Criminalizing drug use never made sense
Overdose crisis a tragic but predictable outcome of failed strategy, Mark Tyndall says.
Vancouver city council's motion to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs is long overdue. The timing of this initiative is in response to the unrelenting and staggering number of drug-overdose deaths seen during the last five years, although enforcing criminal penalties for drug possession has caused immeasurable damage to our society for decades.
The criminalization of people who use drugs creates violence, destroys communities and ruins people's lives, often for good. Criminalization puts the responsibility and blame for drug use firmly on the backs of individuals most at-risk. This has created an underworld of people dependent on drugs who have been pushed to the margins of society and are forced to exist under precarious living conditions. At the extreme, we have people spending their days hustling for drugs, scrounging for food, searching for shelter and, most of all, avoiding the police. At the root of this human suffering and chaos is criminalization.
Our current drug laws are largely arbitrary, ideological and unchallenged. The basic justification is the belief that punishing people for their drug use will be a deterrent to further use as well as to send a strong message to those who may be tempted to use drugs in the future. This approach has been an unmitigated disaster, as illicit drug use continues to rise, the illegal market becomes more violent and unpredictable, and more people end up in the criminal justice system for drug-related offences. The current epidemic of drug-overdose deaths is a tragic but predictable outcome of this failed strategy.
Making something illegal means that politicians and policy-makers can deny people their most basic human rights, and that the continuing failure to provide the necessary social services, health care, housing, harm-reduction interventions and addiction treatment can occur without fear of backlash. How else can we explain the lack of political attention to
Criminalization strips us of our empathy.
the overdose crisis seen in recent federal and provincial elections?
The enthusiasm for criminalization is kept alive by the media who continue to report on military-style drug enforcement operations as though they're actually protecting society from the ravages of drugs. Instead, law enforcement agencies have become the unwitting participants in the relentless and futile search for drug-users and traffickers. This only serves to increase violence, drive up drug prices and make the drug supply more toxic. This occurs at great cost and diverts policing resources away from where they're actually needed.
Criminalization also strips us of our empathy for those who need it most. When people living on the street are viewed as drug-users, it's easy to be dismissive. People who are most in need of our help and resources are labelled as criminals. We use derogatory and dehumanizing descriptions like junkie and crackheads and dope fiends that lay blame on people. Criminalization gives society permission to overlook the racism, mental illness and the tragic life events that people have endured. This is a vicious cycle for people, as many use drugs to numb the pain that they're feeling.
Criminal punishment reinforces the powerlessness, hopelessness and lack of self-worth felt by many people who are using drugs. In fact, the trauma associated with arrests and involvement in the criminal justice system mirror the trauma and violence that may have led to drug use in the first place. This is the antithesis to the selfworth, personal agency and hope for the future that is critical to a person's recovery. Not only is the endless cycle of repeated incarceration disruptive to people's lives, a permanent criminal record can lock people into situations where they see no future other than drugs.
Decriminalization of simple drug possession is a critical first step and a hopeful signal that we are willing to prioritize support and engagement over punishment and exclusion. But there is a long way to go to address the damage that has been inflicted on our most vulnerable citizens by decades of unchallenged and radical drug policies. While decriminalization of drug possession may not be a “silver-bullet,” pretty much everything else depends on it.