Alex Gorzula

Instructor Peter Camilleri

English 170-28

24 October 2023 

Decriminalize all Drugs 

 

In June 1971, President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs, stating that “public enemy number one” (Why The War on Drugs is a Huge Failure) was producing, selling, and using drugs. It was now highly illegal and punishable with jail time. This would be taken much more seriously than previously. This had a massive global effect. Other countries like Switzerland followed suit, hoping this would solve their drug problems. Nearly 300,000 people in the United States are held in state and federal prisons for drug law violations(google). Mass incarcerations in the US were only one problem caused by this agenda: political destabilization in third-world countries, violence in Latin America, and systemic Human rights abuses worldwide. 

No drugs equals no problems, right? That was the original idea. So, we have been dumping millions, apparently trying to destroy the root of the problem. The plan was to destroy the situation at the source; if we destroy the supply, that should solve our drug problem. This left the illegal drug market with a low supply, but demand stayed the same.  Increasing users’ desires for substances, so they consume at the same rate but with an increase in the price of drugs, making production and dealing the most profitable crime in the world (“Why The War on Drugs is a Huge Failure”), The only people we successfully take down are not the producers or the dealers but the users. The majority of drugs are sold in bad neighborhoods where authority is low. This only further hinders those who are trapped in bad communities. We treat these people who have problems like trash. As a society, we look down on them like criminals, but they are just victims of a broken system. 

One thing is clear: This system is not working. But what can work? A report by Miriam Wolf that appeared in Stanford Social Innovation Reported that in the 1980s, Switzerland was facing a crippling heroin and HIV epidemic(due to sharing needles) cite. The most prominent Platzspitz park, a hot spot for drug dealers and users, has gotten so bad that the police have given up on containing and arresting all the suspects with citations. Thousands of people are sent to the hospital yearly due to overdose citations. This puts mounting pressure on the government of Switzerland, which is natures a very conservative country, so in 2008, when they announced The Four Pillars plan to address the drug problem, it was shocking(Wolf, Miriam). This new policy would focus on “harm reduction, treatment prevention, and repression”(Knopf). Instead of treating the addicts like criminals, they offered them help. They opened up professional clicks where they could test the purity of the upstands and have a medical professional watch them administer the drug. They would be provided clean needles and advised on how to recover. This allowed them to focus on the dealer and shorten the supply, also helping lessen the damage of heroin: “A Decrease of 64 percent in overdoes, and HIV infections also dropped significantly. In 1986, more than 3,000 people tested positive for HIV in Switzerland. In 2017, fewer than 500 new positive tests were in the country of 8.4 million”(Knopf). This was only possible with the direct coordination and service of the state and organization, as well as proper funding so the facility could operate correctly and efficiently. The four-pillar plan is still in action, and its efficiency was recognized by the World Health Organization in 2003 and by the European Union in 2008. (Wolf, Miriam). With proper funding planning and coordination, This system is highly effective. But what happens if none of those requirements are met?

 Portland, Oregon, in November 2020, Measure 110 was passed (KOIN 6). It allowed for the decriminalization of all drugs. It was a disaster. Many say that the legislation was a mistake or that 110 wasn’t at fault, or overdoses have increased everywhere in the US(all). I believe it is a combination of poor preparation and the last clam. With measure 110 came the promise of a similar program, which Switzerland implemented and funded by selling weed once. Open drug rooms, clean needles, and purity testers would have been available. These all turned out to be empty promises. The government only started to enact these social plans when the law came into effect, so with no support sents, the drug problem became even worse(KOIN 6). And with half as many facilities as the people were promised. And with the rise of a new opioid called fentanyl, this only added wood to the already burning flame(KOIN 6). These programs should have been implemented long before the law was enacted. This way, addicts have a place to go to receive help. Even with the late implementation, 2021(745) saw twice as many deaths as 2022 (332). (“OHA 2296 Public Health Surveillance Update”). These clinics are essential, especially with the introduction of fentanyl, which only two milligrams is considered a lethal dose (“Fentanyl: One Pill Kills | Texas Health and Human Services”). A country, state, or province must have a transparent plan of funding and coordination from all when wanting to decriminalize drugs. Portland organ is not an example of why we shouldn’t decriminalize but why it’s so importnst to implement four pillar-like procedures properly! 

Even with one of the most recent attempts at reforming the drug policy mainly being unsuccessful, this still has not deterred other countries. Australia, specifically Canberra, Australia, is preparing to set new drug policies and build facilities following in the footsteps of Switzerland.  One big difference is that they aren’t facing a massive drug epidemic where thousands of people are overdoing like other countries when deciding to decriminalize drugs. However, they face an alarming amount of drug users, which are directly linked to the majority of crime in the area. (ABC News In-depth). Before the laws were put into place, drug arrests were at an all-time high: 84,738 arrests in 2010 and 166,321 arrests in 2020. Most of these arrests have been for Marianna. 88% of these arrests were consumers, not dealers or traffickers(ABC News In-depth). This is only the beginning; if the reforms work, we may see a complete shift in how we view hard drugs. Suppose we educate the public, have heavy regulations and restrictions, and do more testing to understand the effects. In that case, we can legalize and sell the substances, destroying the illegal marks, lessen crime incarcerations and overdoses, and save thousands of lives in third-world countries.

 

Works Cited

ABC News In-depth, creator. Is decriminalizing hard drugs the. 2022. 1, 1 ed., ABC, 2022, disc 1. Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yts3Vc2f-Cg&t=2s&ab_channel=ABCNewsIn-depth. Accessed 10/20/2023 10 2023.

“Fentanyl: One Pill Kills | Texas Health and Human Services.” Texas Health and Human Services, https://www.hhs.texas.gov/services/mental-health-substance-use/mental-health-substance-use-resources/fentanyl-one-pill-kills. Accessed 22 October 2023.

Knopf, Taylor. “Switzerland couldn’t stop drug users. So it started supporting them.” North Carolina Health News, 21 January 2019, https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2019/01/21/switzerland-couldnt-stop-drug-users-so-it-started-supporting-them/. Accessed 22 October 2023.

KOIN 6. “A complete mistake: Officials criticize measure 110 as Portland’s drug problems Worsen.” Youtube, KOIN 6, 21 9 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPM9mCwPj6w&ab_channel=KOIN6. Accessed 22 10 2023.

“OHA 2296 Public Health Surveillance Update.” Oregon.gov, 21 December 2022, https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PREVENTIONWELLNESS/SUBSTANCEUSE/OPIOIDS/Documents/monthly_opioid_overdose_related_data_report.pdf. Accessed 22 October 2023.

“Why The War on Drugs is a Huge Failure.” 2016. War on Drugs, created by Kurzgesagt, 1, 1 ed., season 1, episode 1, Kurzgesagt, 1 3 2016, disc 1. youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJUXLqNHCaI&ab_channel=Kurzgesagt%E2%80%93InaNutshell. Accessed 22 10 2023.

Wolf, Miriam, et al. “Inside Switzerland’s Radical Drug Policy Innovation.” Stanford Social Innovation Review, 22 July 2019, https://ssir.org/articles/entry/inside_switzerlands_radical_drug_policy_innovation#. Accessed 22 October 2023.

 

“How the War on Drugs Damages Black Social Mobility | Brookings.” Brookings Institution, 30 September 2014, https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-the-war-on-drugs-damages-black-social-mobility/. Accessed 26 November 2023.

Powell, Benjamin. “The Economics Behind the U.S. Government’s Unwinnable War on Drugs.” Econlib, 1 July 2013, https://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2013/Powelldrugs.html. Accessed 26 November 2023.