RT Article
T1 Dealing More Effectively and Humanely with Illegal Drugs
JF Crime and justice
VO 46
IS 1
SP 95
OP 158
A1 Caulkins, Jonathan P. 1965-
A2 Reuter, Peter 1944-
LA English
YR 2017
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1743529104
AB Many judge the American criminal justice system to have largely failed in its drug enforcement role, and the justice system itself has suffered a loss of community support and internal morale as a consequence. Five principles should guide improvement of drug enforcement, including that drug enforcement be viewed as a preventive activity, whose main goal is reducing drug abuse and related harms, and it should be designed for sustainability. Six more specific proposals are, first, make marijuana enforcement a minor matter for police through decriminalization of possession or outright legalization; second, induce drug users who are under criminal justice supervision to refrain from drug use by imposing appropriate monitoring and graduated sanctions programs; third, expand opioid substitution therapy for heroin- and other opioid-using offenders; fourth, reduce the average severity of sentences for drug offenses, particularly for minor functionaries who are easily replaced; fifth, base sentence length on culpability, danger, and replaceability, not quantity possessed or number of prior convictions; and sixth, reduce prescription drug abuse by policing that reinforces regulatory efforts. Jointly these proposals would provide an evidence-informed approach that should both reduce America’s drug abuse problem and increase the perceived legitimacy of the criminal justice system.
K1 Criminal justice system
K1 USA
K1 Drug enforcement
K1 Drug offenses
K1 Drogenpolitik
K1 United States
K1 Sentences
K1 Sentencing
DO 10.1086/688458