Drug Decriminalization

To be clear, decriminalization is not to be confused with drug legalization. The major difference between the two involves penalties: mainly rehabilitation vs. punishment. Legalization allows for the legal use and sale of drugs, whereas decriminalization does not [A]. I am advocating for decriminalization. That means I don't think all drugs should be allowed without restriction, but I do think the punishment for drug users needs to be changed. Instead of criminal records, I would encourage rehabilitation opportunities and/or mandates in lieu of jail time. People have been doing drugs since ancient civilizations for a variety of reasons, ranging form spiritual enlightenment to sad instances of depression and abuse. History shows that prohibition laws do not serve as absolutely effective deterrents against drugs. Therefore we have to operate from the assumption that people will still continue to do drugs even with strict laws against them. From that point, how do we best protect society? One option is to keep drugs criminal which has damaging effects. The black market is a breeding ground for drug cartels. Gangs recruit vulnerable members, mostly poor people with little to no opportunities or support. These dealers not only use drugs themselves, but often get hurt in gang violence. They wind up dead or in jail. The prison industrial complex is highly related to the criminalization of drugs [B]. People get sent to jail for dealing or even just using drugs. This puts them at a disadvantage. It disrupts their school, work and home environment. It ruins relationships and one's personal record. People who go to jail for drugs become felons. It is much harder for them to find jobs [C]. In many cases they lose their voting rights, and increase the likelihood of their kids going to prison also [D]. Keeping people locked up for doing drugs is a great expense to the tax payers [E]. On the flip side what does society gain from keeping drugs criminalized? Laws do not stop people from doing drugs; they only make it harder when people get caught with them. Once inside jail people become hardened. They get further involved with gangs and more likely to repeat offenses [F]. Under the status quo, even kids go to jail for minor drug infractions. Studies show that teenagers who go to jail do worse off comparatively than their peers, meaning they are not "scared straight" but just disadvantaged from the experience [G]. If criminalization does no service to the individual or society as a whole, then what is the point of this moral and tax burden? The U.S. has the highest prison rate in the world, mostly in part to the criminalization of drugs [H]. But not all drug users are violent and in fact most aren't, which makes you wonder why we are locking so many people up for drugs. In fact studies show that most violence related to drug activity is in direct correlation to the illegal drug trade rather than the drug use itself [I]. Just because you CAN hurt someone while under the influence of drugs doesn't mean that you WILL, the same way just because someone owns a gun and can use it irresponsibly doesn't mean that they will. Criminalization of drugs punishes people preemptively on the assumption that they will become aggressive even if they do not. On the other hand decriminalization discourages use by issuing penalties, but not ones that can significantly damage people's lives and does not cost the tax payers more than it's worth. For-profit prison institutions are instigating a new type of slavery of sorts [J], particularly against people of color who are targeted for drug use at disproportionate rates even though white people use drugs just as much [K]. No other society in human history has imprisoned so many of its own citizens as the U.S. status quo. This benefits people who profit from these prisons including prison labor. 97% of 125,000 federal inmates have been locked up for non-violent crimes. The government treats its citizens like animals for non-violent offenses instead of promoting their well being. Other countries that have decriminalized drugs, such as Portugal, provide examples and case studies of this policy's effects. Portugal's strategies for instance have reduced drug consumption, dependance, infection and promoted safety [L]. Thus we see that decriminalization is effective at improving the lives of individuals instead of ruining them as criminalization does. [A] http://www.economist.com... [B] http://mic.com... [C] http://www.iwj.org... [D] http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us... [E] https://rainbowwarrior2005.wordpress.com... [F] http://www.crimeinamerica.net... [G] http://thinkprogress.org... [H] http://www.truth-out.org...= [I] http://druglibrary.org... [J] https://rainbowwarrior2005.wordpress.com... [K] http://www.drugwarfacts.org... [L] http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org...