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

Published: 
Friday, September 20, 2013
The federal government’s recent positive response to marijuana legalization in Washington and Colorado seems a far and contradictory cry from their enforcement policy on federal grounds.
News Release, Published: 
Thursday, September 19, 2013
The ACLU of Washington hailed a decision by the Washington Supreme Court today recognizing the right of medical marijuana patients to raise a medical necessity defense in court.  The ACLU-WA filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case (State v. Kurtz) saying that the state’s Medical Use of Marijuana Act did not supersede the common law medical necessity defense, and that medical marijuana patients should be able to cite both medical necessity and state law in defending themselves. A medical necessity defense is available to someone who has violated a law, but was justified in doing so because the harm being avoided is greater than the harm of violating the law.
News Release, Published: 
Monday, June 10, 2013
Today, a group of substance abuse prevention and treatment professionals and public health advocates, in collaboration with the ACLU of Washington, submitted comments addressing the state Liquor Control Board’s initial draft rules for Initiative 502. 
News Release, Published: 
Monday, June 10, 2013
Today, a group of leaders from Washington’s ethnic and racial communities, in collaboration with the ACLU of Washington, submitted comments addressing the state Liquor Control Board’s initial draft rules for Initiative 502.
News Release, Published: 
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
SEATTLE - Today, a group of substance abuse prevention and treatment professionals and public health advocates, in collaboration with the ACLU of Washington, submitted recommendations for marijuana rulemaking to the state Liquor Control Board.  Initiative 502, passed by Washington voters last November, requires the board to finalize regulations governing marijuana production and distribution by December 1. The deadline for the public to submit input on the drafting of rules for producer licenses is March 15.
News Release, Published: 
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Passed by Washington’s voters with an 11-point margin, Initiative 502 went into effect on December 6. The measure is an historic step in reforming our state’s marijuana policies and its criminal justice system. Adults no longer are subject to arrest for possessing small amounts of marijuana for personal use under state law.
News Release, Published: 
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
The ACLU of Washington hails the passage of Initiative 502, which legalizes, taxes, and regulates small quantities of marijuana for adults age 21 and older. We look forward to working with state and federal officials and New Approach Washington sponsors to ensure the law is fully and fairly implemented.  
Published: 
Friday, November 2, 2012
A recent report prepared by the Marijuana Arrest Research Project sheds light on the tremendous amount of resources Washington State has devoted to marijuana law enforcement over the last 25 years. There have been over 240,000 arrests for adult marijuana possession, consuming over $300 million in taxpayer money, since 1986. And people of color are the more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession in Washington state. Disturbingly, racially disproportionate enforcement is getting worse. Using data from the Marijuana Arrest Research Project report, the ACLU of Washington has produced an infographic that visualizes this increasing disparity,
Published: 
Thursday, October 4, 2012
“GOP Senate hopeful latest to endorse legal pot” proclaimed an Associated Press report carried by media statewide yesterday.  It came after Michael Baumgartner, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate who is a state senator from Spokane, announced that he is supporting Initiative 502 – citing his experience as an advisor to a counternarcotics team in Afghanistan.
Published: 
Monday, August 27, 2012
Washington state’s war on marijuana has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over the last decade. Every one of Washington’s 39 counties has spent millions of dollars enforcing these laws.

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