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Women Victimized By Drug War

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 19:12:33 GMT

clipped by: dulios

Drug War Traps Increasing Numbers of Women

The "war on drugs" has led to an explosion in the female incarceration rate.

Oklahoman Tina Thomas has been caught up in the American war on drugs.

Thomas is part of an alarming statistical trend and a modern-day American phenomenon. For starters, she is one of half a million people (roughly one-fourth of the total prison population) locked up on drug-related charges. Thomas is also an inmate in a state that locks up women at one of the highest per capita rates -- 129 per 100,000 residents, a figure that is right behind Texas, the federal system and California. Oklahoma’s imprisonment of women rose a stunning 1,237 percent from 1997 to 2004.

Tags: women, prison

Caught with a Bag of Weed?

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 07:01:10 GMT

clipped by: dulios

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Caught with a Bag of Weed? It Could Cost You More Than You Think

U.S. arrests for pot possession were up to 739,000 in 2006. And the cost to tax payers? $1 billion a year.

Those arrested face a multitude of consequences, primarily determined by where they live.

Of course, not everyone busted for weed receives jail time. But that doesn't mean that they don't

suffer significant hardships stemming from their arrest -- including (but not limited to): probation and mandatory drug testing, loss of employment, loss of child custody, removal from subsidized housing, asset forfeiture, loss of student aid, loss of voting privileges, and the loss of certain federal welfare benefits such as food stamps.