The “War on Drugs” is a public health issue

Around 30 countries have decriminalized drug use in some way, New York City is set to open the nation’s first supervised injection site to prevent overdoses and mandatory minimum sentencing laws are being repealed across the country.

This is how the so called “War on Drugs” should be fought—not by criminalizing drug use.

The War on Drugs began in the early 70s when President Nixon famously declared drug abuse to be “public enemy number one,” but was greatly expanded during the early to mid 80s by President Reagan. The War on Drugs was ultimately doomed from the beginning, plagued by obvious racism and lack of rehabilitation efforts. The War on Drugs has had devastating effects on Black communities, despite relatively equal rates of drug use among races, and remains to have none of its intended positive effects. Earlier this year, the Global Commission on Drug Policy declared the War on Drugs a “failure.”

Harsher sentences, throwing more money at drug enforcement and policing efforts and incarceration aren’t the solutions. We’ve tried it for 40 years and all the U.S. has accomplished is becoming the country with the most incarcerated citizens per capita by a long shot. The solution is investing in public health infrastructure.

In the U.S., it costs around $53,000 of taxpayer money to incarcerate an individual for one year, while costs for outpatient treatment averages around $2,500 per person. Several reports, including one by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, conclude that “every dollar invested in addiction treatment programs yield a return of between four and seven dollars in reduced drug-related crime, criminal justice costs and theft. When savings related to healthcare is included, total savings can exceed costs by a ratio of 12 to one.” Treatment for people suffering from addiction is less expensive than jail time, and (obviously) safer.

Drug and alcohol related deaths in jails have more than quadrupled between 2000 and 2018 according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Many times, those who are convicted for using or possessing drugs are forced to stop using their drugs all together. That’s when the withdrawal symptoms set in. Sometimes, people are willing to get drugs in whatever way they can in order to curb these symptoms. This can lead to an overdose or taking drugs that are laced, which can cause death or major illness. Not to mention that withdrawal can sometimes be deadly. So not only is treatment a less expensive option, it also saves lives.

Instead of treating the so called ‘War on Drugs’ as a criminal issue that causes thousands of deaths yearly, treat it like the public health issue it is. Empathy and compassion are key values here. They’re values that we hope everyone learned as a child, so please use them.