How prisons profit from the 'War on Drugs' (via racism)

Private prisons profit billions of dollars from overcrowded cells.

The population? Mostly men of color serving time for petty marijuana offenses.

Discover leaked PowerPoint documents and White House Executive reports revealing the racism embedded into the American corrections system.

Let's start by clarifying what type of racism we're talking about. Systemic racism only.

1. Systemic Racism - A policy, government, or system that fosters discrimination of race(s).
2. Interpersonal Racism - A personal hatred, prejudice, or intolerance of particular race(s). Often based on the notion of superior and inferior races.

This article addresses systemic racism as in definition #1.

Addressing individual, interpersonal racism requires serious help beyond the scope of this article...

Liberty and injustice for all.

Black and white males use cannabis at similar rates. Yet, men of color are arrested 4x more often for marijuana possession.

American police use the "drug war" to imprison men of color in targeted communities. And it's been happening for decades now.

Take a peek at these stats supported by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

#1

Marijuana use is virtually equal among black and white young adults.

#2

Men of color are about 4x more likely to be arrested for marijuana in America.

# 3

Marijuana arrests among states are 80-90% simple possession charges.

These are not kingpin drug dealer arrests.

These are not violent, murderous thugs being imprisoned.

Most of the time, it's young respectable men arrested for a bag of weed in their pocket or car.

Simple traffic stops often escalate to arrests in highly targeted communities.

Non-violent people are locked up for simple marijuana possession. As they have been for years.

Worst of all, these arrests feed into a massive money-making system invisible to the public.

Defendants pay tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, fines, and tickets. But that’s just a small chunk of change compared to the long-term profits of prison.

The big money comes from keeping people locked up for years. It costs about $100,000 per year to keep someone incarcerated.

Which brings us to the source of the problem...

The economics of incarceration:

Always follow the money.

Did you know... enforcing and imprisoning people for marijuana alone costs over $6 billion per year?

This is a massive market. And the recurring revenue model makes private prisons extremely attractive to investors and companies.

Most prisons are made for profit.

Private prison corporations are well aware of this valuable niche and leverage it to their full advantage.

Here is a leaked PowerPoint slideshow from the world’s largest private prison corporation - Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). The document shows a clear "profit-over-people" approach in an industry that should be focused on human services.

In an earnings report - (CCA) presents their industry as an "Unique Investment Opportunity".

The leaked PowerPoint and earnings reports from CCA reveal their clearly inhumane approach to corrections.

More People = More Profit.

Most countries take pride in minimizing the total number of citizens in jail or prison.

Yet, American private prisons "utilize available capacity" to drive up revenue, earnings, and growth.

Here's an appendix page from CCA's quarterly earnings report taking pride in utilizing near maximum capacity.

In other slides, CCA presents the social crisis of overcrowded prisons (operating at 100-140% capacity) as “a positive indication for profits.” 

Bad people with a big money monopoly.

The corrections industry is controlled by only a few corporations.

Unfortunately, these companies use their power to make the conditions even worse...

Private prisons re-invest their revenue into lobbying for policies and people that help ensure their cells remain full.

These guys recruit directly from the federal justice system.

CCA's Executive Vice President, Harley Lapin, is the former Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons for the entire United States. (What a convenient career transition…)

CCA also pours money into lobbying for government policies, political campaigns, and state officials to help keep prisons full.

Some private prisons even stoop as low as directly paying off judges to lock people up.

Classy.

But wait, there's more!

Check out their most recent bullshit...

Another leaked document reveals, CCA is try to buy out and manage correctional facilities across 48 of the 50 states.

If completed, states will be required to maintain at least a 90%+ occupancy rate of prison capacity at all times...

And we're still not done.

WE are technically paying for this. (Okay, seriously?? wtf)

The most frustrating part?

American citizens indirectly pay the bill for this shit show.

The corrections industry is funded by our taxes and state funds. A majority of prison operations are handed over to corporations via government contracts.

(By the way… your taxes probably helped pay the president of CCA's $3.4 million salary.)

They make billions cashing in government prison contracts smoothly softened with the term "Correctional Partnerships."

In 2010, the estimated total cost to state's taxpayers for enforcing marijuana arrests was about $3.6 Billion

In that same year, the top 2 private corrections corporations (CCA & GEO) collected a revenue of $2.9 Billion.

We are virtually shoveling tax dollars into their pockets.

Why is “profit-over-people” the status quo for an industry that should be focused solely on human services?

Correctional facilities should be developed with the sole intention of correcting lives... Not to cage people for profit.

Costs of marijuana enforcement VS. revenue of CCA and GEO

Marijuana arrests are the “low-hanging fruit.”

Marijuana possession arrests are the least difficult (and most popular) way to keep prisons full.

So naturally, it is utilized to incarcerate people.

Unfortunately, young men of color are most often the victims of this corrupt system.

We must reduce the number of lives ruined for marijuana-related offenses. It is one of the most abused laws in our justice system.

We need to disable police from arresting non-violent, non-threatening citizens so easily.

Federal cannabis legalization will bring solutions that value education over incarceration.

So what can we do?

One Utopian solution is simple. And education is the key.

Most marijuana possession arrests target young men of color with minimal access to education and/or professional opportunities.

Now, imagine if we invested into people instead of imprisoning them for profit.

A White House Executive Report discloses,

men of color could earn as much as $170 billion more per year for the GDP - if the education gap in America is equalized.

Statistically, we are literally restricting black men back from creating a better country and economy for all of us.

The same executive report reveals the cost advantages of investing in education over incarceration:

• 1 year of incarceration = $100,000
• 1 year of tuition, housing, and expenses at a top university = $50,000
• 1 year of a professional mentoring program = $1,000

Legalize & Educate.

Petty marijuana arrests will reduce dramatically when prohibition is lifted. This will help states save millions of dollars every year.

Legal revenue from cannabis taxes can fund scalable government programs for education and entrepreneurship.

Colorado is a prime example of a system that utilizes cannabis tax dollars to fund schools and educational programs. ($44 Million in 2014)

Without prohibition, we can enhance opportunities for people through education.

More people will live free to make their mark on the world thanks to increased education and opportunity.

Don't let a big money monopoly control our future with police and prison.

Join the mission to legalize cannabis and help end systemic racism.

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