The title of this post is the title of this big new Vera Institute of Justice report. Here is part of its Introduction:
[A]long with the reports and public dialogue about the opioid overdose crisis, there is increasing recognition that relying on criminalizing drug use and enforcement-led approaches does not work. Indeed, it is now firmly established that the long-running “war on drugs” in the United States has not only failed to reduce illicit drug use and associated crime but has also contributed mightily to mass incarceration and exacerbated racial disparities within the criminal justice system, with a particularly devastating impact on Black communities.
Researchers at the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera) have long been working to provide accurate information about the latest evidence regarding justice system responses to problematic drug use and the opioid overdose crisis. In so doing, Vera has highlighted innovative strategies that justice system actors are using to move away from enforcement-led approaches to drug use. Furthermore, Vera, like others, has pushed for a public health approach to problematic drug use — one that simultaneously seeks to reduce contact with the justice system for people who use drugs and ensure that people who use drugs and do have such contact can access harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services to reduce the negative consequences of their drug use.
This report provides a look at the current intersection of problematic drug use and the criminal justice system. It offers practical guidance for practitioners, policymakers, and funders by compiling the wide range of interventions that communities can consider to minimize justice system contact for people who use drugs and to improve public health and safety. In this report, Vera starts from the perspective that there is an urgent need to transform the criminal justice system’s response to drug use and to implement policies and practices that advance health. The findings and recommendations in this report are guided by the principles of harm reduction — a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing the negative consequences of drug use without insisting on cessation of use — and by the conviction that problematic drug use should be addressed primarily as a public health problem rather than a criminal justice issue.
This report addresses the long-standing history of racialized drug policies in the United States and highlights the ways they have fueled mass incarceration and racial disparities at every point along the justice continuum. It also shows that a new path forward requires not only bold leadership at the local level, where real change is more tangible, but also sustained investment in community organizations led by people who are directly impacted. This report is organized into four main sections. To begin, it offers a brief overview of the context of the current drug overdose crisis and the ways that an enforcement-led approach to drug use has harmed people and communities. The report then outlines the spectrum of community-based and justice system-based interventions that are currently applied in response to drug use at the local level. The third section of the report describes how these interventions come together in two places: Ross County, Ohio, and Atlanta, Georgia. These case studies describe responses in two different contexts, highlighting successes, common themes, and ongoing challenges. The report concludes with key strategies and recommendations for changing the trajectory of justice system responses to drug use by drawing on these two case studies and interviews with advocates, scholars, and practitioners in the field.
Comments
Post a Comment