United States: Catastrophic consequence of criminalizing drug abuse

Laws that destroy families and undermine health
Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a joint report today that widespread enforcement of laws criminalizing drug abuse and possession in the United States is causing devastating damage. These laws destroy the lives of individuals and families, discriminate against non-whites and undermine public health. Federal and local authorities should criminalize the use and possession of personal drugs.

The 196-page report, " Every 25 Seconds: The Human Outcome of the Criminalization of Drug Abuse in the United States, " found that the application of drug possession laws caused widespread and unwarranted harm to individuals and communities throughout the country. Its long-term consequences may result in the separation of families, denial of employment, social assistance, public housing and voting, exposing them to discrimination and stigmatization for life. Although the number of persons arrested for possessing drugs exceeds the number of those arrested for any other crime in the United States, discussions on criminal justice reform rarely focus on the need to criminalize drug abuse.

"Every 25 seconds a person is being detained for possessing drugs for personal use," said Tess Borden , an Ariyeh Nyer Fellowship at Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union, and author of the report: "These mass arrests have destroyed the lives of countless people, It has no value in helping people who suffer from addiction. "

The two organizations interviewed 149 people prosecuted for drug abuse in Louisiana, Texas, Florida and New York - 64 of them in prison - and 217 others, including relatives of people, brought to trial, current and former government officials, lawyers, service providers, and activists. The two organizations also conducted a wide-ranging analysis of data from Texas, Florida, New York and the FBI.

Neil (a pseudonym), one of the interviewees, suffers from a rare autoimmune disease and spends five years in the Louisiana prison for possession of less than 0.2 grams of cocaine. He said that he cried a day that confessed to his guilt because he knew that he might not survive until the end of his sentence.

Corrie spends 17 years in prison in Louisiana for possession of less than 15 grams of marijuana. Charlie, his 4-year-old daughter whom she did not see outside the prison, thinks she is visiting him at work. Nicole was separated from her three young children after being held for several months in Houston prison before being tried and then found guilty of her first felony. Her trial for possession of heroin remains in an empty bag means she will lose the student financial aid, employment opportunities and food aid that she relied on to feed her children.

"They know what they are doing to the lives of people here, they punish me for drug addiction ... They did not give me any help, I went into jail five times and it was destroyed," said Matthew from the Texas Hood County prison.

Matthew was sentenced to 15 years in prison for possessing a very small amount of methamphetamine, which the laboratory could not even weigh. The laboratory result reported that it was just a "residue". Most of his previous convictions were outside the state and linked to drug addiction.
"While families, friends and neighbors are willing to take action to prevent possible damage from drug abuse, criminalization is not a solution," said Borden, "The imprisonment of people for drug consumption causes tremendous harm while doing nothing to help those who need treatment and want it" .

Four decades after President Richard Nixon declared the "war on drugs", consumption rates have not declined markedly, and people who need treatment often do not. Criminalization drives people who take drugs out of sight, reducing their likelihood of access to care, and raises the possibility of their participation in unsafe practices that make them vulnerable to disease and overdose.

All states and the federal government criminalize possession of illicit drugs for personal use. Most states criminalize the possession of small quantities of commonly used drugs such as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. The two organizations found that state law enforcement agencies detain more than 1.25 million people each year, 1 in 9 arrests nationwide.

Despite officials' claims that drug laws are used primarily to combat drug promotion, four times more people are arrested for consumption than those arrested for promotion. Half of the detainees for possession were concerned only with possession of marijuana for personal use. Police carried out arrests of marijuana more than 14 percent of all violent crimes combined in 2015, according to data analysis by the two organizations.
Older blacks consume drugs at rates similar to or less than adult eggs, but the data analyzed by the two organizations show that adult blacks are more likely to be arrested two and a half times for drug possession, and are more likely to be arrested nearly four times for possession of marijuana. Ethnic disparities in many states were higher: in Montana, Iowa and Vermont, 6 to 1. In Manhattan, blacks were more likely to be arrested for possession of drugs 11 times than whites.

Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union said that ethnically diverse law enforcement amounts to racial discrimination under international human rights law. The two organizations found it impossible to identify disparities in Latin American populations because the FBI and the US Census Bureau did not collect data on them.

There are 137,000 people in prison each day, men and women, on charges of possession of drugs, as well as tens of thousands of convicts transported between detention centers and prisons, under probation and parole, often burdened with life-threatening debts due to fines and court fees.

The persons we interviewed in the course of the preparation of the report were prosecuted for possession of small quantities of narcotic drugs - sometimes grammings - which were clearly for personal use. The analysis of the new data showed that nearly 16,000 people in Texas in 2015 were sentenced to imprisonment or detention for possessing less than one gram of substances containing common-use drugs, which is sufficient for a few doses in many cases.

Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said the state legislatures and the US Congress should abolish the criminalization of personal use and possession of all drugs. The federal and state governments should allocate greater resources to risk reduction programs associated with drug use, providing voluntary treatment options for people with addiction, as well as other programs.

Officials at all levels of government should minimize and mitigate the harmful effects of existing laws and practices, pending full criminalization. The two organizations made detailed recommendations to State legislatures, police, prosecutors, other government bodies and local governments, as well as the federal government.

If governments are serious about tackling drug abuse, they should end the repeated arrests of drug possession and focus on effective health strategies instead, "said Borden.

The following are excerpts from interviews conducted in the context of the report. All contacts have been changed to protect people's privacy.

"When you are non-white, low-income, and consume drugs, you are subject to demonization, marginalization and stigmatization ... When we are imprisoned, we are not only confined internally but also isolated from the outside world, and we lose housing, employment and other services You are trapped in a certain layer, the lower layer, and lose your humanity, just because you had drugs. "
Cameron Barnes, New York City, was repeatedly arrested for possession of drugs by New York City police from the 1980s until 2012.

"It is thrown here, without any contact with the outside world, I am waiting for everyone, everything collapses."
Bryana Wheeler, who spoke from prison in Galveston, Texas, where she was detained before her trial for methamphetamine residue in a bag. A single mother, finally admitted her guilt so she could spend the time and return to her 9-year-old daughter.

water since I was detained here ... cutting off the light ... basically this is what happens when people come here. On everyone around us. "
Alan Searle, spoke from prison in St. Tamani Parish, Louisiana, where he was detained about 100 days before his trial.

"You can not expect your absence from the community and your simple return ... you lost everything ... your job and your home, all you had to lose ... because I committed this crime, I was homeless in the streets for 5 years. "Get out of the prison gates and become alone."
Charlie West, a former US military medic, describes his return to society after being jailed for possession of cocaine in New York City in 2010.

"I do not understand why it depends on the criminal record ... We are not a minority, we have become a majority ... If I face something important, I can not vote and make a difference in the world ... You do not realize how important these things are - voting - until you lose them. At the age of 18, I was not able to vote yet ... I found my card to register the voters. "I thought, the high school memories were good when I and my friend got the registration cards, I can not use them now.
Tricia Richardson, in Averandal, Florida, is one of three states that deny lifetime voting rights after being convicted of possession of Xanax and methamphetamine.

"My conviction of the felony will ruin my life ... I will pay for my whole life, because of my record, I do not know how or where I will start rebuilding my life: the school, work and the subsidies provided by the government. ] .... this is my future. "
Nicole Bishop, spoke from the Harris County jail where she was detained before her trial for traces of heroin in a bag and cocaine residue in a juice-sucking tube.

"I am deprived of food aid for the year, so I go to dig in the garbage, food aid for my children and not for me."
Melissa Wright, under the control of the Drug Court after admitting guilt in Covington, Louisiana.

"The drug residue issue should be re-evaluated, if it is accused of possessing 0.1 of the controlled substance ... It is an empty bag, and this is an empty tube, there was something in it, they destroy people's lives because of that."
Eliza Burns, from Harris County Prison, where she was detained before her trial for methamphetamine residue in a tube.

"I remember when they said I was guilty in the courtroom, I could not breathe ... The rest of my life went ... All I was thinking about was that I could not do anything fun in my life again ... I could not be in love with someone. "I will not be able to use my cell phone ... shower privately ... There are 60 people in my cell, and only one of us went to trial ... They are afraid that they will get what happened to me."
Jennifer Edwards, speaking from the prison in St. Tamani Parish, Louisiana, sentenced the jury to conviction. Because of her previous drug possession, she faced penalties ranging from 20 years' imprisonment and life imprisonment for possession of a small amount of heroin.
Region / Country United States of Americ