Friend,

The U.S. House recently voted to extend a harmful Trump-era policy that increases the use by federal prosecutors of severe mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses.

As soon as tomorrow, the Senate will vote and we need your help. Urge your Senators to oppose this misguided extension of harsh drug penalties.

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This backwards legislation ramps up penalties for fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. But we know that harsher punishment will do nothing to address the problem of overdose. It will just put even more lives in jeopardy, put more people behind bars, and make the drug war even worse. 

Doubling down on mandatory minimums is a repeat of the tough-on-crime, racist drug laws that were passed during the drug war hysteria around crack-cocaine in the 1980’s. 

We’re still dealing with the consequences of those disastrous drug laws. And we know who paid the price—Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities. 

These types of drug war policies—that led to overpolicing, extreme mandatory minimum sentencing and police violence in these communities—created the conditions that caused George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many others’ deaths at the hands of the state.

For weeks, we’ve heard Derek Chauvin’s defense team try and blame fentanyl for George Floyd’s murder. And after a year of outcries for serious criminal justice reform, Congress should be addressing a complete overhaul of policing, not extending harmful and punitive Trump-era drug policies. 

Congress is in danger of repeating the mistakes of the past. Please tell your Senators to oppose harsh drug laws instead of giving in to fear and hysteria.

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Rather than extend anti-science Trump-era policies that will exacerbate mass incarceration and racial disparities in drug policy, Congress should prioritize public health legislation that applies evidence-based approaches. 

Together, let’s make sure Congress doesn’t double down on the tough-on-crime drug war policies of the past.

Sincerely,

Grant Smith
Deputy Director, National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance

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