) What is more disturbing, however, is that 81% of those arrests were for possession, and only 19% for sales (Mauer, 3.) These numbers should be reversed. .
Even America's perception of drugs before the Drug War was insignificant. According to Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, "At the time he declared this new war, less than 2 percent of the American public viewed drugs as the most important issue facing the nation" (Alexander, 49.) Nowadays, drug related incidents stir American's fears, but such fears are unfounded. They are a mere fabrication of mass media using the War on Drugs, a failed policy, as its structure. There is no need to be afraid. Just like there is no need to have such harsh punishments for minor, non-violent, drugs offenses which overcrowd prisons, drain resources from other public services, and, ultimately, violates the constitution by endangering the entire prison population with a health-care system that leaves much to be desired. According to Bob Egelko, reporter since 1970, the court ruled in 2009 that prison overflow is the main cause of shoddy health care that violated the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment (Egelko, 2.) .
"Get tough" policies and restrictions marginalize ex-felons and repopulate the prison system. Once released from prison, ex-convicts find their stigma affecting their attempts to rejoin society. The justice system imposes a series of restrictions on their person even after they have fully served their sentences. These limitations include, but are not limited to, housing control, government assistance disqualification, second-strike felony charges, and employment discrimination. These are huge burdens, and it is no wonder that people labeled felons find their way back into prison. According to Michelle, about 30% of released prisoners were apprehended within six months of release, and within three years, nearly 68% were rearrested for a new offense (Alexander, 94.
