Drug Decriminalization and a Public Health Approach to Drug Policy | July 13, 2021

February 08, 2022

Information

Maritza Perez, JD, is the Director of the Office of National Affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance in Washington, DC where she leads the organization’s federal legislative agenda and strategy. Previously, she served as Senior Policy Analyst for Criminal Justice Reform at the Center for American Progress (CAP), as Legislative Staff Attorney at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and before that, as Soros Justice Fellow, advocating for policies to end mass incarceration. She currently serves on the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect for the city of Washington, DC and sits on the Board of Directors of the Hispanic Bar Association of DC and the American Constitution Society (Washington, DC Lawyer Chapter).

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00:31So I can see
00:31we have a lot of folks joining us. I just
00:34popped a little message in the chat box
00:36for you, but welcome
00:38to our webinar this afternoon and we'll
00:40get started in just a few moments.
02:17Alright David, I have a 903.
02:19Do we want to give folks a couple
02:21more minutes? Maybe get started?
02:25Welcome, I'm David Fiellin and
02:28I'm director of the Yale Program
02:30in Addiction Medicine and I want to
02:33welcome you to our second talk in
02:35our finding solutions to the opioid
02:37crisis speaker series in collaboration
02:40with the Sandgaard Foundation.
02:42We're joined today by Maritza Perez
02:44from the Drug Policy Alliance who will
02:46speak on drug decriminalization and a
02:49public health approach to drug policy.
02:51Before we get started,
02:52we just wanted to review a few
02:54housekeeping items on the following slides.
02:59First, we encourage you to stay
03:00up to date with the latest in the
03:02finding solution series and the
03:04Yale Program in Addiction Medicine.
03:06By visiting our website.
03:07Following us on Twitter and
03:09joining our program listserv.
03:13Second, I'd like to
03:17introduce you to Kyle Henderson,
03:20who's the executive director of the
03:23Sandgaard Foundation and ask him to
03:26say a few words and share about the
03:27mission and work of the Foundation.
03:29Kyle, go ahead.
03:31Thank you, David.
03:33Thank you everyone for joining us today.
03:36Again, Kyle Henderson,
03:37here, executive director of
03:39the Sandgaard Foundation.
03:40We focus exclusively on
03:43fighting the opioid epidemic.
03:44So needless say it's a it's.
03:47It's wonderful to be aligned with
03:49the Yale program and addiction
03:51medicine on this speaker series,
03:53which focuses on finding solutions to
03:56the opioid crisis we've been involved in.
04:00Initiatives around the country
04:02since January 1st.
04:03We've helped to distribute over
04:05400,000 units of naloxone to recovery
04:08homes around the country in 21 states.
04:10Working with direct relief and the
04:13Clinton Foundation for funding sober concert,
04:15some films in the space and we just
04:18launched our Colorado naloxone project,
04:20which is one of the first initiatives in
04:23the country where we're ensuring that
04:24all that risk patients that come into the ER.
04:29Or walking out of the hospital with
04:31Narcan or no locks in their hand.
04:33So they're not having to go
04:35get a prescription subsequent,
04:36so we do focus a lot on harm reduction,
04:38then also helping to support
04:40the victims and their families.
04:42But we encourage you to learn more about
04:44the Sandgaard Foundation at sandgaardfoundation.org,
04:47and certainly feel out to.
04:49Feel, feel free to reach out to me
04:51anytime if you're interested in learning
04:53more about our mission and vision, but.
04:55That being said, I just wanted to thank.
04:58The the Yale program and addiction
05:00medicine and Maritza Perez or their
05:02time today in helping to make this
05:04important initiative a reality.
05:06So thank you, David.
05:08So. As a reminder, coming up,
05:12we'll be welcoming time.
05:13Travis Rieder, who's a bioethicist
05:15at Johns Hopkins University
05:17and author of the book In Pain,
05:20a bioethicist personal struggle with opioids.
05:23On September 21st, Doctor Rieder will
05:25speak on how a motorcycle accident and
05:28being prescribed opioids taught him
05:31about the US problem with opioids.
05:34Registration is now open and
05:36we hope to see you there.
05:38So finally CME credit is available for
05:41today's event and to receive credit,
05:43please text the code and read
05:45the number in red.
05:48I'd now like to introduce
05:50our speaker for today.
05:51Maritza Perez, JD.
05:52Marissa is a director of the
05:54Office of National Affairs at the
05:56Drug Policy Alliance in Washington DC,
05:59where she leads the organizations
06:01federal legislative agenda to
06:02end the drug war and this role.
06:04She lobbies Congress on issues pertaining
06:06to drug policy and criminal justice reform.
06:09Previously, Maritza was a senior policy
06:11analyst for criminal justice reform
06:14at the Center for American Progress,
06:16where she, where her
06:18Federal portfolio included marijuana policy
06:21policing and prison and sentencing reform.
06:24Prior to taking that position,
06:26Maritza was a legislative staff
06:28attorney at the Mexican American
06:30Legal Defense and Education Fund,
06:32where she worked to advance federal
06:34policies to end mass incarceration.
06:37A criminal justice policy expert,
06:39Marissa has been featured in
06:41various media media outlets,
06:42including the Washington Post in
06:44New York Times, Los Angeles Times,
06:46Wall Street Journal, Politico,
06:48Boston Globe Bloomberg government,
06:51take away and Latino USA, and more.
06:54Maritza is a graduate of UC Berkeley
06:56School of Law and the University of
06:58Nevada is Reynolds School of Journalism.
07:00So Maritza,
07:01thank you for being here today
07:02and we look forward to your talk.
07:07Thank you so much for that introduction.
07:09I'm really excited to be here and
07:11really honored that I was invited to
07:13be here and and share some of the work
07:15that the Drug Policy Alliance is doing.
07:17I'm so first I just wanted to start by
07:19giving people a general overview of
07:21what I wanted to touch base on today.
07:23So my talk will really be talking about
07:25the harms of drug prohibition and why,
07:28in the opinion of the Drug Policy Alliance,
07:31we really need to embrace a public
07:33health approach to drug policy.
07:34So I will begin by giving a brief
07:36history of the war on drugs.
07:38I will explain some current impacts
07:40of the drug war.
07:41I'll make the case for drug decriminalization
07:43and I'll end by telling you guys a
07:45little bit about the work that the
07:47Drug Policy Alliance is doing here
07:48in Washington DC in in Congress.
07:51And with this administration,
07:52and give folks an overview of the federal
07:54landscape when it comes to drug policy.
07:58So before I begin, I did just want
08:02to give some baseline understandings
08:05and more context to my talk.
08:07And that's really by just understanding
08:09the idea that you know drug
08:12prohibition is actually something
08:13that is relatively new in our world,
08:15many currently illegal drugs,
08:17such as marijuana, opium,
08:19coca and psychedelics have been
08:21used for thousands of years for
08:24both medical and spiritual purposes
08:26by people across the world.
08:28It's also important to point out that
08:30most people who use drugs do not
08:32meet the definition of somebody who
08:33struggles with substance use disorder.
08:36People use drugs for a number of reasons,
08:38including for pleasure,
08:39to cope to relax and some engage
08:42with drugs problematically.
08:44But the vast majority of people
08:46who use drugs in fact use drugs
08:49recreationally or for other purposes.
08:51But do not use drugs chaotic Lee,
08:54nor do they want or need drug treatment.
08:57At the Drug Policy Alliance,
08:58we really seek to reduce the harms of
09:01both drug use and drug prohibition,
09:03and we work to prevent our to promote
09:06the sovereignty of individuals
09:08over their minds and their bodies.
09:10We believe people who use drugs should
09:13be treated with compassion and equity
09:15and that drug policy should also
09:17be based in compassion and equity.
09:20It should be evidence based and recognized
09:23human rights and bodily autonomy.
09:26So I thought that foundation
09:27was just really important,
09:28so you have a better context of.
09:30I'm not just drug use,
09:32but also the the the principles,
09:36but by which I do my work in which the
09:38drug policy engages the Drug Policy
09:41Alliance engages with this issue.
09:43So if we could go to the first slide,
09:45please.
09:50So I really wanted to start by giving
09:52an overview of the history of the
09:54war on drugs in the United States.
09:56Now I have about an hour for this talk.
10:00I'm so I'm going to try to get a lot in,
10:02but the history is really complex,
10:04so I'm, you know, trying to do like
10:06a high level summary for folks,
10:08but I think it's really important to stop
10:11to talk about the racialized history,
10:13because that history bears out today
10:15when we look at the criminal justice
10:17system and other effects in our society,
10:20which we'll talk about in a bit.
10:21But we really can't talk about drug
10:23use in this country without talking
10:25about drug drug criminalization and
10:27the drug war drug law decisions in this
10:30country have been political choices.
10:32Often targeting people of color
10:34as a means of social control.
10:39The very first, the very first drug
10:41bans in the US we saw in California
10:43and these were anti opium laws.
10:46These laws started to pop up
10:48although initially in California
10:49really throughout the southwest
10:51where there were Chinese immigrants,
10:53we saw this happen in the 1870s
10:56and these laws ban things like
10:58opium smoking and opium dens,
10:59which were cultural practices of the
11:02Chinese American population at the time.
11:04But for context,
11:05this happened at a time when there
11:08was vast anti Chinese sentiment
11:09in this country and in the West
11:12particular where there was
11:13a huge immigrant population.
11:15The Chinese were seen by whites as
11:17competition for labor at a time
11:18when jobs were hard to come by.
11:22Shortly thereafter,
11:22we saw more drug laws on the books
11:25targeting other minority groups,
11:27the first anti cocaine laws in
11:29their early 1900s were directed
11:30at Black Men in the South.
11:32Accusation could mean accusation
11:34of even using cocaine could
11:37mean severe consequences such
11:39as lynching or criminalization.
11:42And this was at a time when you
11:43know Jim Crow was thriving,
11:45so the law was really to the drug.
11:47Prohibition law was really to maintain
11:50the social order of the self.
11:52The first anti marijuana laws we
11:55saw pop up in the Midwest and
11:57the Southwest where there was a
11:59huge Mexican migrant and Mexican
12:01American population.
12:03And we saw the first anti marijuana
12:05laws come to fruition in the 19 tens
12:081920s and again these were directed
12:10at Mexican migrants and Mexican
12:12Americans in the midst of heavy
12:14anti immigrant and anti Mexican sentiment.
12:17This was around the time of the
12:18Mexican American or excuse me,
12:20the Mexican Revolution where we saw
12:22many Mexicans migrate to the US.
12:26But then we also had a Mexican
12:27population that was already here
12:29in the US and you know the state
12:31competition was changing.
12:32So again,
12:33we're looking at drug prohibition
12:35law that was born out of really
12:37targeting a cultural practice of
12:39a group that was undesired in the
12:42United States and something that's
12:44really interesting to me about
12:46anti marijuana laws in particular,
12:48was that even the term marijuana was
12:51not a common term in the US before
12:54our federal government decided to
12:56demonize the word by making it
12:58sound more foreign and Spanish.
13:00Prior to that,
13:01marijuana was referred to by its scientific.
13:04Plant made cannabis but there was a
13:07strategic again political decision
13:09to change the federal code to call
13:12cannabis marijuana to elicit a
13:14fear response in Americans.
13:16And you know that bears out today
13:19because we still have marijuana
13:21as part of the federal code.
13:23And like I said,
13:25this history is important because
13:27we see the results and consequences
13:29of those choices today.
13:31Today we know that Black and Latino
13:34communities in particular are still
13:36subject to wildly disproportionate Drug
13:39Enforcement rates and sentencing practices.
13:41But the drug war as we know it today
13:44was truly born in the Nixon administration.
13:47In 1971,
13:48nearly 50 years ago,
13:50actually this June we we commemorated
13:52the fifty 50th year of the War of
13:55the Declaration of the War on Drugs.
13:56So in June of 1971,
13:58President Nixon declared a full out,
14:01you know,
14:02federal response to the war on drugs.
14:04He dramatically increased the
14:06size in the presence of federal
14:08drug control agencies,
14:09and he pushed through measures such as
14:12mandatory sentencing in no knock warrants,
14:15tools at the drug war.
14:17After that,
14:17the drug war continued to escalate
14:19with each administration that followed.
14:21Where we saw lawmakers continued to
14:24fight in Drug Enforcement budgets.
14:26During this, during this time,
14:27our country also shifted to a
14:29tough on crime approach,
14:30while at the same time advocating
14:33for abstinence only drug
14:35policy. If we could go to
14:37the next slide, please.
14:40So I did want to share this with you all.
14:42It's it's now a very infamous
14:45quote coming from John Elk,
14:46Elk Workman, who is a top Nixon aide.
14:49He later admitted to a journalist that
14:51you know that they they knew what they
14:54were doing with the with the drug war
14:56that it was an intentional federal mandate
14:59with a specific political purpose.
15:01But quote reads, you want to know
15:03what this is really all about.
15:05The Nixon campaign in 1968 and the Nixon
15:07White House after that had two enemies.
15:10The anti war left and black people.
15:12You understand what I'm saying.
15:14We knew we couldn't make it illegal
15:15to be there against the war or black,
15:17but by getting the public to
15:19associate the hippies with marijuana
15:21and blacks with heroin,
15:22and then criminalizing both heavily,
15:24we could disrupt those meetings.
15:27We could disrupt those communities.
15:28We could arrest their leaders,
15:29raid their homes,
15:30break up their meetings,
15:31and vilify them night after
15:33night on the Evening News.
15:34Did we know we were lying about the drugs?
15:36Of course we did.
15:40Every president says,
15:41since Nixon has expanded the drug war,
15:44this this is seen in terms of federal dollars
15:47and resources devoted to the drug war.
15:50This has led to a huge investment in policing
15:52over social services and health services,
15:55which we know can actually improve
15:57public safety and public health.
16:00So if you measure the war on drugs by,
16:02you know the quote on the screen here.
16:05You know, I would say that the war on
16:08drugs has been a massive success because
16:10we have seen communities of color,
16:13low income communities especially have
16:15really been ravaged by the war on drugs.
16:17But if we look at the war on drugs
16:20through the lens of the reported
16:22goals at the time, you know,
16:24making sure that you know people have
16:27access to to treatment if they need it,
16:30making sure that illicit drug use
16:32illicit drugs are no longer on
16:34the street and that people aren't.
16:35Engaged in illicit drug use.
16:37If we look at it through that lens,
16:39then we know that the war on
16:40drugs has been a massive failure.
16:43Drug Enforcement in the war on drugs
16:45have actually failed to reduce the
16:47supply or demand of drugs while steadily
16:49increasing drug overdose deaths,
16:50deaths and perpetuating the stigmatization
16:53of individuals with addiction.
16:55Not to mention that we now boast
16:57the greatest pop incarcerated
16:59population in the world at two 2.3
17:01million people behind bars on any
17:03given day in the United States.
17:05We also know that the war on
17:07drugs has fueled wide skilled,
17:09militarized policing that cost taxpayers
17:11over a trillion dollars since its inception,
17:15and it has expanded punitive institutions
17:17outside of the criminal legal system,
17:19including other punishment oriented
17:20systems embedded in our schools,
17:23hospitals, social service agencies,
17:24and even in the administration
17:27of our immigration laws.
17:31If we could turn to the next slide, please.
17:35So as was mentioned at the
17:37beginning of this talk,
17:38my background is in criminal justice
17:40reform and I truly think that you
17:42you can't have a discussion about
17:44the war on drugs and drug policy
17:46without talking about criminal
17:48justice and the racial impact
17:50of our drug policy decisions.
17:52I did want to dive in and give you all
17:54a closer look at the criminal justice
17:56system because I think it's such an
17:59important part of this conversation.
18:00You know, first and foremost we
18:02need to understand that you know.
18:05Currently more people are arrested
18:06for drugs than for any other
18:08offense in the United States,
18:10so more people are arrested for drug
18:12offenses than even violent crime.
18:14We have one arrest every 23 seconds
18:16in this country for drug possession,
18:19so that means every 23 seconds
18:20a person's life is turned upside
18:22down for simply possessing drugs.
18:27The drug war has led to
18:28draconian drug sentences at both
18:30the state and federal level.
18:31For drug activity.
18:32We're talking about harsh penalties like
18:35mandatory minimums and three strikes,
18:37laws that cause people to serve what are
18:39essentially life sentences for drug activity.
18:41Drug activity, including sentences
18:43for simple use and possession.
18:45So I'm not just talking about,
18:47you know, high level trafficking.
18:49I'm talking about severe consequences
18:51for even simple use or possession.
18:55Disproportionately,
18:55we know that this population is Black
18:59Latinx indigenous and low income.
19:01Making Drug Enforcement the number
19:03one away that these the number
19:04one way that these communities
19:06come into contact with the law.
19:08People with substance use
19:09disorder are also represented
19:11in the criminal justice system.
19:13Targeted Drug Enforcement and over
19:15policing in communities of color
19:17have led to severe consequences
19:19for black and brown communities.
19:20Black and Latinx people,
19:22for example,
19:23make up the majority of people in
19:25the federal prison population and
19:27are generally overrepresented in
19:28state prisons across the country.
19:31Race, we know,
19:32infiltrates every part of
19:33the criminal justice system,
19:34meaning that there are severe
19:37racial disparities across
19:38the criminal justice system.
19:41So to illustrate this for you,
19:42I did want to share some statistics related
19:44to the drug board that are pretty startling,
19:46but just to give you a picture
19:48of what I'm talking about.
19:49We know that today a black male
19:51in America has a one in three
19:53chance of spending time in prison
19:55at some point in his life.
19:56We know a Hispanic male has a one in
19:58six chance of spending time in prison.
20:02Black Americans are four times more
20:04likely to be arrested for marijuana
20:06charges than their white peers,
20:08despite similar usage
20:09rates among both groups.
20:11In fact, black Americans make up
20:13nearly 30% of all drug related arrests
20:16despite accounting for only about 12%
20:18of all substance use in the country.
20:22We also know that black Americans are
20:24nearly six times more likely to be
20:26incarcerated for drug related offenses than
20:28their white counterparts despite equal
20:30substance use rates among both groups.
20:34Almost 80% of people serving time for a
20:37federal drug offense are black or Latino.
20:39In state prisons,
20:40people of color make up 60% of those
20:43serving time for drug charges.
20:45In the federal system,
20:47we also see very severe disparities.
20:49The average black defendant convicted
20:51of a drug offense in the federal system
20:54will serve nearly the same amount of time,
20:5658.7 months as a white defendant would
20:59for a violent crime. 61.7 months.
21:04People of color generally account
21:06for 70% of all defendants convicted
21:08of charges of mandatory minimums.
21:10And for those unfamiliar with
21:12mandatory minimums,
21:13these are probably the harshest
21:15penalties you can receive in
21:17the criminal justice system.
21:19It's in, you know,
21:20an automatic sentence that an
21:21individual receives and again,
21:23mandatory minimums are disproportionately
21:25used against people of color,
21:27and they're often used in the context
21:29of drug charges and drug sentencing.
21:32Prosecutors are twice as likely to
21:34pursue mandatory minimums for a black
21:36defendant than a white defendant
21:37charged with the same offence,
21:39and black defendants are less likely to
21:41receive relief from mandatory minimums.
21:43On average,
21:43we know that defendants subject
21:45to mandatory minimum spend five
21:47times longer in prison than those
21:49convicted of other offenses.
21:53It's also important to point out
21:55that an arrest alone can ruin a
21:57persons life and arrest can affect
21:59a person's ability to find a job.
22:01Find housing, go to school,
22:04receive public benefits,
22:05or even vote in an election,
22:07or keep their children in their custody.
22:10As many of these things are unavailable
22:12to people with drug convictions.
22:14In fact, the American Bar Association
22:15tells us that there are more than
22:1748,000 collateral consequences
22:19across the United States, so again,
22:22a collateral consequence is the aftermath.
22:24But a drug arrest or conviction on you.
22:28You know, it really does impact
22:29a person's life,
22:30especially if the person is trying to move
22:33on with their life and remain crime free.
22:35The collateral consequences often
22:37make it really hard to do that.
22:40Another tragic part of drug
22:42decriminalization, though,
22:42is that it captures people who
22:44could actually really stand to
22:46benefit from drug treatment or
22:47other harm reduction services.
22:49You know,
22:49earlier I mentioned that people
22:51with substance use disorder are also
22:53overrepresented in the criminal
22:54justice system, rather than, you know,
22:56locking them up and throwing,
22:57throwing the key at them.
22:58We should really invest in health services.
23:01We know that people who are incarcerated
23:03stand at greater risk of overdosing
23:05upon release because they don't
23:07have the access to the services they
23:09need while they're incarcerated.
23:11We know that jails and prisons
23:13are not medical institutions.
23:14Actually,
23:15they're infamous for having
23:16a lack of services,
23:17including medical services
23:18that could really help people.
23:22Another harm of drug prohibition
23:24and criminalization, though,
23:25is found in our policing practices.
23:27There are entire federal programs
23:29to be devoted to really funding the
23:32war on drugs in our Communities,
23:351 program is the Department
23:36of Defense 1033 program,
23:38so this program allows old military
23:41equipment to go to local law enforcement
23:44and local law enforcement can then
23:46use that equipment during drug raids,
23:49and you know this has been quite an.
23:51It's been an issue for quite some time,
23:52but I think you know.
23:53Most recently it came into into,
23:57I guess the public conscience more
23:59with the case of Brianna Taylor,
24:01which I'll talk about in a
24:02little in a little bit.
24:04But we also have other practices
24:05that we know policing practices that
24:07have stemmed from the war on drugs,
24:09including the practice of
24:11civil asset forfeiture,
24:12which allows law enforcement to receive
24:16property or take property from people
24:18that are even suspected of engaging
24:21in any sort of drug drug crime.
24:23So it's a huge due process concern.
24:25But really,
24:26all of these things just go to build the
24:28policing arsenal in pursuit of the drug war.
24:31So as I said,
24:32you know we have really seen the results of
24:35drug fueled policing over several years.
24:37But most recently 2 cases really stand
24:39out for me and those are the cases
24:41of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
24:43Now in George Floyd case.
24:45For those of you who are keeping
24:47up with the trial of Derek Chauvin,
24:49we did see that the defense tried to,
24:52you know,
24:53paint George Floyd as somebody
24:54who had an issue with drugs,
24:56you know, they said that they had.
24:57They found fentanyl in a system
24:59and they used that to really
25:01vilify him and try to justify.
25:03His death,
25:03but this is not the first time we've seen it.
25:06In fact, if you follow, you know.
25:08If you follow the issue of policing closely,
25:10you'll see that drugs are often
25:13used in a in a way that's meant
25:16to really vilify the victim,
25:18or otherwise suggest that
25:20you know they had it coming.
25:22And then of course there was
25:24the case of Brianna Taylor,
25:25which happened around the time
25:27of George Floyd last year.
25:28So Brianna Taylor was also
25:30a victim of the drug war.
25:32She was asleep in her bed when police
25:35swarmed her home without notice.
25:38You know, they came into her apartment,
25:40shot her to death, all under,
25:42you know,
25:43this false pretense that she was part of,
25:45you know,
25:46some sort of drug distribution ring,
25:48and the police were able to do that
25:50by obtaining a no knock warrant.
25:51Now a no knock warrant.
25:53Again,
25:53this is something that really came
25:55through the Nixon administration,
25:57and you know the federal really a
26:01federal strategy to to give all the
26:04federal resources to make sure that
26:06we could have a full out saw on drugs.
26:09No,
26:09knock warrants are definitely
26:10a remnant of the war on drugs,
26:12and you know, it's something at the federal
26:14level that we've been trying to reform.
26:16But beyond, you know the issue of
26:18a no knock warrant where police
26:19can just barge into someone's home,
26:21which we know could result in something
26:24deadly like we saw with Brianna Taylor.
26:26We also have to think about the
26:29fact that police have military
26:31weapons that help them do this.
26:34So earlier I talked about the 1033 program,
26:37the 1033 program.
26:39Helps you know SWAT teams get
26:41the equipment they need and SWAT
26:43teams and no knock warrants.
26:45Go hand in hand like this is
26:47what Brianna Taylor experienced,
26:49so these are all things that have
26:52manifested because of the war on drugs.
26:55If we could go to the next slide, please.
26:58So you know,
26:59that's just kind of an overview
27:00of some criminal justice impacts,
27:02but I do think it's really important
27:04to talk about immigration impacts,
27:06and I like to do this because I
27:08think it's an area where you know
27:10people aren't as familiar with it's.
27:12It's an area we probably don't hear
27:14as much I am, but also, you know,
27:16I do have somewhat of an immigration
27:17background,
27:18and it's also something that you know I
27:21have to contend with in my day-to-day work,
27:23because the fact is that the war on drugs
27:25is massive and and it affects non citizens.
27:28To you know,
27:30a different degree than citizens.
27:32So many drug, drug law violations,
27:34including violations.
27:35Many people would consider minor,
27:37so something like the sale
27:39of $10 worth of drugs.
27:40For example,
27:41subjects noncitizens to
27:43mandatory immigration,
27:44detention and deportation.
27:45So any sort of drug drug law violation
27:49will make a non citizen ineligible
27:52for lawful status or asylum.
27:54And these are punishments by the way,
27:56that are significantly harsher
27:57than people who are U.S.
27:58citizens.
27:59And when I'm talking about a non citizen,
28:02I'm not talking about necessarily
28:03somebody who is undocumented.
28:05I'm also talking about people with
28:07green cards who have a legal status
28:09who have ties to this country who
28:11have been here for a number of years.
28:13I'm talking about asylum seekers.
28:15I'm talking about Dreamers who we also
28:17know have some sort of legal status and
28:20who have been here for a number of years.
28:23But the truth is that the drug
28:25war of impacts non citizens.
28:27Generally, no matter,
28:28you know if you're not a citizen,
28:30you essentially just don't have the
28:32protections that come with citizenship.
28:34And it's important to understand
28:36that the drug war is also at the
28:39center of our deportation machine.
28:40Offenses involving drugs are
28:42actually the most common reason for
28:44Immigration and Customs enforcement.
28:46Ice arrests, for example.
28:48In 2019,
28:49ICE made over 67,000 arrests
28:51for low level drug offenses.
28:53Non citizens who have been convicted
28:55of drug offenses are again are
28:57subject to mandatory detention and.
29:02In immigrant detention facilities and they
29:04don't have the benefit of a bond hearing.
29:06And so in the criminal justice system.
29:09If you're a citizen,
29:10you would you know probably have a bond
29:13hearing where somebody could bail you out.
29:15The same is not true for non citizens in the
29:17immigrant in immigrant detention facilities,
29:19they essentially have to stay there for
29:22years at times until their case is resolved
29:26and often that case results in deportation.
29:29After illegal entry,
29:30drug offenses are actually the most
29:32common cause of deportation and you know,
29:35I I want to put like a finer point on
29:37this because I'm also talking about
29:39people who are in compliance who may
29:41be in compliance with state laws.
29:43So I think about marijuana for example.
29:46So if you're a non citizen who lives
29:48in a states where medical marijuana
29:50is legal or recreational,
29:51marijuana is legal,
29:52you may think that you're
29:54fully complying with the law,
29:56but because marijuana remains a schedule
29:58one drug, a controlled substance.
30:00There are federal immigration consequences,
30:03and we see that happen a lot where
30:05people are still subjected to
30:07mandatory detention and deportation
30:08for things like marijuana.
30:10Marijuana continues to be a main driver.
30:13One of the main drivers of detention
30:15and deportation for non citizens,
30:17which is especially startling at a time
30:20where you know people's attitudes in the
30:22laws around marijuana are starting to change.
30:26When people are charged with a
30:28criminal offence, usually they plea.
30:29They take a plea deal in order
30:32to avoid a lengthy trial.
30:33In fact, most people nearly 100%
30:36of people actually will accept a
30:37plea deal rather than go to trial.
30:39But for non citizens,
30:40that's a risk that's you know.
30:42That could be a risk that can come
30:44with very heavy consequences because
30:47a a plea deal is essentially,
30:49you know, pleading guilty and that
30:51can result in somebody being torn
30:53away from their family and community
30:55and exiled to another country.
30:56And also a lot of the criminal
30:58justice reform things that you know
31:00advocates and others try to implement,
31:01that they think will reform the system
31:04may not always help non citizens.
31:06Diversion programs for example.
31:07So people with substance use disorder
31:10or people who engage with drugs are
31:12sometimes sent through a diversion
31:13program like a drug court program.
31:15And these these programs are intended
31:17to shield people from drug convictions.
31:20But they don't always shield
31:22noncitizens from federal immigration
31:23consequences because even successful
31:25completion of this program.
31:26Can still result in immigration
31:28enforcement because in order
31:29to partake in the program,
31:30we have to plead guilty oftentimes.
31:34Similarly,
31:34in most states don't have mechanisms
31:36to expunge criminal convictions
31:37to prevent their consideration
31:39for immigration purposes.
31:40So once a conviction occurs,
31:42many non citizens are subject to these
31:44cruel immigration policies and enforcement,
31:47because expungement doesn't always benefit
31:49them like it would benefit a citizen.
31:52The great irony of all of this is
31:55really that US prohibition creates
31:56an illicit market that relies
31:58on drug production and supply
32:00from regional countries,
32:01which creates instability.
32:05You know the the US is international
32:07drug policy and our drug interdiction
32:09strategies can contribute to
32:11violence and instability in Latin
32:14American countries in particular,
32:15and it drives many people to immigrate
32:18to the US in the first place.
32:20Sadly with no support in the US,
32:24noncitizens are often sent back to
32:26dangerous circumstances that they were
32:28originally fleeing from immigrants who
32:30use drugs are actually less likely
32:32to receive adequate health care,
32:33treatment and public health
32:34services to address their needs.
32:36After being deported from the US.
32:39So as you can see,
32:41you know there are vast harms in
32:42both the criminal justice system,
32:44the immigration system.
32:46I also talked about collateral consequences.
32:49Despite these mass harms drug
32:51use rates in the US have remained
32:53steady through the years,
32:55as has the illicit drug market by the way,
32:58and in fact,
32:59we're seeing a rise in overdose deaths.
33:0292,000 of our friends and family
33:04members were lost to a fatal
33:05overdose last year alone.
33:09So after 50 years of a punitive
33:12enforcement side drug war, we are calling
33:14for a new approach to drug policy,
33:15one that is grounded in public health.
33:19We could go to the next slide, please.
33:24So I did want to take a closer
33:26look at drug decriminalization,
33:28drug decriminalization and
33:30explain what that concept means.
33:33So when I talk about drug decriminalization,
33:36I'm talking about eliminating the criminal
33:39penalties associated with drug activity,
33:41such as decriminalizing personal
33:43use and possession of drugs.
33:45At the Drug Policy Alliance,
33:46we believe that drug decriminalization
33:48is a good start but that it should
33:51be inclusive of other things such as
33:53expanding access to non coercive,
33:55non punitive treatment as well as
33:58harm reduction services and all
33:59of that also needs to be coupled
34:01with other public public health
34:03investments including social services.
34:07Drug decriminalization can lead
34:09to many benefits.
34:10Obviously it can impact the number
34:12of people who are criminal justice
34:13system involved and it can help avoid
34:15the collateral consequences of that
34:17involvement which I talked about,
34:19but it can also curb the overdose
34:22crisis and promote the health well being
34:24and rights of people who use drugs.
34:26Another benefit in my opinion,
34:28is that drug decriminalization
34:30helps reduce drug stigma.
34:32We know that stigma can deter
34:34people who need and want help from
34:36seeking it for fear of judgment,
34:38for fear of criminalization or
34:40other punishment based consequences.
34:44Now the concept of drug decriminalization
34:47is neither new nor radical.
34:49Other nations, including Portugal,
34:51have successfully decriminalized
34:53the personal use of drugs,
34:55and they've achieved meaningful improvements
34:58in treating problematic drug use and
35:00reducing the harms of policing drugs.
35:02Support for eliminating drug excuse me.
35:06Support for eliminating criminal penalties
35:08for drug possession is growing across
35:10the United States and around the world.
35:12In addition to our organization,
35:14the Drug Policy Alliance,
35:15we know that leading medical,
35:17public Health and Human rights groups
35:19have also endorsed drug decriminalization,
35:22including organizations
35:23like the United Nations,
35:25the World Health Organization,
35:26the International Federation of
35:28the Red Cross, and many others.
35:31Data from the US and the world and
35:33from around the world suggests that
35:35treating problematic drug use as a
35:37health issue instead of a criminal
35:38one is a more successful model for
35:40keeping communities health and safety.
35:42Or excuse me healthy and safe.
35:45So just a word about what you see
35:47on the screen here before we move
35:49on to this picture on the left,
35:51here was taken not too long ago last month.
35:54As I said,
35:55last June marked the 50th year
35:56of Nicks since Nixon declared
35:58the start of the war on drugs.
36:01My executive director,
36:02who's in that green dress there
36:04was invited to testify in front
36:06of the house at the US Congress.
36:09Speaking to the harms of the drug war,
36:11and I was able to accompany her on that day.
36:15And we ran into representative Cory Bush.
36:18So she's a freshman congresswoman out of St.
36:20Louis, MO,
36:21who cosponsored a huge bill
36:24that we also released that week,
36:27and that bill would decriminalize drugs.
36:29It's the first bill at the
36:30federal level to do that,
36:32and I'll talk about that in a little bit,
36:33but just wanted to share that with you.
36:36If I could go to the next slide,
36:37please.
36:42Alright, so where has drug
36:45decriminalization been successful?
36:47So as I mentioned in 2001 Portugal.
36:51In active drug decriminalization,
36:53the number of people voluntarily entering
36:57treatment increased significantly.
36:59Portugal also saw overdose
37:01deaths in HIV infections among
37:03people who use drugs plummet.
37:05They saw incarceration for drug
37:07related offenses decrease and
37:09the rates of problematic and
37:11adolescent drug use also fell.
37:13After decriminalization,
37:14the country made financial investments and
37:17harm reduction and treatment services.
37:19This is a wise investment as
37:21research tells us that for every
37:23dollar spent on treatment saves more
37:26than a dollar in crime reduction.
37:28Portugal's drug use rates to this
37:30day remain below the European average
37:32and they have far lower rates of
37:35drug use than we do in the US.
37:40So we did something very excited
37:43in Oregon recently last November.
37:45The Drug Policy Alliance
37:47worked on passing Measure 110.
37:50And we were thrilled when Oregon
37:52made history by voting into law.
37:54The drug addiction
37:55treatment and Recovery Act,
37:57which decriminalized personal
37:58possession of all drugs and
38:00expanded access to evidence based
38:02culturally competent treatment,
38:04as well as harm reduction
38:05and other health services,
38:07and even housing and job assistance.
38:09Things we know that can actually
38:11improve public safety and
38:13minimize problematic drug use.
38:14So measure one time went into
38:16effect on February 1st of this year.
38:21Oregon's measure really emphasizes a
38:22public health approach to drug use
38:24rather than a punitive approach,
38:26and one that's based in
38:27the criminal legal system.
38:29It is a complete shift in how this country,
38:31historically and currently treats drug use.
38:35So first and foremost again,
38:36the Oregon measure eliminates criminal
38:38penalties for possession of drugs for
38:41personal use while also increasing access
38:43to health and harm reduction services,
38:46including housing and establishing
38:48addiction recovery services.
38:50These services are funded with
38:52marijuana tax revenue as well
38:54as savings from reduce arrest,
38:55prosecution and incarceration.
38:59This victory in Oregon is really a
39:01landmark declaration that the time
39:02has come to stop criminalizing people
39:04for all drugs, regardless of type.
39:06It is the most significant reform to
39:08our nation's failed drug policies
39:10in a generation,
39:11at least putting the focus back
39:13to where it belongs.
39:14On censoring people and and public
39:16health and removing the pretext that
39:19has been often used to justify a
39:21harmful law enforcement interactions.
39:24As we saw with the domino effect
39:26of marijuana legalization,
39:26we really hope that this victory
39:29will inspire inspire other states
39:31as well as the federal government
39:33to follow suit and enact their
39:35own drug decriminalization.
39:36Policies that prioritize health
39:38over punishment.
39:41Now I did just want to speak a
39:43little bit about harm reduction
39:44because I've used that term a lot.
39:47So for people who are unfamiliar
39:48with the concept of harm reduction
39:50when I'm talking about that,
39:52I'm really talking about meeting
39:54people where they're at meeting
39:55people who use drugs where they're at,
39:57so it's providing people with
39:59things like sterile equipment,
40:01null oxone so that they could
40:02reverse an overdose on things like
40:04drug checking tools to prevent
40:06an overdose in the 1st place.
40:07That way people know what's in
40:09the drug before they consume it.
40:11And it's also things like establishing
40:13overdose prevention centers.
40:15There are approximately 120 overdose
40:18prevention centers across the world.
40:20Just last week,
40:21Rhode Island became the first state in
40:23the US to pass a law to authorize the
40:26implementation of these centers and
40:28allow supervised direct consumption.
40:29So the idea of an overdose
40:31prevention center and by the way,
40:32they're often called different things.
40:34Some people call them harm reduction centers.
40:39But but you know they're they're
40:41really talking about the same idea
40:43where you provide a safe space for
40:46people to consume drugs where you have
40:48medical staff on hand who can pull,
40:49provide sterile equipment,
40:51but also can be there in case of an overdose.
40:55And you know, they can also help
40:57connect people to services should
40:59they need and want those services.
41:01Hundreds of evidence based peer reviewed
41:03studies have shown us that overdose
41:06prevention centers work in a variety of ways.
41:09We know that they reduce overdose deaths.
41:11We know that they do not
41:13encourage additional drug use.
41:14They provide an entry to treatment
41:16and even abstinence for people.
41:18They redo the reduce the risk of
41:20injection and the transmission of
41:22infectious diseases including HIV,
41:24hepatitis C, and hepatitis B.
41:27They improve public order by
41:29reducing discarded syringes in
41:30public inject injection,
41:31injecting they reduce crime,
41:33and we know that there are cost
41:35effective and in addition to opcs,
41:38the other harm reduction tools I mentioned.
41:40We also know are incredibly effective.
41:45Next slide, please.
41:49So this brings me to our work in Congress,
41:52and with this administration.
41:55So as I mentioned, you know we we do have
41:57a couple of exciting things on our plate,
42:00but you know, not gonna lie most of the
42:02time it's and it's not very exciting.
42:04It's like pushing back against more, you
42:06know, harm and it's pushing back against you.
42:08Know this old school mentality
42:10that we need to criminalize drugs.
42:12And that's how we're going to
42:13address the overdose crisis.
42:14Nonetheless, I did want to share a
42:16couple of things that we're working on,
42:18the 1st being the drug Policy Reform Act,
42:21and this is the federal drug decrim
42:23bill that I mentioned earlier.
42:24Again, this is the first bill
42:26that would decriminalize.
42:27Drugs that has ever been
42:29introduced in Congress,
42:30which is very exciting on its own.
42:33The bill would end criminal penalties for
42:35drug possession at the federal level,
42:37it would shift the regulatory authority
42:39of drugs from the Attorney general
42:41to the Secretary of Health and Human
42:43Services and the idea behind that
42:45is again moving drug regulation
42:47from something that should be done
42:49in the criminal justice context is
42:52something that should be done in
42:54the public health context.
42:56The bill would also expunge drug.
42:58Criminal records and provide for
43:00resentencing and they would re invest
43:02in alternative Health Center to health
43:05centered approaches to drug use.
43:07Additionally,
43:07the legislation would eliminate many of
43:10the lifelong consequences associated
43:12with drug arrests and convictions,
43:14including the denial of employment,
43:16public benefits, immigration status,
43:18drivers licenses, and voting rights.
43:22Our goal for this year is to really
43:25get more cosponsors and more support
43:27for this bill.
43:28We hope to get a hearing on the
43:29bill or a congressional hearing on
43:31the issue of drug decriminalization
43:33itself that would be significant,
43:35but you know,
43:36we already do enjoy the support of
43:37more than 100 national organizations who
43:39have signed on and in in endorsing this bill,
43:42as well as several members of
43:44Congress who are official Co.
43:46Sponsors of the bill.
43:49Another exciting bill that we've been
43:51working on for some time now is the
43:54more act the Marijuana Opportunity
43:56reinvestment in Expungement Act.
43:58So just to give you all a brief history
44:00of this bill and this bill was really
44:02born out of the fact that we saw marijuana
44:05legalization taking off across the country.
44:07We knew that it was only a matter of time
44:10before the federal government addressed it.
44:12But we wanted to make sure that they
44:13did it right and by doing it right,
44:16I mean that they sent her people who have
44:18been most harmed by marijuana prohibition.
44:21So we pulled together a huge coalition
44:23at the federal level to start drafting
44:26a bill that we thought would address
44:28many of the harms that I've talked
44:29to you about today and that bill,
44:31or that effort resulted in this bill.
44:34The more Oct,
44:35so the more act would remove marijuana
44:37from the list of controlled substances,
44:39so it would completely remove it
44:41from the list of schedule one drugs.
44:43And just so you all know schedule one.
44:46Drugs include things like heroin,
44:47LSD, ecstasy.
44:48Usually usually it's supposed to
44:50include drugs that have no medical.
44:52Value,
44:53but we know that that's not true
44:55when it comes to marijuana.
44:56Yet it's still listed as a schedule one drug,
44:59which can have severe consequences
45:01both in the criminal justice system
45:03and in the immigration system.
45:04As I explained before,
45:07the bill would also actually go
45:09into the federal code and change
45:11marijuana wherever you know marijuana
45:13is listed back to cannabis to really
45:15speak to the history of the word,
45:17which I explained earlier.
45:19Additionally,
45:20the bill Expunges and re
45:22sentences marijuana convictions.
45:23It reinvests marijuana tax revenue
45:25back into communities that have been
45:28most harmed by drug prohibition.
45:29So it does this in two ways.
45:31It would create a Community
45:33reinvestment fund to provide
45:35things like expungement services,
45:37legal services, job training, mentoring,
45:41really things that build up communities.
45:44So that would be,
45:44you know,
45:45when one putt offending the other
45:47funding would be dedicated to the
45:50Small Business Administration too.
45:52Build up programming that supports
45:54the inclusion of people of color
45:57directly impacted people and low income
45:59people in the legal marijuana scheme,
46:02and that's really important,
46:05because despite marijuana becoming legalized,
46:08the industry is still overwhelmingly
46:10white male.
46:11Even though people of color continue
46:13to bear the brunt of enforcement.
46:15Additionally,
46:16the bill would end the collateral
46:18consequences of marijuana enforcement
46:20or marijuana activity. I should say.
46:23So it speaks to immigration.
46:25It also disallows somebody being
46:27denied public benefits because
46:29of marijuana activities,
46:31so things like public housing
46:33snapped an if that sort of thing,
46:35and it'll it would also make it
46:37that so that a person could no
46:39longer be denied a federal security
46:41clearance for marijuana activity.
46:43And you know,
46:44I mentioned this earlier while the
46:46culture around marijuana is changing.
46:48There are still more than half 1,000,000
46:50people who are arrested for marijuana
46:52across the country every year and again.
46:54We know this proportionately those
46:57are black and brown individuals.
46:59Last year the House passed the more
47:01act making history it marked the first
47:04time that a congressional chamber voted
47:06to decriminalize marijuana this year,
47:08we recently reintroduced the bill
47:10in the House in this Congress,
47:12and the goal for this Congress
47:14is again to build.
47:15Omentum is to pass the bill again
47:17to pass it through the House again,
47:19and we want to do that in order to
47:21build momentum for a Senate bill that
47:23will be introduced later this year.
47:25That builds off of the more acts.
47:29So those are kind of,
47:30you know, the exciting things
47:31that we have on our plates.
47:32But as I mentioned, you know,
47:34we also are constantly having to push back
47:37against further criminalization of drugs.
47:39And one thing that we have been working
47:42on in this context is around fentanyl.
47:45So I I did want to briefly touch on
47:49this classified scheduling issue.
47:51So in 2019 the Trump administration put out a
47:55rule that would essentially make it so that.
47:58All fentanyl analogs would
48:00automatically be scheduled,
48:01scheduled one drugs,
48:02and the purported reason for doing this
48:05was to reduce the number of overdose
48:07deaths in to stop illicit fentanyl from,
48:09you know, getting into the streets,
48:12but we had them pushing back against
48:14that policy because it really
48:16circumvents the scientific process
48:17that's normally used to schedule drugs.
48:20Normally, it takes not just the DOJ and DEA,
48:23but HHS input.
48:24The scientific input to really understand
48:26the chemical makeup of a drug.
48:28And its impact on the human body.
48:30But this policy you know it goes
48:33around all of that.
48:35Not only does it go around science,
48:38but it also has major criminal
48:40justice consequences.
48:41We know that people who are incarcerated
48:44for fentanyl are often people.
48:47People on the lower levels of
48:49the drug distribution chain,
48:50people who might not even know
48:52that the drug that they're selling
48:53contains fentanyl people who may
48:55be selling because they're trying
48:57to support their own drug habit.
48:59And we also know that there are
49:01vast racial disparities.
49:02Again,
49:02where most of the people who are
49:04being caught up in the federal
49:06system for fentanyl charges are
49:08black and brown individuals.
49:10So we really see this as
49:11a crack 2.0 situation,
49:13where once again we're using junk
49:15science and fear tactics to criminalize
49:18people rather than in really investing
49:20in in the public health aspect.
49:22In of this.
49:23So the way that we are confronting this
49:26issue is by encouraging Congress to support.
49:29The fentanyl harm reduction bill.
49:31This bill is called the Stop Fentanyl Act.
49:35This bill is really the public health.
49:38Response to the opioid crisis.
49:40So we would do things like
49:42improve access to the opioid,
49:44overdose reversal drug,
49:45naloxone.
49:45It would establish Federal Good
49:47Samaritan and unity protections
49:49for individuals who are providing
49:51care to someone who is overdosing.
49:53It would also expand access to Matt
49:56medication assisted treatment and
49:57maintains enhanced telehealth access
49:59to opioid use disorder treatment and
50:02it provides drug education to state
50:04and community based organizations to
50:06address the harms or drug misuse and
50:08IT funds education for stakeholders.
50:10An evidence based treatment for opioid
50:12and fentanyl misuse and so our goal,
50:14again,
50:15is to get Congress in the administration
50:17to endorse this public health
50:19approach rather than you know this
50:21old Trump era policy that continues
50:24to criminalize people for fentanyl.
50:28We want to see this cross wide policy
50:31expired and again really for once
50:34truly invest in a public health response.
50:37And some other work that we're doing.
50:39You know, we've constantly been
50:41doing work around harm reduction,
50:42ensuring that people who are
50:44running harm reduction services
50:46have the support that they need.
50:48So we're lobbying Congress to up the
50:50funding for those for those services.
50:53And we're also calling on Congress
50:55to ban the use or calling on them
50:58them to stop the ban on using
51:00federal funds to purchase syringes.
51:03This has been on the books
51:04for quite some time now.
51:05It's something that we're trying to lift.
51:06We know that obviously
51:08purchasing storage is important.
51:09Especially if we want to,
51:10if we want to stop some of the
51:12harms of drug use. So again,
51:13that's you know our harm reduction strategy.
51:17And then of course,
51:18we're constantly involved
51:19in the policing debate.
51:20You know, I talked about earlier how?
51:23How drug war in the policing go hand in hand?
51:26So we've been very engaged on all
51:28policing discussions in Congress with
51:31a focus on ending the militarization
51:33of police and being drug raids,
51:36ending the practice of civil
51:38asset forfeiture.
51:39So that's been a bulk of our work,
51:40especially recently.
51:41As you know,
51:42every anyone who's seen the news
51:44knows that Congress has been working
51:46on a big federal bill on policing,
51:48so we've we've engaged
51:50in those conversations.
51:51But we're also interested in pursuing.
51:53Other legislation outside of that and then,
51:57of course,
51:57we work on the collateral consequences
52:00of drug activity and drug convictions,
52:02so you know,
52:03we're constantly supporting
52:05folks in the immigration space
52:07who work at that intersection,
52:08but something else that we're pushing
52:11forward is a response to public benefits.
52:15So for some time now,
52:18people who have drug convictions
52:20have been banned from receiving
52:22snap and Tanis benefits.
52:24In various states,
52:25we want to lift that and we're
52:29pushing Congress to lift that
52:31through both this big infrastructure
52:33package that Congress is working on.
52:35But as a standalone piece of legislation.
52:39Obviously,
52:39if a person doesn't have what
52:41they need to be healthy,
52:43that's not going to improve public safety,
52:45and it's not going to improve
52:46the person's public health.
52:47So they really want to make sure
52:49that that is lifted so that you
52:50know families and children can
52:52have the nutrition they need,
52:53especially in a time.
52:55That's difficult,
52:56like COVID right now.
53:00So as you can see,
53:01we really have our work cut out for us.
53:03We work across issues because
53:05the drug ward is vast.
53:07It does touch upon different areas,
53:10so therefore we have a huge workload.
53:12But not only that, you know we're also
53:15dealing with an administration and a
53:18Congress that is more conservative.
53:20I would think than the general
53:22public on these issues.
53:24For example,
53:25recent polling that we did shows that
53:27most Americans agree that the drug war has.
53:29Failed, I'm recently the Drug Policy
53:32Alliance in partnership with the ACLU,
53:35released a national poll that
53:37found 66% of American voters are
53:39in support of removing criminal
53:40penalties for drugs and replacing
53:42them with health centered approaches.
53:44So the majority of Americans again
53:47support drug decriminalization.
53:48If it's coupled with a public
53:50health response.
53:51But that's not, you know where Congress is.
53:54I can't even say that Congress is there.
53:56Are marijuana yet,
53:57like we really have our work to do with
53:59both Congress and the administration.
54:01I feel like we're constantly battling
54:03with this situation where you know,
54:05I think the public,
54:07that's it and are far more.
54:09You know,
54:10progressive on this issue than what
54:12we're dealing with at the federal level,
54:13so that's been, you know,
54:14a huge hurdle for us.
54:16And moving our work forward.
54:18But also, you know,
54:20this administration in particular.
54:22I think you know each administration
54:24has its own challenges.
54:25The challenge with this administration
54:27is the fact that Joe Biden was an
54:30architect of mass incarceration.
54:32He wrote many of the bills that still
54:36that that built the system we have today,
54:39and those consequences are still.
54:40Well today and I would think
54:42that that would make him want to,
54:44you know,
54:45get on the side of criminal justice reform.
54:48Perhaps with more enthusiasm,
54:49but we just haven't seen that,
54:51and that's because really a lot of
54:53these old narratives around the
54:55war on drugs have really stuck,
54:57so we really have our work cut out for us,
54:58both with the administration
55:00and with Congress.
55:02But I you know I'm I'm just really excited.
55:04That was able to be here with you all
55:07today and share this because these
55:09conversations matter in terms of
55:11changing the culture around drug policy,
55:13culture ultimately impacts policy
55:17and you know something that we're
55:18always looking for is public health,
55:20engagement,
55:21engagement from public health
55:23experts and people who understand,
55:25understand the work from that angle.
55:28As an advocate,
55:29you know I can only say this so much, but.
55:32To be honest,
55:33my my word doesn't really carry as
55:35much weight with a lot of lawmakers
55:37as a public health professional.
55:39Somebody who works with people who
55:41use drugs on a day to day basis.
55:43So we're constantly working or working
55:45to engage with people like yourselves.
55:47And, you know, as I said,
55:49I think this conversation is good to just,
55:51you know,
55:52start that engagement.
55:53But if you're interested in
55:54following the work that the
55:56Drug Policy Alliance is doing,
55:57and perhaps helping us push
55:59some of these initiatives,
56:01I would really encourage you to visit
56:03the Drug Policy Alliance website.
56:06Drugpolicy.org you can
56:07subscribe to our newsletter.
56:09And through that newsletter
56:10you'll get updates.
56:11You'll get action alerts,
56:12you'll get all of that good stuff,
56:14including educational materials.
56:15I do want to point out that a
56:17lot of what I talked about here,
56:19I pulled from our website so you can
56:21find reports about different drugs,
56:22different statistics,
56:23things like that.
56:24So check that out and thank
56:26you so much for your time.
56:28I was really happy to be here
56:29and happy to take questions and
56:31and hear what people think.
56:34Thank you Maria. So that was wonderful.
56:36Really appreciate your ability
56:38to take us through with the
56:40history and the current strategies
56:42that you all are pursuing.
56:44I see we do have a couple of
56:46questions I was would encourage
56:48folks if they have questions,
56:49so put those in the question and answer box.
56:55So the first ones from marielena,
56:57Velez de Brown and her question
57:00is decriminalization only
57:01applies to drug users, not
57:04the drug dealers, correct?
57:06And she goes on to say
57:07I can't imagine getting much support
57:10for legislation that removes legal
57:12consequences for people selling
57:14those dangerous substances.
57:17Yeah, that's a really good question.
57:18I'm so last year the Drug Policy
57:20Alliance put out a a drug sellers
57:22report making the case for Robbie
57:24also need to remove criminal
57:26penalties for people who sell drugs.
57:28Unfortunately as they the person stated,
57:31we're still building that
57:33buy in from lawmakers.
57:36So right now we're starting with
57:38people who possess and use drugs
57:40for their own personal consumption,
57:43but the idea is,
57:44you know that's where we start,
57:45but but ultimately we hope to also address.
57:48People who sell drugs because you know
57:51something that I mentioned in my talk
57:54is that oftentimes people who people I
57:57hate this distinction between people
57:58who sell and use because we're talking
58:00about the same person in a lot of instances,
58:03there are people who sell because they,
58:06you know,
58:07need to support their use.
58:09So I I hate that distinction,
58:11but unfortunately in policymaking we
58:13see those distinctions all the time.
58:16We see it also in the context of of
58:18violent versus a non violent offender.
58:19And I also hate that distinction.
58:22But you know, unfortunately,
58:24the way the way it works,
58:26at least at the federal level is you try to,
58:29you know, do what you can,
58:31where you can in the idea is you know you
58:33start and build incremental progress.
58:37Alright, thank you. I also
58:39wanted to acknowledge there was
58:40a raised hand from Samuel Agada.
58:54Hi Samuel, you now have the
58:56ability to like cancel question.
59:02OK is good. Good afternoon everyone.
59:09My name is Doctor Sam and I'm from Africa.
59:16With a medical doctor by
59:17profession, I'm a qualified
59:18medical doctor. And yeah, my questions are.
59:24Hello get out.
59:29Yeah, my questions are.
59:34Yeah, my questions are
59:36from your epidemiology.
59:38The incidence of blacks
59:40being involved in drug crime
59:42is higher than the whites.
59:45And my question is, why is that?
59:48Is there a particular
59:49reason for that? And the
59:52second question is
59:54from your presentation you talked about the
59:591033 program. For cutting
01:00:03down the use of drugs, please.
01:00:05And it's more enlightenment on
01:00:08that please and then are in Africa.
01:00:11Here I'm working on them.
01:00:16Projects too. Help
01:00:20people stop the use of drugs and then
01:00:23to to reduce the drug crime in Africa.
01:00:26So that's one of the reasons I saw
01:00:29this online and I decided to join.
01:00:32So please, if you can
01:00:33quickly answer my questions,
01:00:35especially the 1033 drug program.
01:00:38So be very interesting
01:00:39for me please. Thank you very much.
01:00:42Yes, happy to answer this question so I'm
01:00:45on your first question on why we see more.
01:00:49Black folks with drug
01:00:52arrests and convictions?
01:00:54Well, that's because communities
01:00:55of color experience more policing
01:00:57and racial discrimination.
01:00:59As I mentioned in my talk,
01:01:00we know that people use people across,
01:01:03you, know, racial lines,
01:01:04use drugs at similar rates.
01:01:06In fact, I've also seen studies
01:01:08that show that white people use
01:01:09drugs more than black people do.
01:01:11Yet we know that the face of incarceration
01:01:13continues to be black and brown people.
01:01:15And as I laid out in my talk,
01:01:17that's because that's been a
01:01:19strategic political decision.
01:01:20This country has made for hundreds of years,
01:01:23so it's really, you know,
01:01:24gonna take a full on reversal of you
01:01:27know our criminal justice policy to like
01:01:30actually see those racial disparities end.
01:01:32So that's what I would say to you.
01:01:33Know the first part.
01:01:35The 1033 program again is a
01:01:38Department of Defense program
01:01:39that's been around since 1997,
01:01:41and you know billions of dollars in
01:01:44resources have actually been transferred
01:01:46from the military to local law enforcement.
01:01:48Through this program,
01:01:50it's been a program that advocates have
01:01:53called on abolishing for quite some time now.
01:01:57It didn't really get into the public's,
01:01:59you know,
01:01:59I should say it didn't get the public's
01:02:02attention until probably 2014 when we saw.
01:02:05You know people taking to the
01:02:07streets when Michael Brown was
01:02:09killed by police and we saw that the
01:02:12response to that in Ferguson was,
01:02:14you know,
01:02:15tanks and military equipment.
01:02:17And I I really militarized response to people
01:02:20who were protesting and asking for justice,
01:02:23and I think that was the first time
01:02:25that a lot of the public realized that.
01:02:27Whoa,
01:02:27my local law enforcement has tanks and
01:02:30like you know these military weapons.
01:02:33But yeah, they do.
01:02:35You know,
01:02:36law enforcement takes full advantage
01:02:38of this program during the Obama
01:02:40administration they did put some
01:02:42constraints around what type of
01:02:43equipment could go to law enforcement,
01:02:45but nonetheless the program
01:02:46is still in existence.
01:02:48We saw around the George Floyd protests
01:02:51a similar situation where in many
01:02:53major cities we saw the police pull
01:02:55out military equipment in response to
01:02:57the rallies for racial justice that
01:02:59were happening across the country.
01:03:01So this bill in Congress.
01:03:04The Justice and Policing Act.
01:03:06It was a house possible named
01:03:08after George Floyd.
01:03:09There's a Senate.
01:03:10The Senate is currently working on on
01:03:12their response to that bill on their
01:03:14version of the Justice and Policing Act,
01:03:16and we've been, you know,
01:03:17pushing them to fully eliminate
01:03:19the 1033 program in that bill.
01:03:21But thus far,
01:03:22the bill has only you know,
01:03:25called for reforming the program,
01:03:26which is insufficient in our opinion.
01:03:32Thank you Brett. The second question
01:03:35or third question is from the Jawad
01:03:38Hussain has decriminalization slash.
01:03:41Legalization of cannabis in states had any
01:03:43effect on rates of cannabis use disorder
01:03:46in those states.
01:03:48Yeah, that's an interesting question.
01:03:50To my knowledge, no,
01:03:51but I would encourage you to check out the
01:03:54Drug Policy Alliance website and see what
01:03:57else you can find about that on there.
01:03:59Another good source of information
01:04:02for just marijuana policy generally
01:04:04is Normal's website.
01:04:05I always forget what it stands for,
01:04:07but it's normal NORML.
01:04:10But there they also have,
01:04:11you know a lot of data
01:04:12that you could pull from,
01:04:13but to my knowledge no we have
01:04:16not seen you know marijuana use.
01:04:19Especially like adolescent use or
01:04:21problematic marijuana use increase
01:04:23with marijuana legalization.
01:04:28And then the next statement
01:04:30question from Sid Snow is Biden,
01:04:33was the architect of some
01:04:35draconian drug laws laws,
01:04:37but he was also the force behind
01:04:39the formation of the OMDCP.
01:04:41Do you see this as a potential in to
01:04:44get him on board for some changes
01:04:46in drug laws?
01:04:49Yeah, so you know. Aside from that,
01:04:52I would also just say that he has a son
01:04:55who's been very open about his issues
01:04:57and you know his addiction issues.
01:04:59So I do think that.
01:05:01You know that could hopefully
01:05:04create some compassion and empathy,
01:05:06which is really important in policymaking.
01:05:08I think it's something that's missing.
01:05:11You know, that said,
01:05:12my experience with this administration,
01:05:14and with Joe Biden in particular is we're
01:05:17still dealing with somebody who has like
01:05:19this war mentality when it comes to drug use.
01:05:22So. You know I, I do want to see hope
01:05:26where I can on on the campaign trail,
01:05:29we know that Joe Biden said that he
01:05:30supports criminal justice reform.
01:05:32He came out in support of
01:05:34ending mandatory minimums.
01:05:35He came out in support of
01:05:37ending the disparity.
01:05:38The sentences disparity between
01:05:39crack and cocaine offenses.
01:05:41These are all good things and you know,
01:05:43it did give me hope as an advocate,
01:05:45but when it you know,
01:05:48I still haven't seen anything
01:05:49very progressive on these issues
01:05:51come from the administration.
01:05:52I hope that changes.
01:05:53And this is only the first year
01:05:55we have our time cut out for us.
01:05:57And like I said,
01:05:58each administration brings new challenges.
01:06:00But with him the challenge has really
01:06:02been that I think you know he does have.
01:06:04What I think is an old school
01:06:06mindset on the issue.
01:06:09Thank you. Let's see.
01:06:13Any more questions?
01:06:16I know we've got some policy
01:06:17and addiction experts on.
01:06:46OK, if no more questions,
01:06:49I want to thank you very much Marissa.
01:06:52And when I give thanks to the Sandbar
01:06:56Guard Foundation for hosting this and
01:06:59to Emma for keeping us all in line.
01:07:04Maybe one more slide. Or as a reminder.
01:07:11Yes, I'm gonna pull back up our
01:07:14contact information and also the
01:07:16information about our upcoming.
01:07:18Then just give me one. I didn't.
01:07:23Quick question so everyone that attended,
01:07:26will they be receiving a link with
01:07:28the recording just so we can share
01:07:30it with others that may not have
01:07:32been able to attend this morning?
01:07:34So everyone who registered,
01:07:36including folks who attended
01:07:37and did not attend, will receive a
01:07:40recording of this talk tomorrow via email.
01:07:43If you don't receive it, feel free to
01:07:45get in touch with us and let us know.
01:07:47We can also make it available online
01:07:51via a downloadable link so this.
01:07:53Is the details again for the upcoming
01:07:56event that we have on September 21st with
01:07:59Doctor Travis Reader that registration
01:08:01link that you see at the base of
01:08:04this here is not as of yet, active.
01:08:05It will open three weeks prior.
01:08:09Then we can share in addition or
01:08:11our information on how to keep in
01:08:12touch with the program and with
01:08:14the Sand Guard Foundation.
01:08:15I do note question David in the
01:08:18Q&A from Elizabeth Powell which
01:08:21we might want to address.
01:08:23Elizabeth Powell asks good morning.
01:08:25I'm a public health analyst in
01:08:27Washington and been hearing a lot
01:08:29about decriminalization in Oregon.
01:08:31Anecdotally,
01:08:32at least it seems like public public
01:08:35health infrastructure was not
01:08:37ready for implementing the 1:10 and
01:08:40things like treatment, waitlists,
01:08:41or severely limiting effectiveness.
01:08:43Thus far,
01:08:44I was wondering what data is
01:08:46being collected to really gauge
01:08:48for 110 effectiveness,
01:08:49and where are you accessing this data?
01:08:52What would you recommend?
01:08:53Make recommendations be to
01:08:55avoid this in other states.
01:09:00Yeah, that's a good question. I'm
01:09:02I did not work on the Oregon initiative,
01:09:04but people at the Drug Policy Alliance.
01:09:06I'm are still deeply involved in even
01:09:09the implementation of that and for
01:09:11the person who asked this question,
01:09:12I would love to connect you with them
01:09:14because I feel like you know they
01:09:16have the answers that you're seeking,
01:09:17whereas I don't.
01:09:18But happy to make that connection
01:09:20if I can share my contact info
01:09:22with the person who asked that.
01:09:26Or feel free to reach out to Emma
01:09:28and Emma can connect you as well.
01:09:31I'm happy to provide Elizabeth with your
01:09:33email address and it said thank you.
01:09:37So thank you everybody.
01:09:38Feel free to keep in touch with
01:09:40us through our listserv and
01:09:42through our website and Twitter,
01:09:44and we look forward to seeing you in
01:09:47September with Dr. Rieder's talk thank
01:09:50you and have a great day. Thank you.
01:09:54Thank you. As folks are logging off,
01:09:56if you need the CME information
01:09:58again, here it is for you.