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Tackling the US prison system The US prison system has long been an issue of concern for many Americans. Despite the US having only 5% of the world’s population, it is home to 25% of the world’s prisoners. The US prison population has grown exponentially in recent years and this has been largely attributed to the ‘War on Drugs’, which has seen the introduction of mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines. This has resulted in a large number of non-violent offenders being incarcerated for lengthy periods of time. There have been a number of initiatives to address this issue, such as the bipartisan First Step Act which was signed into law in 2018. The Act seeks to reduce the number of federal prisoners, reform sentencing guidelines and expand rehabilitation programs. There is also growing support for the decriminalization of certain drugs such as marijuana. These measures are a step in the right direction, however much more needs to be done to reform the US prison system.