When most Americans close their eyes and envision a drug offender, they do not picture middle class whites snorting cocaine or college students smoking marijuana. Instead, they often imagine unkempt black men and women slouched in alleyways and hanging around street corners. This stereotypical image is the result of decades of “tough on crime” policies that have led to the mass criminalization of minority communities. This has not succeeded in reducing drug use or crime and has actually increased the harms associated with these activities. It has also been extremely costly for state and local governments, which have spent billions in incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders and have had to raise taxes in order to maintain these prison populations.
Criminalization of drugs deprives individuals of their basic rights to privacy and autonomy, and subjects them to the risk of arrest for engaging in activities that have no direct effect on the lives of others. This is why the ACLU opposes criminal prohibition of drugs, and calls for a major shift in the nation’s drug control policies.
The country could benefit greatly by a public health and harm reduction approach that prioritizes drug education, treatment, community-based prevention programs, and other social services, as opposed to the militarized, punitive strategy that is currently in place. It is an approach that would save Federal, state, and local governments billions of dollars each year, reduce crime and deteriorating inner city neighborhoods, and lead to healthier communities.
In addition to ending the drug war, other reforms are needed, including reclassifying marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II (with high potential for abuse and no approved medical uses) and expanding access to evidence-based treatment for substance use disorders. States should also increase opportunities for drug offenders to be diverted from prison into community-based treatment programs and commission studies of racial disparities in their criminal justice systems.
Another way to avoid some of the negative consequences of legalization is by making it legal to produce, distribute, and sell a drug but forbidding commercialization, which would prohibit product branding and advertising designed to proactively increase sales and consumption. This is what happens with alcohol and tobacco, and it may offer a way to minimize the risks associated with an uptick in drug use while still allowing people to enjoy legally purchased products. However, it is important to remember that even this option is likely to result in some increase in drug use, so a comprehensive harm reduction plan will be needed as well. This will include strategies for limiting the spread of infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C among drug users. Also, it will be necessary to ensure that law enforcement and prosecutors are prepared for the challenges posed by a legalized drug market. This is particularly critical for communities in which a large percentage of the incarcerated population are drug offenders. This will require a significant investment in training and equipment for these agencies. This is an area in which the United States is well behind other countries that have already made such investments.
