Preventing Human Suffering And Improving Individual Liberty Should Be The Focus Of Our Drug Policy
The United States "War on Drugs" has failed. Time and time again the punitive paradigm has proven itself to be a failure in American society. A move toward a combination of libertarian, public health, and harm reduction drug policy paradigms is desperately needed.
Democratic Senator Cory Booker has introduced a bill that would fundamentally change how our criminal justice system functions in regards to marijuana. This bill is an incredible first step in regards to righting the wrongs of American drug policy, and it should receive bipartisan support as both the Democrats and Republicans constituencies clearly show support for marijuana legalization. However, it does not go far enough.
The evils of the War on Drugs do not stop at marijuana, currently there is a terrible opioid epidemic in the United States. While marijuana legalization has been suggested as a policy that may help deal with the opioid epidemic, it is still not enough. Access to marijuana will not magically cure the addiction to opioids that millions currently suffer from, nor will punishing them for their addiction.
The punitive paradigm consists of policy that treats the evils that drugs present as crimes and individual failures. It suggests that if there is enough negative reinforcement, in regards to drug use and abuse, people will just stop using drugs altogether. This has clearly not happened. The result of the punitive paradigm is that the drug industry is more profitable than ever and that the individuals that suffer from the disease of drug addiction have unnecessarily suffered.
A libertarian approach to marijuana, similar to the policies that impact alcohol consumption, would allow for millions of Americans to reclaim their right to govern what enters their own body. It would legalize and regulate an entire industry and bring a market into the public sphere. Millions, and potentially billions, of tax dollars and private revenue would be generated. The tax dollars from bringing an industry and market into the legal economic sphere can be used to fund countless public and social goods.
Pubic health and harm reduction approaches would help to diminish the suffering and loss of life that drug use can cause. Those in need will no longer be in fear of asking for help. Addicts will be able to receive the treatment they need, should they wish for it. The actual act of using drugs will be made safer, through needle exchange and safe injection site programs, so as to prevent the spread of other diseases. In the case of life threatening situations, treatment would become readily available to first responders.
The restructuring of our criminal justice system and our drug policy should be a bipartisan endeavor. Public support for the changes are clear. The policy shifts will fit the narratives of both party's political ideology. Everyone will be able to claim a "victory" should Senator Cory Booker's legislation pass.