If It Happens In Africa, Then It Cannot Be Racist: Drug Laws

Written by John (the other John).

This article is a sequel to a prior article, in which the main point is “if it happens in Africa, then it cannot be racist”. The original article was in regards to standardized tests, so this present article is about the criminalization of drugs. Of significance, we have become accustomed to the Left labeling anything that they do not like as being “racist” in lieu of making any kind of valid argument to debate an issue. So the purpose of this article is to attack the unsubstantiated narrative on the merits with objective facts.

Stating the obvious, drugs are very dangerous to the user and to society. I will not get into the health arguments here, so our premise will be that drugs are illegal under the statutes of nations and States globally. Granted, drug abusers and sellers do not like these statutes because they interfere with their trade, but one thing that they cannot credibly say is that these laws are “racist” (although they always do). To say that drugs laws have a “pro-white” slant and/or are anti-Afro is ludicrous. Their rationale for alleging “systemic racism” is that poc’s are arrested and imprisoned at a higher rate than do whites (no other explanation is allowed to be analyzed [such as they may use/sell drugs at a higher rate; or single parenthood]); thus this one bullet-point fact is used without context as a basis to repeal these drug laws as they are allegedly applied “inequitably” against poc’s. But then we must ask (besides the pure idiocy of their assertion), can it really be “racist” if they do this in Africa? (As a reminder, sub-Saharan Africa has a predominantly black population). So I analyzed some random African nations with respects to drugs laws (for the sake of brevity, I limited this to four nations).

Let us begin with Nigeria, in which the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) measures its success by the number of drug criminals it has arrested and convicted, and the volume of drugs it has seized; treatment and prevention are not given the same emphasis. More to the point, in Nigeria, the criminalization of all aspects of the drug market mandate a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 25 years in prison for possession of cannabis, cocaine and heroin. (See: https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/24420/nigeria-s-strict-drug-policy-risks-falling-out-of-step-in-west-africa#:~:text=The%20criminalization%20of%20all%20aspects,actors%20difficult%20and%20quite%20limited). There is no evidence that these laws are applied inequitably; rather, they are applied only to those who violate the drugs laws. In other words, if a person buys/sells/possesses drugs, then they go to prison if caught and convicted; alternatively, if a person does not buy/sell/possess drugs, then they do not get arrested and do not go to prison for this. Yes, it is that simple. And because it is that simple, I am unaware of any allegations of “racism” by blacks against the black Nigerian government due to these strict drugs laws. Next, we have Kenya, in which the penalty for possession of cannabis is 10-20 years imprisonment, and for narcotics the prison term is 20 years to life. (See: http://kenyalaw.org:8181/exist/kenyalex/actview.xql?actid=No.%204%20of%201994).

These prison terms are much harsher than in any State in the US. And despite that, I am unaware of any allegations of “racism” by blacks against the black Kenyan government due to these strict drugs laws.

Third, we have Tanzania, in which the drug laws say that any person who “…produces, possesses, transport, -imports…sells, purchases, uses or does any act or omits to do anything in respect of poppy straw, coca plants, coca leaves, prepared opium, opium poppy, cannabis…” can be sentenced to life in prison. (See: https://www.fiu.go.tz/PreventionOfIllicitTrafficInDrugsAct.pdf). Much like Nigeria and Kenya, Tanzania’s drug laws are severely stricter than in any State in the US. Yet despite that, I am unaware of any allegations of “racism” by blacks against the black Tanzanian government due to these strict drugs laws.

Lastly, we have South Africa, in which if a person is found in possession of dependence-producing drugs, they may be subject to a fine and/or they may be imprisoned for up to five years. Additionally, if a person is found in possession of dangerous dependence-producing drugs (ex. cocaine), the custodial sentence could be up to 15 years. These laws are much stricter than in any US State, yet despite that, I am unaware of any allegations of “racism” by blacks against the black South African government due to these strict drugs laws.

The point here being that these are black nations, with black leaders, with black populations, and they enacted harsher drug laws. Is this “racist”? Of course not. This is the norm in Africa (and globally in the non-Western world). So the next point here being, if it is not “racist” in Africa, nor “racist” in other non-Western countries globally, then how can it be “racist” in the US? It is not. We all know how this works, that “racism” is the go-to rationale to excuse failure and to justify bad decision-making in the name of “equity”. Not only that, but because these naysayers have no valid argument, they take the lazy-route and assert this knee-jerk response in lieu of fully thinking out this issue.

So the next time somebody alleges “racism” on a variety of issues, just remember to tell them, “if it happens in Africa, then it cannot be racist”.