Debating Imprisonment and the Drug War

1. Glazek calls for the abolishment of prisons and thus a raising of the crime rate. Would a
community system of dealing with crime be a better alternative to the prison system? What would
happen in cases of murder or rape?
2. A huge fraction of those incarcerations have to do with drug possession rather than violent crime.
How can we take steps to reduce incarceration for drugs and instead provide greater preventative
measures?
3. It isnt the numbers (crime rate going down) that matters but actual progress in the criminal justice
system. What can the police and government officials do to actually decrease crimes rather than
lying, miscounting, and hiding the facts to actually seem like theyve been showing more results
than they actually have been?
4. The Economist says that legalizing drugs would be the least bad policy. Would a shift from
looking at drug use and sale as a criminal issue to instead a public health and economic problem,
change any part of the war on drugs?
5. For the past few decades, the media has framed drug use and addiction as something
horrendous and fearful. If public opinion on this matter is altered in a way that is more tolerant
and less racialized, would people be more in favor of rehabilitation? If drug use is treated as a
disease that can be treated rather than a crime that requires incarceration, how will this alter the
crime rates and prison dynamic?
6. Wilson states that the cost of enforcing drug laws and controlling drug use has been a necessary
cost for the safety of people, infants, and communities. After reading Wilsons article, do you
believe that the control of drug addiction has outweighed the costs of the war on drugs?
7. Is the problem with the war on drugs a much more abstract issue to do with policing and race
relations? Or is the debate on legalization an important area from which to start reform?

Debating Imprisonment and the Drug War

1. Glazek calls for the abolishment of prisons and thus a raising of the crime rate. Would a
community system of dealing with crime be a better alternative to the prison system? What would
happen in cases of murder or rape?
2. A huge fraction of those incarcerations have to do with drug possession rather than violent crime.
How can we take steps to reduce incarceration for drugs and instead provide greater preventative
measures?
3. It isnt the numbers (crime rate going down) that matters but actual progress in the criminal justice
system. What can the police and government officials do to actually decrease crimes rather than
lying, miscounting, and hiding the facts to actually seem like theyve been showing more results
than they actually have been?
4. The Economist says that legalizing drugs would be the least bad policy. Would a shift from
looking at drug use and sale as a criminal issue to instead a public health and economic problem,
change any part of the war on drugs?
5. For the past few decades, the media has framed drug use and addiction as something
horrendous and fearful. If public opinion on this matter is altered in a way that is more tolerant
and less racialized, would people be more in favor of rehabilitation? If drug use is treated as a
disease that can be treated rather than a crime that requires incarceration, how will this alter the
crime rates and prison dynamic?
6. Wilson states that the cost of enforcing drug laws and controlling drug use has been a necessary
cost for the safety of people, infants, and communities. After reading Wilsons article, do you
believe that the control of drug addiction has outweighed the costs of the war on drugs?
7. Is the problem with the war on drugs a much more abstract issue to do with policing and race
relations? Or is the debate on legalization an important area from which to start reform?