This year marks the 40th anniversary of the war on drugs – a critical time to shine a spotlight on 40 years of failed policy.
Since the declaration of a “war on drugs” 40
years ago:
• Millions of people have been incarcerated for
low-level drug law violations, resulting in drastic
racial disparities in the prison system, yet drug overdose, addiction and misuse are more prevalent than ever.
• Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost
to drug overdose because cost-effective and lifesaving
interventions are not sufficiently
available.
• The war on drugs costs the government at least $51 billion per year at the state and federal level. That’s $169 for every man, woman and child in America – and that’s not counting opportunity costs or costs at the local level.
The war on drugs is the new Jim Crow:
• While African Americans comprise only 13
percent of the U.S. population and 13 percent
of drug users, they make up 38 percent of those
arrested for drug law violations and 59 percent
of those convicted of drug law violations.
• African American drug defendants have a 20
percent greater chance of being sentenced to
prison than white drug defendants.
The war on drugs drives mass incarceration
of Americans:
• More than 1 of every 100 American adults is
behind bars. In 1980, the total U.S. prison and
jail population was about 500,000 – today, it is
more than 2.3 million.
• The U.S. incarcerates more people than any
country in the world – both per capita and in
terms of total people behind bars. The U.S. has
less than 5% of the world’s population, yet it
has almost 25% of the world’s incarcerated
population.
For 40 years, the war on drugs has destroyed lives, wasted resources and treated responsible citizens as serious criminals. With budgets getting slashed and public opinion overwhelmingly against the war on drugs, now is the time to end the drug war.
• The number of people behind bars for drug
law violations rose from 50,000 in 1980 to more
than a half of a million today – an 1100%
increase. There are also hundreds of thousands
of additional people behind bars for drug-related
violations of parole or probation.
• Drug arrests have more than tripled in the last 25 years, totaling more than 1.66 million arrests in 2009. More than four out of five of these arrests were for mere possession, and forty-six percent of these arrests (760,000) were for marijuana possession alone.
• Arrests and incarceration for drugs – even for
first time, low-level violations – can result in
debilitating collateral consequences for an
individual and their family. A conviction for a
drug law violation can result in the loss of
employment, property, public housing, food
stamp eligibility, financial aid for college, and
the right to vote – even after serving time
behind bars.
Three out of four Americans believe that the drug war has failed. Countless lives continue to be lost to a system that refuses to help people struggling with addiction and that throws nonviolent people in jail for years.
Expanding Drug Policies that Work:
A Health-Oriented Approach
The war on drugs is a war on families, a war on
communities and a war on our constitutional
rights. We need drugs policies that move away
from the criminal justice system by addressing
drug overdose, addiction and misuse through a
health-oriented framework.
Expanding access to effective drug treatment
• A study by the RAND Corporation found that
every additional dollar invested in treatment for
substance misuse saves taxpayers $7.46 in
societal costs (crime, violence, loss of
productivity and other factors).
• That same study found that treatment reduces
crime, recidivism and other societal costs 15
times more effectively than law enforcement
alone.
• Incarcerating individuals convicted of lowlevel
drug law violations places huge financial
costs on taxpayers. For example, it costs
approximately $45,000 to incarcerate a person
for one year in New York State, while
community-based treatment costs
approximately $15,000 per year, and is more
effective in reducing crime and restoring
communities.
Reducing accidental drug overdose
• In 2006, more than 26,000 people died in the U.S. from a drug overdose. Overdose deaths
have almost quadrupled since 1990.
• Overdose is now the 2nd leading cause of
accidental death in the U.S., and results in more
death than homicide. In 16 states it has
overtaken traffic fatalities as the leading cause of
accidental death.
• Most people fear being arrested when they see
someone overdose and often don’t call for
medical help. “Good Samaritan” laws provide
immunity from arrest and prosecution for
people caught in possession of small amounts
of drugs when they call 911. Such laws
encourage people to call for medical help in the
event of alcohol, heroin or other drug
overdoses.
• Distribution of naloxone, a drug that reverses
the effects of overdose, is an effective and
inexpensive way to save lives. It has been
approved by the FDA since 1971, but still needs
to be made more readily available to those who
may be in a position to respond to an overdose.
Reducing disease transmission
• One third of reported HIV/AIDS
transmissions result from the sharing of
syringes. Every year, 8,000 people are
infected with HIV by sharing syringes.
• Syringe exchange programs provide clean
syringes to injection drug users to prevent the
transmission of HIV/AIDS and other diseases.
Such programs also provide vital services such
as HIV/AIDS testing, condoms, counseling
and treatment referrals.
• Numerous government studies have
concluded that syringe exchange programs
decrease the spread of HIV/AIDS, and do not
increase drug use.
• Syringe exchange programs are highly cost-effective.
The lifetime cost of medical care for
each new HIV infection is $385,200; the
equivalent amount of money spent on syringe
exchange programs would prevent at least 30
new HIV infections.
Serious talk about legalizing marijuana and ending the war on drugs has been in the news more than ever. Public opinion is rapidly changing, and we need your help to build on this momentum!
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