Why Is the U.S. Prison Population So Large?

Fully 24 percent of inmates in U.S. prisons are nonviolent drug offenders. The drug war has been adding to a growing U.S. prison population for the past 40 years. Today, the United States holds more human beings in prisons than any other country, both as a percentage of the population and in counting total numbers. Prof. Daniel D’Amico shows how the war on drugs has led to significant increases in the U.S. prison population and argues that perhaps this is an ineffective way to address drug use in America. The United States is spending billions of dollars and locking of hundreds of thousands of people. Might there be a better alternative?

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