Abandoning drug decriminalization is a mistake -- The drugs were never the point

Abandoning drug decriminalization is a mistake — The drugs were never the point
The rollback of drug decriminalization in some places is ignoring the real mechanisms of poverty and addiction

By NIKO VOROBYOV
PUBLISHED JUNE 11, 2024 5:30AM (EDT)


(Salon) Attempts to roll back drug prohibition in North America are being met with fierce opposition and even repeal in some cases, delivering severe blows to progressive groups arguing that drug use should not be a crime.

In April, the Canadian province of British Columbia announced it was walking back its policy of decriminalizing personal quantities of narcotics (i.e. you wouldn’t be arrested for holding a gram of coke, but selling is still a crime). It follows Oregon, which decriminalized drugs in 2020 but reversed course earlier this year, meaning having a bag of white powder in your pocket is once again a jailable offense.

The idea was to avoid wasting taxpayer dollars on inflicting yet more punishment on individuals living already chaotic lifestyles, which would further damage their mental health and job prospects, and instead give them space to put their lives back together. But amid a spiraling death toll from the fentanyl crisis and homeless tents filling the sidewalks, lawmakers lost their nerve. If only we’d threatened those people with prolonged confinement and career-ending consequences, that’d show those poor folks to make pin cushions out of their veins!

....(snip)....

Even today, the law has little to do with the dangers posed by the drugs themselves: nearly six times as many Americans die from alcohol and cigarettes as illicit drugs, yet few are calling to execute bartenders, or round up drinkers and smokers into camps. .............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/06/11/abandoning-decriminalization-is-a-mistake--the-were-never-the-point/