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| Friend, Drug Policy Action, as the advocacy and political arm of the Drug Policy Alliance, has worked tirelessly to raise drug policy to the national platform this election cycle. As a result, we’ve seen candidates at the Democratic Presidential Debates discuss the overdose crisis, drug decriminalization, and criminal justice reform. This continued at last night’s debate with the candidates putting forth their proposals for marijuana reform, increasing access to treatment and services, and reducing the role of criminalization for people who use drugs. Policymakers in the United States, including the Democratic candidates, increasingly recognize that drug use should be treated as a public health issue instead of a criminal issue. Most, however, continue to support harsh criminal sentences for people who are involved with drug selling or distribution. This was reflected in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s remark about marijuana possession. He said, ”the first thing you should do is we should not make this a criminal thing if you have a small amount. For dealers, yes. But for the average person, no.” President Donald Trump made even more troubling comments when he recently suggested that the US should follow China’s example and provide the death penalty for people who sell drugs. There is significant overlap between drug sellers and people who use drugs. A 2012 survey found that 43% of people who reported having sold drugs in the past year also reported that they met the criteria for a substance use disorder. Drug prohibition and the criminalization of people who sell or distribute drugs does not reduce the harms of drug use or improve public safety. Our current approach is built on a foundation of stigma, ignorance, and fear rather than evidence, and creates new problems while doing nothing to solve those that already exist. We must urgently assess what type of people actually fall into this category and how we as a society can respond to them in ways that will keep people and communities safer and healthier.
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