According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, drug addiction is classified as a diagnosable, chronic disease that chemically alters the brain in order to facilitate further drug use.
In fact, recent studies have shown that certain individuals have a genetic predisposition to addiction, and much like many other genetic diseases, this gene is passed down from generation to generation.
Nonetheless, drug abuse is treated as a crime in the United States.
According to data from 2014, around 50% of inmates in federal prison have been sentenced for drug related crimes. With less than 5% of the world’s population, the U.S. has 25% of the world’s inmates, costing taxpayers an estimated $39 billion a year. Additionally, only 11% of those incarcerated for drug related crimes received treatment.
This begs the question, given the number of inmates in the U.S., the cost to taxpayers, the obvious inefficacy of incarceration in these cases and the fact that drug abuse is a classifiable disease, what exactly is the point of treating drug addiction like a crime?
Frankly, there is no point. Those in favor of mass incarceration have long sung the tune of how the point of prison is not necessarily punishment, but rehabilitation.
Why then, were ex-convicts in Washington state twelve times more likely to overdose on drugs then the average citizen? Considering the amount of money this country spends on the war on drugs, one would think something more could be done for drug offenders than simply locking them up, given the obvious failure of this technique. It is time for America to revamp Richard Nixon’s four-decade-old war on drugs and, using the example of more progressive cities and countries, we are more than ready to do so.
If the United States represents one end of the spectrum regarding drug policies, Portugal certainly represents the other. In 2001, despite vast criticism and end-of-days predictions, Portugal decriminalized all drugs and began to truly, unlike the United States, emphasize rehabilitation for those addicted.
The results: a decrease in drug related pathologies and overall drug use and an increase in treatment facilities as funds were funneled away from the criminal realm and into the medical one. Many Americans are likely to point out that the U.S. is not Portugal and could never institute such sweeping reforms, even if it wanted to. While the stagnant nature of American politics can be held responsible for many of our country’s shortcomings, the town of Gloucester, Massachusetts has shown that drug reform does not have to be one of them.
Earlier this year, Gloucester promised refuge to all drug abusers actively seeking help and guaranteed that they would face no legal consequences in light of a slew of heroin related deaths in the area.
A movement spearheaded by the town’s police chief, the intention was to create an “oasis of amnesty” for drug abusers who see the error of their ways. The initiative has seen great success and is the first step this nation has taken to revitalize the war on drugs. Using Gloucester as an example, hopefully our nation can come together to look at drug abusers not as criminals, but as fellow Americans who need help.