Resolution in Favor of a Better Drug Policy

Tens of thousands of Americans die from drug overdoses every year;  in spite of billions of taxpayer dollars spent on enforcement, court costs and incarceration, the problem has only gotten worse. Despite pronouncements of "We need to treat the opioid epidemic as a public health problem rather than a criminal problem", most states continue to criminalize people that use drugs. The criminalization of drugs has long disproportionately impacted people and families of color and the felonization of addiction has resulted in long term collateral damage to people who use certain drugs, greatly limiting access to jobs, housing, education, public assistance, voting, marriage and stable homes for their children.

Reducing the emphasis on the enforcement of the possession of drug laws will allow law enforcement to focus more on areas that directly impact public safety. People with felony drug convictions often have a much more difficult time accessing employment, housing, public assistance, which often results in people feeling like illegal means of making money is their only choice, often increasing the availability of drugs in communities. 

Portugal, after years of their own drug epidemic, decriminalized all drugs in 2001 and treated addiction as a public health crisis resulting in a dramatic reduction of fatal overdoses, about 1/50 of the US rate. While drugs are still illegal, overall drug use is down, crime reduced, more people are working, HIV and Hep-C rates are way down and people are healthier.

"I/We (org. or individual)_______________________ urges that the State of _________________  take meaningful steps to move drug policy away from criminalization of addiction and toward a policy more closely resembling what Portugal has found to be so much more successful in reducing the drug crisis."  

Some meaningful steps would include some or all of the following:

1.  Urge state lawmakers to de-felonize or decriminalize possession of small amounts of all drugs.

2.  Urge state lawmakers to travel to Portugal to get a first-hand look at what has worked so well.

3.  Urge state lawmakers to commission state-sponsored studies of how decriminalization can impact the health, well-being and economy for their state's residents.  

4.  Actively seek out communication with Harm Reduction and Peer Support proponents.