PolitiFact: How the war on drugs affected incarceration rates

During a July 10 interview on Meet the Press, Sen. Cory Booker said: The war on drugs led to “a 500 percent increase in incarceration in our country, disproportionately affecting poor and disproportionately affecting minorities.”

Booker said the 40-year war on drugs led to “a 500 percent increase in incarceration in our country, disproportionately affecting poor and disproportionately affecting minorities.”

Booker has his numbers right, looking at incarcerated population growth over the past 40 years. It’s hard to conclusively attribute the rapid rise to the war on drugs, but many experts believe that it is a major factor, if not the primary factor.

Minorities are disproportionately represented in the prison population, and some slightly dated research indicates poor people are, as well. Evidence seems to show that black people are more likely to be arrested for drug crime than white people, despite being equally likely to use and less likely to sell drugs.

Even though it’s hard to prove a direct causal effect, the evidence seems to back up Booker’s claim. Because of that additional context, we rate his claim Mostly True.

To read the full fact check, go to www.politifact.com.