In the U.S., the War on Drugs is thought to be contributing to a prison overcrowding problem. In 1996, 59.6%Miller, Jerome (1996) Search and Destroy: African-American Males in the Criminal Justice System. Cambridge University Press, New York. of prisoners were drug-related criminals. The U.S. population grew by about +25% from 1980 to 2000. In that same 20 year time period, the U.S. prison population tripled, making the U.S. the world leader in both percentage and absolute number of citizens incarcerated. The United States has 5% of the world's population, but 25% of the prisoners.
In the U.S., the War on Drugs is thought to be contributing to a prison overcrowding problem. In 1996, 59.6%Miller Jerome (1996) Search and Destroy: African-American Males in the Criminal Justice System. Cambridge University Press, New York. of prisoners were drug-related criminals. The U.S. population grew by about +25% from 1980 to 2000. In that same 20 year time period, the U.S. prison population tripled, making the U.S. the world leader in both percentage and absolute number of citizens incarcerated. The United States has 5% of the world's population, but 25% of the prisoners.