Drug War



                              

1. Fact Sheet: Women, Prison, and the Drug War
2. Causes of Death


                              


Fact Sheet: Women, Prison,  and the Drug War


1. Drug use and drug selling occur at the same rate across racial and ethnic groups.
2. The incarceration rate for white women is 94 per 100,000. For Latino women, it is 152 per 100,000, and for black women it is 358 per 100,000.
3. Black women are 3.8 times more likely than white women to be sent to prison, and Latinas are 1.6 times more likely than white women to be incarcerated.
4. Before mandatory minimums, the average federal drug sentence was 11% higher for blacks than for whites. After mandatory minimums were reinstituted in 1986, federal drug offense sentences were 49% higher for blacks.
5. Even though they use illicit drugs at similar rates during pregnancy, black women are 10 times more likely than white women to be reported to child welfare 
services for prenatal drug use.
6. A black woman is 4.8 times more likely than a white woman to be sent to prison for a drug violation.
7. Women are the fastest growing segment of the prison population. Since 1977, the rate of female imprisonment has grown 757 percent. The drug war drives these numbers.
8. A drug offense is the most common reason for maternal incarceration. 
9. Pregnant women who are incarcerated for drug offenses are often not provided with prenatal care. Children are often separated from their imprisoned 
mothers, causing irreparable damage to the child.  
10. Prisons use restraints (handcuffs and shackles) on women in labor and during delivery regardless of the women’s history. Only five state departments of 
corrections (CT, FL, RI, WA, and WY) and Washington DC have banned this practice. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states that this puts “the lives of women and unborn children at risk.
11. In state prisons, 65.3% of women are mothers to minors, while in federal prison, 58.8% of the women are mothers to minor children.
12. Black children are nine times as likely as white children to have a parent in prison.
13. Today, nearly 2.5 million minors have an incarcerated parent. 84% of parents in federal prison and 62% of those in state prison are housed 100 miles or more from their children.


1 Mauer, Marc. “The Changing Racial Dynamics of the War on Drugs,” The Sentencing Project, April 2009, pg. 8. 
2 Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2006,” pg. 9. 
3 Ibid. 
4 Meierhoefer, B. S., “The General Effect of Mandatory Minimum Prison Terms: A Longitudinal Study of Federal Sentences Imposed” (Washington DC: Federal Judicial Center, 1992), p. 20. 
5 “The Prevalence of illicit-drug or alcohol use during pregnancy and discrepancies in mandatory reporting in Pinellas County, Florida,” New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 322:1202-1206, Number 17. 
6 Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and America’s Prison Population, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.  
7 Institute of Women and Criminal Justice, “Hard Hit: The Growth of Imprisonment and Women,” May 2006. 
8 The Rebecca Project, “Shackling Fact Sheet,” 
9 The Rebecca Project, “Mothers Behind Bars Fact Sheet.”  
10 Brennan Center for Justice, “Rebuilding Families, Reclaiming Lives,” 2006. 
11 Brennan Center for Justice, “Rebuilding Families, Reclaiming Lives,” 2006. 



Fact Sheet: Women, Prison, and the Drug War




                              


Causes of Death


1. (liver failure and alcohol warnings for acetaminophen and NSAIDS) "... we [the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, HHS] have recent data suggesting that acetaminophen may be the most common cause of acute liver failure in the United States (Ref. 13). Therefore,we believe that the word "severe" is appropriate in the liver warning. In addition, we agree with the submission that the word "severe" is also appropriate in the stomach bleeding warning on OTC NSAID [nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug] products." Editor's Note: The required labeling for acetaminophen and NSAID products in this Federal Register entry was: "For products containing acetaminophen: "Alcohol Warning: If you consume 3 or more alcoholic drinks every day, ask a doctor whether you should take acetaminophen or other pain relievers/fever reducers. Acetaminophen may cause liver damage." "For products containing NSAIDs: "Alcohol Warning: If you consume 3 or more alcoholic drinks every day, ask your doctor whether you should take (name of active ingredient) or other pain relievers/fever reducers. (Name of active ingredient) may cause stomach bleeding." 

Source: Food and Drug Administration, HHS, "Organ-Specific Warnings; Internal Analgesic, Antipyretic, and Antirheumatic Drug Products for Over-the-Counter Human Use; Final Monograph," Federal Register, Vol. 74, No. 81, Wednesday, April 29, 2009, p. 19391. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-9684.pdf [4]

2. Causes of Death - Data
(2010 - death penalty) "Up to 1000 people are executed for drug offences each year, in direct
violation of international law.(2)" 

Source: "The War on Drugs: Are we paying too high a price?" from the "Count the Costs: 50 Years of the War on Drugs," Transform Drug Policy Foundation (United Kingdom, 2011), p. 4. http://www.countthecosts.org/sites/default/files/War%20on%20Drugs%20-%20... [5]
Gallahue, Patrick and Lines, Rick, "Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2010," International Harm Reduction Association (London, United Kingdom: 2010), p. 49.
http://www.ihra.net/files/2010/06/16/IHRA_DeathPenaltyReport_Web.pdf [6]

3. (2000-2009 - death and serious patient outcomes from FDA approved drugs) "These data describe the outcome of the patient as defined in U.S. reporting regulations (21 CFR 310.305, 314.80, 314.98, 600.80) and Forms FDA 3500 and 3500A (the MedWatch forms). Serious means that one or more of the following outcomes were documented in the report: death, hospitalization, life-threatening, disability, congenital anomaly and/or other serious outcome. Documenting one or more of these outcomes in a report does not necessarily mean that the suspect product(s) named in the report was the cause of these outcomes." Editor's Note: These data show "deaths" totaling 370,056 and "serious outcomes" equaling 2,345,006 occurred during the ten years from 2000 to 2009 as tabulated from the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System for prescription drugs. Comparing the first five years (2000-2004) with the second five years (2005-2009) finds that the number of deaths grew by +61.1% for the second time frame as compared to first. For the same comparative spans, serious patient leaped by almost three quarters (+74.0%)

1 AERS = Adverse Events Reporting System. This system managed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) contains over four million reports of adverse events and reflects data from 1969 to the present. Data from These data are presented at the individual report level; some of the numbers may reflect duplicate reporting due to factors such as follow-up reports received on a case or different persons reporting on the same patient case.
AERS are presented as summary statistics. These summary statistics cover data received over the last ten years. 

Source: "AERS Patient Outcomes by Year," Food and Drug Administration (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, March 31, 2010). http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Surveil... [7]

4. (2009 - drug violence in Mexico) "The cross-border flow of money and guns into Mexico from the United States has enabled well-armed and well-funded cartels to engage in violent activities.They employ advanced military tactics and utilize sophisticated weaponry such as sniper rifles, grenades, rocket-propelled grenades and even mortars in attacks on security personnel. DTOs have openly challenged the GOM through conflict and intimidation and have fought amongst themselves to control drug distribution routes. The results led to unprecedented violence and a general sense of insecurity in certain areas of the country, particularly near the U.S. border. Between January and September 2009, there were 5,874 drug-related murders in Mexico, an almost 5 percent increase over 2008 (5,600)."

Source: United States Department of State, Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, "International Narcotics Control Strategy Report: Volume I, Drug and Chemical Control," (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State: March 2010)p. 432. http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/137411.pdf [8]


5. (2009 - harms of prescription drugs) "Each year offers new examples of injuries and deaths caused by untoward dangers in prescription drugs. Prominent illustrations from recent years include Vioxx, a popular arthritis painkiller that more than doubled the risk of heart attacks and strokes,6 a risk that lingered long after users stopped taking the drug;7 “Phen-fen,” a diet drug that caused heart damage;8 and Propulsid, a drug that reduced gastric acid but also threatened patients’ hearts.9 Once information on these side-effects became known to the public, the manufacturers of each of these drugs stopped selling them and, eventually, paid millions or billions of dollars to settle claims for resulting injuries.10 Merck, for example, having withdrawn the profitable Vioxx drug11 from themarket in 2004, settled nearly 50,000 Vioxx cases in late 2007 for $4.85 billion.12 In 2009, Eli Lilly agreed to plead guilty and pay $1.415 billion in criminal and civil penalties for promoting its antipsychotic drug, Zyprexa, as suitable for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”).13 These cases may be among the more prominent, but they represent just the tip of the iceberg of damage caused by prescription drugs."

Source: Owen, David G., "Dangers in Prescription Drugs: Filling a Private Law Gap in the Healthcare Debate," Connecticut Law Review (Hartford, CT: University of Connecticut School of Law, February 2010) Volume 42, Number 3, p. 737. http://connecticutlawreview.org/documents/DavidG.Owen-DangersinPrescript... [9]


6. (2009 - annual causes of death by cause)


1 Based on the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Second Edition, 2004
2 Drug induced include both legal and illicit drugs.

Source: Kochanek KD, Xu JQ, Murphy SL, et al. "Deaths: Preliminary data for 2009." National vitalstatistics reports; vol 59 no 4. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2011. pp. 17-20. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_04.pdf [10]

7. (2008 - drug violence in Mexico) "More than 5,600 people died in drug trafficking violence in Mexico in 2008, more than double the prior year. This escalation in the level of violence was matched by a growing ferocity. Beginning in early 2008, there was an increase in assassinations of high-level law enforcement officials, gruesome murders including beheadings, violent kidnappings, use of a growing and varied arsenal of high-powered weapons, and one incidence of indiscriminate killing of civilians.6 The battle for control of the multi-billion dollar drug trade has been—and continues to be—brutal. While the U.S. and Mexican media began to shift their attention away from the sensational crimes allegedly committed by the Mexican DTOs in late spring, the high numbers of killings have continued, exceeding an estimated 2,000 thus far in 2009."

Source: Beittel, June S., "Mexico's Drug-Related Violence," Congressional Research Service (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, May 27, 2009), pp. 7-8.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40582.pdf [11]


8. (1999-2007 - opioid deaths) "From 1999 to 2007, the number of U.S. poisoning deaths involving any opioid analgesic (e.g., oxycodone, methadone, or hydrocodone) more than tripled, from 4,041 to 14,459, or 36% of the 40,059 total poisoning deaths in 2007. In 1999, opioid analgesics were involved in 20% of the 19,741 poisoning deaths. During 1999–2007, the number of poisoning deaths involving specified drugs other than opioid analgesics increased from 9,262 to 12,790, and the number involving nonspecified drugs increased from 3,608 to 8,947."

Source: "Number of Poisoning Deaths* Involving Opioid Analgesics and Other Drugs or Substances — United States, 1999–2007," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, August 20, 2010, Vol. 59, No. 32 (Atlanta, GA: US Centers for Disease Control), p. 1026. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/wk/mm5932.pdf [12]


9. (2006 - alcohol deaths) "In 2006, a total of 22,073 persons died of alcohol-induced causes in the United States (Tables 23 and 24). This category includes not only deaths from dependent and nondependent use of alcohol, but also accidental poisoning by alcohol. It excludes unintentional injuries, homicides, and other causes indirectly related to alcohol use as well as deaths due to fetal alcohol syndrome." (2007 - alcohol deaths) "In 2007, a total of 23,199 persons died of alcohol-induced causes in the United States, 1,126 more deaths than in 2006."

Source:Heron MP, Hoyert DL, Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Kochanek KD, Tejada-Vera B. Deaths: Final data for 2006. National vital statistics reports; vol 57 no 14. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2009, p, 11. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_14.pdf [13]
Xu JQ, Kochanek KD, Murphy SL, Tejada-Vera B. Deaths: Final data for 2007. National vital statistics reports; vol 58 no 19. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2010. p. 11. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr58/nvsr58_19.pdf [14]


10. (2006 - suicide) The US Centers for Disease Control reports that in 2006, there were a total of 33,300 deaths from suicide in the US.

Source: Heron MP, Hoyert DL, Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Kochanek KD, Tejada-Vera B. Deaths: Final data for 2006. National vital statistics reports; vol 57 no 14. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2009, Table B. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_14.pdf [15]

11. (2006 - deaths - drug induced causes) "In 2006, a total of 38,396 persons died of drug-induced causes in the United States (Tables 21 and 22). This category includes not only deaths from dependent and nondependent use of legal or illegal drugs, but also poisoning from medically prescribed and other drugs. It excludes unintentional injuries, homicides, and other causes indirectly related to drug use, as well as newborn deaths due to the mother’s drug use." (2007 - deaths - drug induced causes) "In 2007, a total of 38,371 persons died of drug-induced causes in the United States."

Source: Heron MP, Hoyert DL, Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Kochanek KD, Tejada-Vera B. Deaths: Final data for 2006. National vital statistics reports; vol 57 no 14. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2009, p, 11. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_14.pdf [16]
Xu JQ, Kochanek KD, Murphy SL, Tejada-Vera B. Deaths: Final data for 2007. National vital statistics reports; vol 58 no 19. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2010. p. 11. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr58/nvsr58_19.pdf [17]

12. (2006 - homicide) "The US Centers for Disease Control reports that in 2006, there were a total of 18,573 deaths from homicide in the US. 

Source: Heron MP, Hoyert DL, Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Kochanek KD, Tejada-Vera B. Deaths: Final data for 2006. National vital statistics reports; vol 57 no 14. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for HealthStatistics. 2009, Table B. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_14.pdf [18]

13. (2003 - HIV, leading cause of death, and race) The Centers for Disease Control reported that in 2003, HIV disease was the 22nd leading cause of death in the US for whites, the 9th leading cause of death for blacks, and the 13th leading cause of death for Hispanics.

Source: Heron, Melonie P., PhD, Smith, Betty L., BsED, Division of Vital Statistics, "Deaths: Leading Causes for 2003," National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 55, No. 10 (Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, CDC, March 15, 2007), p. 10, Table E, and p. 12, Table F. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr55/nvsr55_10.pdf [19]

14. (2000 - illicit drug use) "Illicit drug use is associated with suicide, homicide, motor-vehicle injury, HIV infection, pneumonia, violence, mental illness, and hepatitis. An estimated 3 million individuals in the United States have serious drug problems. Several studies have reported an undercount of the number of deaths attributed to drugs by vital statistics; however, improved medical treatments have reduced mortality from many diseases associated with illicit drug use. In keeping with the report by McGinnis and Foege, we included deaths caused indirectly by illicit drug use in this category. We used attributable fractions to compute the number of deaths due to illicit drug use. Overall, we estimate that illicit drug use resulted in approximately 17000 deaths in 2000, a reduction of 3000 deaths from the 1990 report."

Source: Mokdad, Ali H., PhD, James S. Marks, MD, MPH, Donna F. Stroup, PhD, MSc, Julie L. Gerberding, MD, MPH, "Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000," Journal of the American Medical Association, (March 10, 2004), G225 Vol. 291, No. 10, 1242. http://proxy.baremetal.com/csdp.org/research/1238.pdf [20]

15. (2000 - leading causes of death) "The leading causes of death in 2000 were tobacco (435,000 deaths; 18.1% of total US deaths), poor diet and physical inactivity (400,000 deaths; 16.6%), and alcohol consumption (85,000 deaths; 3.5%). Other actual causes of death were microbial agents (75,000), toxic agents (55,000), motor vehicle crashes (43,000), incidents involving firearms (29,000), sexual behaviors (20,000), and illicit use of drugs (17,000)." Correction: According to a correction published by the Journal on January 19, 2005, "On page 1240, in Table 2, '400,000 (16.6)' deaths for 'poor diet and physical inactivity' in 2000 should be '365,000 (15.2).' A dagger symbol should be added to 'alcohol consumption' in the body of the table and a dagger footnote should be added with 'in 1990 data, deaths from alcohol-related crashes are included in alcohol consumption deaths, but not in motor vehicle deaths. In 2000 data, 16,653 deaths from alcohol-related crashes are included in both alcohol consumption and motor vehicle death categories."

Source: Mokdad, Ali H., PhD, James S. Marks, MD, MPH, Donna F. Stroup, PhD, MSc, Julie L. Gerberding, MD, MPH, "Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000," Journal of the American Medical Association, (March 10, 2004), G225 Vol. 291, No. 10, p. 1238, 1240. http://proxy.baremetal.com/csdp.org/research/1238.pdf [21]
Source for Correction: Journal of the American Medical Association, Jan. 19, 2005, Vol. 293, No. 3, p. 298.

16. (1998 - marijuana)
"3. The most obvious concern when dealing with drug safety is the possibility of lethal effects. Can the drug cause death?
"4. Nearly all medicines have toxic, potentially lethal effects. But marijuana is not such a substance. There is no record in the extensive medical literature describing a proven, documented cannabisinduced fatality.
"5. This is a remarkable statement. First, the record on marijuana encompasses 5,000 years of human experience. Second, marijuana is now used daily by enormous numbers of people throughout the world. Estimates suggest that from twenty million to fifty million Americans routinely, albeit illegally, smoke marijuana without the benefit of direct medical supervision. Yet, despite this long history of use and the extraordinarily high numbers of social smokers, there are simply no credible medical reports to suggest that consuming marijuana has caused a single death. 
"6. By contrast aspirin, a commonly used, over-the-counter medicine, causes hundreds of deaths each year.
"7. Drugs used in medicine are routinely given what is called an LD-50. The LD-50 rating indicates at what dosage fifty percent of test animals receiving a drug will die as a result of drug induced toxicity. A number of researchers have attempted to determine marijuana's LD-50 rating in test animals, without success. Simply stated, researchers have been unable to give animals enough marijuana to induce death.
"8. At present it is estimated that marijuana's LD-50 is around 1:20,000 or 1:40,000. In layman terms this means that in order to induce death a marijuana smoker would have to consume 20,000 to 40,000 times as much marijuana as is contained in one marijuana cigarette. NIDA-supplied marijuana cigarettes weigh approximately .9 grams. A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response. 
"9. In practical terms, marijuana cannot induce a lethal response as a result of drug-related toxicity."

Source: US Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, "In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition" (Docket #86-22), September 6, 1988, p. 56-57.
http://druglibrary.net/olsen/MEDICAL/YOUNG/young4.html [22] 

17. (1999 - marijuana) "Indeed, epidemiological data indicate that in the general population marijuana17. (1999 - marijuana) "Indeed, epidemiological data indicate that in the general population marijuana use is not associated with increased mortality."

Source: Janet E. Joy, Stanley J. Watson, Jr., and John A Benson, Jr., "Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base," Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, Institute of Medicine (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1999), p. 109. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309071550&page=109 [23]

18. (1998 - hospitalization) "Our study revealed that experiencing an ADR [Adverse Drug Reaction] while hospitalized substantially increased the risk of death (1971 excess deaths, OR 1.208, 95% CI 1.184-1.234). This finding reflects about a 20% increase in mortality associated with an ADR in hospitalized patients. Extrapolating this finding to all patients suggests that 2976 Medicare patients/year and 8336 total patients/year die in U.S. hospitals as a direct result of ADRs; this translates to approximately 1.5 patients/hospital/year."

Source: C. A. Bond, PharmD, FASHP, FCCP and Cynthia L. Raehl, PharmD, FASHP, FCCP, "Adverse Drug Reactions in United States Hospitals," Pharmacotherapy, 2006;26(5):601-608. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/531809 [24]

19. (1998 - adverse drug reactions) "Adverse drug reactions are a significant public health problem in our health care system. For the 12,261,737 Medicare patients admitted to U.S. hospitals, ADRs were projected to cause the following increases: 2976 deaths, 118,200 patient-days, $516,034,829 in total charges, $37,611,868 in drug charges, and $9,456,698 in laboratory charges. If all Medicare patients were considered, these figures would be 3 times greater."

Source: C. A. Bond, PharmD, FASHP, FCCP, and Cynthia L. Raehl, PharmD, FASHP, FCCP, Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Amarillo, Texas, "Adverse Drug Reactions in United States Hospitals" Pharmacotherapy, 2006;26(5):601-608. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16637789 [25]

20. (1996 - NSAIDS) "Each year, use of NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) accounts for an estimated 7,600 deaths and 76,000 hospitalizations in the United States." (NSAIDs include aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, ketoprofen, and tiaprofenic acid.)

Source: Robyn Tamblyn, PhD; Laeora Berkson, MD, MHPE, FRCPC; W. Dale Jauphinee, MD, FRCPC; David Gayton, MD, PhD, FRCPC; Roland Grad, MD, MSc; Allen Huang, MD, FRCPC; Lisa Isaac, PhD; Peter McLeod, MD, FRCPC; and Linda Snell, MD, MHPE, FRCPC, "UnnecessaryPrescribing of NSAIDs and the Management of NSAID-Related Gastropathy in Medical Practice," Annals of Internal Medicine (Washington, DC: American College of Physicians, 1997), September 15, 1997, 127:429-438. http://www.annals.org/content/127/6/429.full.pdf [26]
Citing: Fries, JF, "Assessing and understanding patient risk," Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology Supplement, 1992;92:21-4.

21. (1993-1999 - emergency department visits, hospitalizations and deaths from acetaminophenrelated liver injury) "... acetaminophen-related liver injury led to approximately

• 56,000 emergency department visits (1993–1999),
• 26,000 hospitalizations (1990–1999), and
• 458 deaths (1996–1998).

"Of these cases, unintentional acetaminophen overdose was associated with

• 13,000 emergency department visits (1993–1999),
• 2189 hospitalizations (1990–1999), and
• 100 deaths (1996–1998) (71 FR 77314 at 77318)."

Source: Federal Register, "Organ-Specific Warnings; Internal Analgesic, Antipyretic, and Antirheumatic Drug Products for Over-the-Counter Human Use; Final Monograph," Vol. 74, No. 81, Wednesday, April 29, 2009, p. 19385. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-9684.pdf [27]

Please use the following links to access these sub-chapters:
Data - "Drug Usage - Data [1]" data concerning the causes of death as they related to drugs and the War on Drugs, ordered by data year and subject of the data in parentheses.


Please use the following links to access these data tables:
"AERS [FDA's Adverse Events Reporting System] Patient Outcomes by Year [2]"
"Causes of Death [3]"

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