Ending the War on Drugs: Public Attitudes and Incremental Change

Pathways to Drug Liberalization: Racial Justice, Public Health, and Human Rights

“…The majority of the commentaries recognize that we do not go into the details of how drug policy reform might be implemented in practice. In their respective commentaries, Roberts (2021) and Rolles, Nutt, and Schlag (2021) offer helpful insight into the policy design process, from real-time developments in different policy models in the United States, Spain, and Uruguay to the possibility of democratically pursuing explicit policy experiments or trials in limited geographical areas (along the lines of those used to gather evidence about Universal Basic Income). As we argue in our article, the key point is that policy design must be informed by meaningful participation from relevant stakeholders, including people who use drugs and those communities that have borne the brunt of the "war on drugs" (see also Earp and Yaden forthcoming).…”

“…Second, these measures must be accompanied by increased harm reduction efforts, including adequately expanded health care, social support programs, and rehabilitation for those who struggle with substance use disorders, as well as realistic, evidence-based educational programs to dissuade minors from drug use and promote safe and responsible drug use among adults who so choose. Of course, as Roberts (2021) and Rolles, Nutt, and Schlag (2021) respectively observe, there are a huge number of specific questions that need to be addressed in order to devise such a regulatory framework. Fortunately, as Caulkins and Reuter (2021) and Hall and Carter (2021) demonstrate, we do have evidence about how previous regulatory frameworks have failed to meet theie objectives.…”