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USA. Incarceration affects the lives of many African American men and often leads to poverty, ill health, violence, and a decreased quality of life.There has been an unprecedented increase in incarceration among African American males since 1970. In 2009, the incarceration rate among black males was 6.7 times that of white males and 2.6 times of Hispanic males. Substance abuse in African American males leads to higher mortality rates, high rates of alcohol-related problems, more likely to be victims of crimes, and HIV/AIDS. African Amer-icans comprised only 14 % of the U.S. population but comprised 38 % of the jail population. The cost of incarcerating persons involved in substance related crimes has increased con-siderably over the past two decades in the U.S. A reduction in the incarceration rate for non-violent offences would save an estimated $17 billion per year. Substance use disorder makes the individual more prone to polysubstance use and leads to impulse control prob-lems, selling drugs, and other crimes. The high rate of incarceration in U.S. may adversely affect health care, the economy of the country, and will become a burden on society. Imple-mentation of good mental health care, treatment of addiction during and after incarceratio