Is It Time to End the War on Drugs? - King County Bar Association

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KING COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATIONDRUG POLICY STATEMENT (cont.)FUNDING AND ADMINISTRATION OF TREATMENT12. The people of Washing<strong>to</strong>n should make a commitment <strong>to</strong>, and have a strategy for, <strong>the</strong>adequate funding of drug addiction treatment.13. An addiction-treatment exception should be made <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> federal prohibition against useof Medicaid funds for services provided in institutions for mental diseases with morethan 16 beds.14. The Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse should have enhanced oversightresponsibility for state addiction-treatment policy.15. Research-based investigation and reporting on <strong>the</strong> effectiveness of various approaches <strong>to</strong>addiction treatment and related issues should have continued support.16. Health insurance plans should provide broad coverage for drug addiction treatment; <strong>the</strong>Basic Health Plan and plans offered <strong>to</strong> employers of not more than 25 employees shouldhave benefits at least at <strong>the</strong> levels required under WAC 284-53-010.17. Drug court programs should be offered as an alternative <strong>to</strong> trial on criminal charges forindividuals with drug addictions whenever this alternative is not inconsistent withimportant public interests. The issue of what acts should be defined as criminal offensesis addressed elsewhere. If individuals with drug addictions are charged with crimes(including crimes for which <strong>the</strong> use or sale of drugs is not an element), <strong>the</strong> option ofdrug courts should be considered.EXPANDING TREATMENT CAPACITY18. Drug addiction screening and intervention standards for health professionals should beestablished and appropriate training should be incorporated in academic curricula and incontinuing education programs.19. Programs <strong>to</strong> attract and train addiction-treatment professionals should be supported andexpanded.9
KING COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATIONDRUG POLICY STATEMENT (cont.)THE USE OF CRIMINAL SANCTIONSPrinciples regarding <strong>the</strong> use of criminal sanctions1) The current use of criminal sanctions against those who possess or deliver relativelysmall amounts of drugs is an ineffective means <strong>to</strong> discourage drug use or <strong>to</strong> address <strong>the</strong>problems arising from drug abuse, and it is extremely costly in both financial and humanterms, unduly burdening <strong>the</strong> taxpayer and causing more harm <strong>to</strong> people than <strong>the</strong> use ofdrugs <strong>the</strong>mselves.2) Ra<strong>the</strong>r than criminally punish persons for drug use per se, any state sanction or remedyshould be aimed at reducing <strong>the</strong> harm directly caused <strong>to</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs by persons using drugs.For example, <strong>the</strong>re should be more reliance on civil remedies, supported by a court’scontempt power, which are already available <strong>to</strong> be imposed on persons who use drugs <strong>to</strong><strong>the</strong> detriment of o<strong>the</strong>rs.3) Criminal sanctions should continue <strong>to</strong> be imposed upon persons who commit non-drugcriminal offenses, but those offenders should have <strong>the</strong> opportunity <strong>to</strong> receive drugtreatment, especially if <strong>the</strong>ir crimes are related <strong>to</strong> chemical dependency.4) The state should significantly expand its investment in drug addiction treatment, drugeducation and drug abuse prevention programs, which have consistently been shown <strong>to</strong>be much more cost-effective responses <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> problems created by drugs in society.Funding for those programs could be obtained from <strong>the</strong> substantial cost savings that willaccrue from <strong>the</strong> diminishing reliance on <strong>the</strong> use of criminal sanctions.Principles for an alternative drug policyThe reform of drug policy should be guided by <strong>the</strong> following set of principles:1) Any public policy <strong>to</strong>ward drug use should seek <strong>to</strong> result in no more harm than <strong>the</strong> use of<strong>the</strong> drugs <strong>the</strong>mselves;2) Any public policy <strong>to</strong>ward drug use should address <strong>the</strong> underlying causes and <strong>the</strong>resulting harms of drug abuse instead of attempting <strong>to</strong> discourage drug abuse through <strong>the</strong>use of criminal sanctions;3) The state should regulate <strong>the</strong> use of drugs in a manner that recognizes a citizen’sindividual liberties while answering <strong>the</strong> need <strong>to</strong> preserve public health, public safety andpublic order;4) The state should regulate <strong>the</strong> use of drugs in a manner that uses scarce public resourcesas efficiently as possible.5) Federal law should permit <strong>the</strong> states <strong>to</strong> develop <strong>the</strong>ir own drug control strategies andstructures for individuals possessing or selling small quantities of drugs.10
Page 7: KING COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATIONDRUG POL
Page 12 and 13: IntroductionThe King County Bar Ass
Page 14: Conclusions and RecommendationsEFFE
Page 17 and 18: DRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT (cont.)sym
Page 19 and 20: 11. Opiate-replacement the<
Page 21 and 22: DRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT (cont.)17.
Page 23 and 24: Assessing the Effe
Page 25 and 26: Current Drug Policy Reforms• Citi
Page 27 and 28: ___________________________________
Page 29 and 30: Formal research studies of adolesce
Page 31 and 32: methodological difficulties in esti
Page 33 and 34: Risk Factors and P
Page 35 and 36: Protective Factors
Page 37 and 38: 3. The Promise and Perils of Drug A
Page 39 and 40: Prevention strategies have been des
Page 41 and 42: Universal prevention programs gener
Page 43 and 44: The programs implemented under <str
Page 45 and 46: SECTION IIDRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT:
Page 47 and 48: 2. Society is justified in offering
Page 49 and 50: 4. Treatment is an effective respon
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Page 53 and 54: “11. Possible drug use during tre
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Page 57 and 58: “become almost illusory.” <stro
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levels” for some drug offenses 16
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treatment, drug testing and o<stron
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to the</st
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and especially considering
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Those with problems are heavily con
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Just as it is difficult to<
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The federal criminal justice system
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A core principle of Washing
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Rehabilitation is the</stro
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Damaging Collateral Effects of <str
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have been so overwhelmed with drug
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creates a conflict of interest that
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The links between illegal drug prod
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convicted.” 351 Proposition 36 al
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non-violent offenders facing length
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is still supervised by the<
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emedies may be appropriate, and <st
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___________________________________
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have shown less promise, especially
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Unique Opportunities in Washing<str
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State of Washingto
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This program provides to</s
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way.”9 According to</stro
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Best states: “ They are basically
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4, pp. 590-593, who state that <str
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109 For a summary of the</s
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Profile report is available on line
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to anothe<
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program of drug treatment that begi
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237 No deaths have ever been record
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290 A special exception to<
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Following the pass
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Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol.
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Is It Time to End the War on Drugs? - King County Bar Association

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