder cocaine is required to invoke a 5-year sentence. The U.S. Sentencing Commission found no pharmacological difference between the two substances, but reported that, while 27% of powder cocaine defendants in federal courts were African-American, 88% of crack cocaine defendants were African-American. The Commission's recommendation that sentences for crack be made the same as those for powder was rejected by Congress in 1995.

Notes

1. 5.1 million Americans, almost 2.7% of the adult population, were in state and federal prisons, local jails, and on probation or parole at the end of 1994.

2. New commitments are yearly counts of people admitted to prison directly from court; the number does not include people readmitted due to parole or other violations.

3. Mandatory minimum sentences are minimum sentence lengths which judges must impose for certain offenses; sentencing guidelines serve to restrict the range of sentences which a judge may impose.