U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday endorsed the U.S. Sentencing Commission's reduced prison sentence proposal for people convicted of drug related crimes.

As part of President Barack Obama's administrative efforts to loosen the grip on marijuana policies and the war on drugs, as well as reigning in federal spending, Holder presented testimony on how the Commission's proposal would reduce incredibly high rates of incarceration while still being tough on crime.

"This would have the affect of modestly reducing guideline penalties for drug trafficking offenses while keeping the guidelines consistent with current statutory minimums and continuing to ensure tough penalties for violent criminals, career criminals or those who used weapons when committing drug crimes," Holder said in his opening remarks.

In January, the Commission proposed the change to the federal guidelines lessening the average sentence for a drug dealer from five years and three months to four years and three months, which would ideally help solve the issue of prison overcrowding, according to the Commission's proposal.

The Department of Justice wrote a response to the proposal prior to Thursday's hearing, which showed substantial support for the changes. The DOJ said many U.S. citizens have lost faith in the American's criminal justice system because of its high recidivism rates.

"Prison overcrowding and insufficient investment in effective reentry programming must both change if we are to continue to push crime rates lower," the DOJ said. Nearly 40 percent of federal prisoners and over 60 percent of state prisoners reoffend or violate the terms of their community supervision within three years after their release."

The DOJ also said that nearly half of the nation's inmates are serving time because of drug related crimes. It said that Holder's "Smart on Crime" initiative launched in August 2013 aimed at solving the same problems the proposal is also trying to.

The proposal would not change or reduce the harsh penalties for repeat drug offenders who violate parole and dangerous drug dealers who are also caught with weapons possession or other illicit items.

According to the DOJ's response, while the crime reduction policies put in the place during the last 20 years have helped bring crime rates to a generational low, it has also become a costly affair as incarceration rates increased substantially.

"The recent budget crisis has magnified this reality and has made clear that such extensive use of imprisonment as our first line of defense against crime is unsustainable," the DOJ said, adding, "State and federal governments spent a combined $80 billion on incarceration in 2010 alone."

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, as of late January, 98,554 of the nation's inmates -- 50.1 percent -- were incarcerated because of drug-related offenses.

Hispanics made up roughly 35 percent of the total prison population while non-Hispanics comprised the remaining 65 percent, according to the same data.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, by the end of 2012, Hispanics -- both male and female -- made up 332,202 of the 1,570,397 total prison population, with the majority being between the ages of 30 and 34.

California, Florida and Texas -- three of the most populated states in the nation -- contributed the most to the state prison population in 2012 with 134,534, 101,930 and 166, 372 inmates respectively, according to the DOJ.

For sentences of more than a year related to drug offenses, Hispanics accounted for 25.5 percent of those prisoners in 2011 ­-- the highest of all races that year. In 2006, Hispanics represented 29.5 percent while blacks represented 35 percent.

Between 1978 and 2012, total federal and state prison admissions rose 301 percent, from 152,039 to 609,781 inmates, according to the same data.

According to the Sentencing Commission proposal, the change would affect 70 percent of drug trafficking offenders by reducing their sentence nearly 18 percent -- about 11 months. As a result, the Commission expects that over the next five years, Bureau of Prisons will reduce its population by about 6,550 inmates.

Holder has been a strong proponent and advocate for prison reform since he was first sworn into the Attorney General's office in 2009. With his launch of the "Smart on Crime" initiative, the most strict and harsh of sentences would be reserved for "high-level or violent drug traffickers."

"Now this straightforward adjustment to sentencing ranges, while measured in scope, would nonetheless, I believe, send a strong message about the fairness of our criminal justice system," Holder said. "And it will help to reign in federal prison spending while focusing limited resources on the most serious threats to public safety."

One result of the Fair Sentencing Act in 2010, which President Obama approved and signed into law, was the reduction of the 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine.

According to a DOJ statement, the U.S. accounts for merely 5 percent of the global inhabitants but the U.S. imprisons nearly a quarter of the total inmate population in the world.

While the Commission awaits its upcoming vote on the proposal next month, Holder is instructing prosecutors to allow current defendants in court to see if the newly proposed guidelines could apply to their sentencing.

"This focused reliance on incarceration is not just financially unsustainable -- it comes with human and moral costs that are impossible to calculate," Holder said. "That's why, in recent years ... we have taken significant steps to improve criminal justice policies and implement targeted reforms."

Michael Collins, Drug Policy Alliance policy manager, said the Commission's proposal along with Holder's endorsement is a step in the right direction to drug policy reform and ending the war on drugs.

"I think it's incredibly positive, I think it's more a recognition by the Obama administration that the war on drugs has failed and that we have to rethink how we approach drug policy," Collins said.

Collins said that he agrees that the U.S. prison system is suffering from an unsustainable, overcrowding crisis.

"It will mean fewer people in jail, which will mean it will go to elevate the overcrowding crisis the U.S. prison system has," Collins said, adding, "it's a source of real embarrassment for the U.S. so I think in terms of tackling that problem, it's certainly a step forward."

The war on drugs, which was waged and coined in 1973 by then President Richard Nixon as he established the Drug Enforcement Administration, has cost billions of tax-payer dollars on incarceration, drug enforcement, anti-drug ads and rehabilitation.

However, Collins said that the Obama administration and Holder are doing a good job of recognizing the problem with the war and are at least making strides to fix them.

"Sentencing reform is a big part of ending the drug war and ending mandatory minimums and just this idea that we should be throwing people who use drugs in jail I think is thoroughly misguided and I think the attorney general is recognizing that," Collins said.

Collins also said that the current tough on drug crimes policy, especially for non-violent offenders, has been counterproductive or reduced the crime rate at all but rather perpetuated the federal budget crisis.

"The whole idea that this is soft on crime, I think is thoroughly misguided, I think this is about having sensible drug policies and having policies that make sense in this day and age," Collins said. "If someone has a problem with drugs or someone is using drugs, then the place for them isn't prison."