War on Drugs

Drug Policy

War on Drugs

Our nation’s misguided and costly "War on Drugs" has undermined civil liberties in many ways — eroding protections against unlawful searches and seizures, imposing overly harsh sentences on individuals, disproportionately impacting communities of color. The ACLU of Washington Drug Policy Project works for policies that treat drug use as a public health concern, not a criminal justice matter, through public education, legislative advocacy, and litigation.

Resources

News Release, Published: 
Friday, November 20, 2009
The Washington Supreme Court found unanimously that requiring students to undergo drug testing without suspicion of wrongdoing violates the state constitution.
News Release, Published: 
Friday, November 20, 2009
A bill was introduced in the Senate today to bar government forfeiture and sale of a person's property unless the person has been convicted of a crime.
News Release, Published: 
Friday, November 20, 2009
On October 2, 2008, the Department of Health adopted a rule defining a "60-day supply" of medical marijuana. It specifies that a qualifying patient or designated provider "may possess a total of no more than twenty-four ounces of usable marijuana, and no more than fifteen plants." It makes no distinction between mature and immature plants.
News Release, Published: 
Friday, November 20, 2009
In a precedent-setting case, the Washington Court of Appeals has temporarily put a halt to Wahkiakum School District’s program of suspicionless urine testing for student athletes.
News Release, Published: 
Friday, November 20, 2009
Travel writer Rick Steves has been nominated for an EMMY Award for hosting the ACLU-WA's "Marijuana: It’s Time for a Conversation.” The half-hour television program examines the history and current impacts of marijuana laws.
News Release, Published: 
Friday, November 20, 2009
The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington strongly supports the availability of professional methadone treatment and other opiate substitution programs in all communities where residents suffer from addiction to heroin and other opiates.
News Release, Published: 
Friday, November 20, 2009
The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington today hailed the passage of Initiative 75, a ballot measure making enforcement of marijuana laws relating to adult personal use the lowest enforcement priority for the Seattle Police Department and City Attorney.
News Release, Published: 
Friday, November 20, 2009
The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington hails enactment of a law that removes unnecessary barriers to help for needy families. Governor Christine Gregoire today is signing SB 5213 that will provide fair access to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and its related Work First programs to people who have been barred from receiving help because of prior convictions for drug offenses.
News Release, Published: 
Friday, November 20, 2009
On June 6, 2005, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling that upholds the federal ban on the medicinal use of marijuana. The case was decided on a 6-3 vote. This means that state laws allowing medical marijuana and federal laws prohibiting marijuana (even for medical purposes) continue to exist side-by-side.
News Release, Published: 
Friday, November 20, 2009
The ACLU has filed a suit challenging a plan for suspicionless drug testing of students at Cle Elum-Roslyn High School, because it violates students’ privacy and interferes with parental rights.

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