DECRIMINILIZATION

"Decriminalizing drug possession and investing in treatment and harm reduction services can provide major benefits for public safety and health, including: Reducing the number of people arrested; Reducing the number of people incarcerated; Increasing uptake into drug treatment;  Reducing criminal justice costs and redirecting resources from criminal justice to health systems;  Redirecting law enforcement resources to prevent serious and violent crime;  Diminishing unjust racial disparities in drug law enforcement and sentencing, incarceration and related health characteristics and outcomes;  Minimizing the social exclusion of people who use drugs, and creating a climate in which they are less fearful of seeking and accessing treatment, utilizing harm reduction services and receiving HIV/AIDS services;  Improving relations between law enforcement and the community; and  Protecting people from the wide-ranging and debilitating consequences of a criminal conviction. Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2014."

 "Decriminalization Does Not Affect Drug Use Rates. Countries that have adopted less punitive policies toward drug possession have not experienced any significant increases in drug use, drug-related harm or crime relative to more punitive countries.7 A World Health Organization study, for example, found that the U.S. had the highest lifetime drug use rates by a wide margin, despite its punitive policies".