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Reasons Why We Need to Decriminalize Drugs – And Why We're Closer Than You Think

anythingnonidin 9y ago
Tl;dr / excerpts: 1) Decriminalization benefits public safety and health. 2) Drug possession arrests fuel mass incarceration and mass criminalization – not to mention institutionalized racism and economic inequality. "U.S. law enforcement arrests about 1.5 million people each year for drug law violations – and more than 80% of those arrests are for simple drug possession." "For noncitizens, including legal permanent residents – many of whom have been in the U.S. for decades and have jobs and families – possession of any amount of any drug (except first-time possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana) can trigger automatic detention and deportation, often without the possibility of return." 3) Other countries have successfully decriminalized drugs – and the U.S. is moving in the right direction 4) The American public – as well as leading governmental, medical, public health, and human rights groups – already support drug decriminalization. "Polls of presidential primary voters last year found that substantial majorities support ending arrests for drug use and possession in Maine (64%), New Hampshire (66%) and even South Carolina (59%)."
- anythingnonidin 9y ago
  Also, from the full PDF: "This report makes the following recommendations for local, state and federal policymakers in the U.S.: • Congress and U.S. states should eliminate federal and state criminal penalties and collateral sanctions for drug use, drug possession for personal use, and possession of paraphernalia intended for consuming drugs. • Congress should amend federal law to de-schedule marijuana and remove it from the federal Controlled Substances Act. • Administrative penalties – such as civil asset forfeiture, administrative detention, driver’s license suspension (absent impairment), excessive fines, and parental termination or child welfare interventions (absent harm to children) – run counter to the intent of a decriminalization policy and should not be imposed. • Decriminalization policies – like other drug policies – generally function far more effectively when accompanied by robust and diverse harm reduction and treatment-on-demand programs, including medication-assisted treatment. • Local and state governments should adopt pre-booking diversion and 911 Good Samaritan policies to prioritize public health over punishment and incarceration. "

Tl;dr / excerpts: 1) Decriminalization benefits public safety and health. 2) Drug possession arrests fuel mass incarceration and mass criminalization – not to mention institutionalized racism and economic inequality. "U.S. law enforcement arrests about 1.5 million people each year for drug law violations – and more than 80% of those arrests are for simple drug possession." "For noncitizens, including legal permanent residents – many of whom have been in the U.S. for decades and have jobs and families – possession of any amount of any drug (except first-time possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana) can trigger automatic detention and deportation, often without the possibility of return." 3) Other countries have successfully decriminalized drugs – and the U.S. is moving in the right direction 4) The American public – as well as leading governmental, medical, public health, and human rights groups – already support drug decriminalization. "Polls of presidential primary voters last year found that substantial majorities support ending arrests for drug use and possession in Maine (64%), New Hampshire (66%) and even South Carolina (59%)."

anythingnonidin 9y ago
Also, from the full PDF: "This report makes the following recommendations for local, state and federal policymakers in the U.S.: • Congress and U.S. states should eliminate federal and state criminal penalties and collateral sanctions for drug use, drug possession for personal use, and possession of paraphernalia intended for consuming drugs. • Congress should amend federal law to de-schedule marijuana and remove it from the federal Controlled Substances Act. • Administrative penalties – such as civil asset forfeiture, administrative detention, driver’s license suspension (absent impairment), excessive fines, and parental termination or child welfare interventions (absent harm to children) – run counter to the intent of a decriminalization policy and should not be imposed. • Decriminalization policies – like other drug policies – generally function far more effectively when accompanied by robust and diverse harm reduction and treatment-on-demand programs, including medication-assisted treatment. • Local and state governments should adopt pre-booking diversion and 911 Good Samaritan policies to prioritize public health over punishment and incarceration. "