Heavy-handed law enforcement is one of the primary ways society has attempted to deal with the complicated issue of drug abuse. Responding to problematic drug use from a public health perspective is a far better approach.

Too many people with mental illness and addictions end up behind bars. This isn't good for them, and it hasn't made the public any safer.

When a juvenile is caught using or sharing an illegal drug, what is the appropriate community response? Should he or she be arrested and charged with a crime, or should he or she receive public health services?

The War on Drugs has left thousands of people locked up under sentencing laws now widely viewed as discriminatory and not based in fact. An ACLU-WA brief is taking aim at the effects of an egregious Drug War policy: the lengthy sentences being served because of the government’s wrongheaded distinction between crack and powder cocaine, resulting in a 100:1 crack-powder disparity in sentences.

It has now been one year since I-502 retail stores opened. Although it is too early to tell whether the law is accomplishing all of its goals, we already have some important results. First and foremost, we know that law enforcement resources are no longer being wasted on the arrest and prosecution of adults for the possession and use of marijuana. We are also taking away profits from the black market and investing badly needed tax revenue into public health and prevention programs.