The widespread decriminalization of drugs is not as crazy as it may seem.
Prologue
A tall white man in a denim shirt stands in front of a stove. The camera follows his hand, which reaches into the egg carton and then pulls away, revealing a cast iron skillet.
After making eye contact with the camera, he points to the egg — «That’s your brain». He points to the skillet. «That's the drugs».
With one muscular hand, he smashes the egg into the hot pan. It oozes and sizzles as he slams the skillet down. «That's your brain on drugs».
The camera rises to his gaze again. «Any questions?»
There has perhaps never been a time in human history when the fear associated with evaluating breakfast has had such a profound impact on the minds of young people. The 1987 commercial, a landmark campaign funded by the nonprofit Partnership for a Drug-Free America, illustrates how the U.S. has approached the drug problem for decades: with scare tactics, punishment and criminalization that particularly affected minorities.
However, this may be changing. In the 2020 election, six states and the District of Columbia passed drug law reform initiatives. Most of these addressed cannabis, which is now decriminalized, legalized, or in the process of decriminalization (as of this writing August 2024). Oregon, known for its liberal laws and problems with police violence, stands out.
In that state, the passage of Measure 110 legalized the possession of any drug in quantities necessary for personal use — less than a gram of heroin, less than 40 units of LSD, and up to 40 oxycodone pills, among others. It also created a system of free drug treatment for anyone who wanted it. The new law went into effect in some jurisdictions early, but officially went into effect statewide on Feb. 1.
«If it had to happen anywhere, Oregon is the logical choice», notes Katherine Neal Harris, a drug policy researcher at Rice University. The state ranks high in federal rates of drug use and abuse and has been trying to address the problem for years. In 1973, it became the first state to decriminalize cannabis.
Researchers in public health, addiction and criminology, and progressive politicians hope the recent victory signals a decisive turnaround in public attitudes toward people who use drugs.
«This whole DARE thing, this whole atmosphere has never worked. We know it never worked» — says Jacob Borodowski, a drug policy researcher at the University of Washington School of Medicine. «You don't have to be an expert to see all the problems caused by the way we manage drugs in this country».
The bias of the war on drugs
«This whole DARE thing, this whole atmosphere has never worked. We know it never worked» — says Jacob Borodowski, a drug policy researcher at the University of Washington School of Medicine. «You don't have to be an expert to see all the problems caused by the way we manage drugs in this country».
The bias of the war on drugs
«America’s number one enemy in the United States is drug addiction» — said President Richard Nixon in a 1971 speech in which he coined the phrase «war on drugs».
At first, his administration directed much of its funding toward demand reduction, that is, treating people addicted to drugs and educating people about the possible consequences of drug use. Over time, however, Nixon's rhetoric changed and the effort became decidedly more militant, with an increased emphasis on using incarceration to curb use.
In his October 1982 address, President Ronald Reagan pledged millions of dollars in anti-drug funding, claiming it would help address the «American epidemic» of crime. He noted that crime «claims the lives of more than 20,000 Americans a year, affects nearly one-third of the nation's households, and results in a financial loss of about $8.8 billion dollars annually». Throughout his presidency and the 38 years that followed, crime and drugs remained closely linked in American politics and public consciousness, although the real connection between the two may be a consequence of the criminalization of drugs rather than the substances themselves.
Nevertheless, the war on drugs has not lived up to expectations for a safer and healthier society. Half a million people in the U.S. are currently incarcerated for drug offenses, including 49% of federal prison inmates. Meanwhile, more than 60,000 people continue to die from overdoses each year, and predatory rehab centers are increasingly popping up to prey on vulnerable people and their families.
Hakik Virani, a physician and addiction specialist at the University of Alberta in Canada, argues that these negative consequences were not a mistake but a pattern. Drug laws, he says, «were never intended to help people stop using substances», but rather to exclude certain populations. People marginalized along racial, class, sexual or other lines bear the brunt of criminal drug policy, even though rates of substance use are similar across all demographic groups.
One example is the historical difference in sentencing for crack cocaine and powder cocaine, which are chemically basically the same drug in different forms. The kind that is snorted, cocaine hydrochloride, is a powdered form of extracts from coca leaves mixed with a substance that makes it less pure. Crack cocaine is made by cooking cocaine hydrochloride with baking soda and a small amount of water until it forms «rocks» that can be smoked. This process changes the chemical composition of cocaine but does not alter its psychoactive properties.
Crack cocaine, due to the way it is used, produces a faster and more intense high. This may be associated with high dependence, as the fast action favors frequent use. However, due to the complexity of studying illegal substances and the lack of data under police prohibition, there is little scientific evidence on the subject.
The lack of information has not prevented politicians from adopting an anti-crack bias. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 established much stiffer penalties for possession of crack compared to powder cocaine. For example, you could get the same penalty for 5 grams of crack as you could for 500 grams of powder.
There was no logic to the fact that the punishment for crack was many times harsher than for light cocaine. It had to do with who was using and selling crack at the time: it was mostly poor black communities in major cities.
The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 reduced the sentencing disparity from 100:1 to 18:1, but it still persists. Policies enacted during the Nixon and Reagan eras have had a disproportionate impact on black Americans. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, black and Latino inmates make up about 80 percent of federal prisons and nearly 60 percent of state prisons. Because of this, about one in 13 black adults is disenfranchised due to laws restricting felons' voting rights.
The lack of information has not prevented politicians from adopting an anti-crack bias. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 established much stiffer penalties for possession of crack compared to powder cocaine. For example, you could get the same penalty for 5 grams of crack as you could for 500 grams of powder.
There was no logic to the fact that the punishment for crack was many times harsher than for light cocaine. It had to do with who was using and selling crack at the time: it was mostly poor black communities in major cities.
The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 reduced the sentencing disparity from 100:1 to 18:1, but it still persists. Policies enacted during the Nixon and Reagan eras have had a disproportionate impact on black Americans. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, black and Latino inmates make up about 80 percent of federal prisons and nearly 60 percent of state prisons. Because of this, about one in 13 black adults is disenfranchised due to laws restricting felons' voting rights.
Overall, the current system is inefficient. By 2019, the federal government was spending $34.6 billion dollars a year to control drug use. More than $1 trillion dollars has been spent on drug control over the past 40 years, but the rate of use continues to rise. A 2018 study published in the journal Science found that overdose deaths have increased exponentially over the past 40 years.
Because little has been done to stem the opioid addiction epidemic that began with legal access to pharmaceuticals, the crisis has quickly grown. Opioids killed 47,600 people in the U.S. in 2018, accounting for the majority of the 67,300 reported overdose deaths.
Many experts believe that the opioid epidemic, which has brought white drug addiction to the forefront, has helped change public perceptions of drug users and increased the viability of new policies such as Oregon's ballot initiative.
Decriminalization is only the first step
When it comes to the impact of the war on drugs on black Americans, simply changing the law will not be enough to undo the damage.
Kaise Jama, executive director of the social justice organization Unite Oregon, said in an interview with The Marshall Project, «Systems of oppression always find ways to send black and brown people to prison». While Measure 110 is a step forward, Jama emphasized that data from Oregon shows that law enforcement will continue to target racial minorities. According to 2018 data from the American Civil Liberties Union, black people in Oregon are arrested for cannabis possession at 1.8 times the rate of white people, even though the drug was legalized in 2014. Meanwhile, black people make up only 2 percent of the state's population but 10 percent of the state's prison population.
Measure 110 highlights how drug laws contribute to systemic racism, recognizing that «criminalizing drugs disproportionately harms poor people and people of color». Decriminalizing all drugs eliminates biases associated with different substances, such as differences in attitudes toward forms of cocaine.
When it comes to the impact of the war on drugs on black Americans, simply changing the law will not be enough to undo the damage.
Kaise Jama, executive director of the social justice organization Unite Oregon, said in an interview with The Marshall Project, «Systems of oppression always find ways to send black and brown people to prison». While Measure 110 is a step forward, Jama emphasized that data from Oregon shows that law enforcement will continue to target racial minorities. According to 2018 data from the American Civil Liberties Union, black people in Oregon are arrested for cannabis possession at 1.8 times the rate of white people, even though the drug was legalized in 2014. Meanwhile, black people make up only 2 percent of the state's population but 10 percent of the state's prison population.
Measure 110 highlights how drug laws contribute to systemic racism, recognizing that «criminalizing drugs disproportionately harms poor people and people of color». Decriminalizing all drugs eliminates biases associated with different substances, such as differences in attitudes toward forms of cocaine.
While experts see Measure 110 as the beginning of a broader change, they also point to the need to revise sentences for those still incarcerated for possession, which is now not a felony. This has already been done in Oklahoma and California for cannabis. Oregon has thousands of felony convictions each year.
A background paper from the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), which promoted Measure 110, outlines how Oregon's drug policy will change over the next two years. As of February 1, 2021, drugs have been officially decriminalized and the process of creating a treatment system funded by cannabis taxes has begun. DPA predicts that these taxes will provide more than $100 million in funding by the end of the year, and by October, every jurisdiction will have a treatment center. By 2022, additional funding from criminal justice savings will be funneled into the system.
A background paper from the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), which promoted Measure 110, outlines how Oregon's drug policy will change over the next two years. As of February 1, 2021, drugs have been officially decriminalized and the process of creating a treatment system funded by cannabis taxes has begun. DPA predicts that these taxes will provide more than $100 million in funding by the end of the year, and by October, every jurisdiction will have a treatment center. By 2022, additional funding from criminal justice savings will be funneled into the system.