How Heroin Addiction's Rural Spread Changed the War on Drugs
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, America’s inner cities were wracked by an epidemic of heroin addiction and the crime that went with it. New York State responded with harsh drug laws, including mandatory minimum sentences up to life in prison for selling just one ounce of heroin. Soon, other states and the federal government adopted similar laws, and the nation’s prisons filled up with non-violent drug offenders, mostly young black men.
From time to time over the past 40 years, efforts were made to treat heroin addiction as a public health instead of a crime problem. But they were not successful.
Related:
Heroin, Survivor of War on Drugs, Returns With New Face by Clyde Haberman
More Like This
Facing Eviction
Since the summer of 2020, we’ve documented the impact of the pandemic on housing and evictions. We followed tenants, landlords, lawyers, judges, sheriffs and social workers across the U.S. who were affected.
Facing Eviction Trailer
Since the summer of 2020, we’ve documented the impact of the pandemic on housing and evictions. We followed tenants, landlords, lawyers, judges, sheriffs and social workers across the U.S. who were affected. Facing Eviction airs on Frontline PBS on July 26 at 10/9c.
How the U.S. Has Treated Wartime Refugees
What obligation does the United States have toward people who are uprooted by war?
Trump and Biden Both Want to Repeal Section 230. Would That Wreck the Internet?
Today’s heated political arguments over censorship and misinformation online are rooted in a 26-word snippet of a law that created the Internet as we know it.