The Communal Impacts of Drug Criminalization in Maryland

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The interviewee talked about the history of the organization over the past 25 years and the struggles to keep it running due to funding issues: “We weren't looking for funding because we knew, they're not going to fund something that was going to force them to change their weight, you know the system. Some of these kids were the children of crack parents. Basically, we became parents. We became people who they relied on. We know the methodology works and we have proof. However, we haven’t done research studies. We haven't done the kind of stuff that gets you political funding. And it's, you know, it's because how can we expect the same people who created the torture to fund our recovery.” (Olusola) The leaders of the organization decided not to pursue other funding streams because doing so would require a compromise of their values. There was trepidation in receiving funding external to the community as it imposed government regulation and removed community control: “Once you subsidize, you regulate. [emphasis added] And that's how I look at grants and going for government funded programs, ‘Okay, we're going to give you this money, but you better not do this, you better not do that, and you better do these things.” So, do I want to take a subsidy from somebody who wants to regulate me when we may disagree on what the goal is? What is an authentic goal for this low-income Black community?' (Olusola) However, this left the organization underfunded and led to limitations in its operations. Many Black civil society institutions have been eroded over time by these funding dynamics, and people are left with no civil society options to plug into for support and a sense of community. The erosion of Black civil society institutions also impacts their ability to collectively address overdose and addiction outside of government and white-dominant service systems. The interviewee also listed other Black civil society organizations that provided community support to individuals and families and were trusted resources for guidance and material assistance. Black Civil Society Institution Fruit of Islam (FOI) WombWork Productions, Inc. Mothers of Murdered Sons and Daughters United Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle I Can’t We Can I say No To Barber shops Description Military wing of the Nation of Islam Community centered cultural entertainment organization Support group for women who have lost children to gun violence Grassroots think-tank which advances the public policy interest of Black people in Baltimore Drug addiction treatment center Drug addiction treatment center Collaborations among local barbering organizations to open a barber school Perspectives of Decriminalization and other Drug Policy Efforts Interviewees shared various perspectives on decriminalization (decrim), highlighting potential positive effects while also raising concerns. Three main perspectives on implementing drug decriminalization arose: 1. Decriminalization will not change the larger conditions faced by communities targeted by the War on Drugs. 2. Decriminalization does not address community harms. 35 of 55
3. Decriminalization does not recognize the values that ground communities’ responses to heal and be architects of their own solutions. 1. Drug decriminalization will not change the larger conditions faced by communities targeted by the War on Drugs. Interviewees routinely emphasized the need for a critical perspective that acknowledges the social impacts of addiction stemming from underlying conditions in Baltimore. Contemporary discourse of decrim traditionally argues that addiction should be treated as a public health problem. A public health approach may be positive, as it seeks to address the material suffering caused by hyper-incarceration and addiction (24,78). However, it does not challenge the underlying assumptions behind these systems of inequity and overlooks the productive capabilities of individuals who use and sell drugs as a means of survival and economic empowerment (6). Interviewees consistently pointed out that the minor revisions made to the criminal legal system fail to address the true nature of the problem. One interviewee, a youth leader, expressed concern that proposed marijuana legalization would exacerbate structural conditions generated by the War on Drugs. “If you are under the age of 18, and get caught with it, it’s still a crime. And the problem is what we know is in poor communities, like Black people's communities traditionally, there's a huge and urgent need for additional streams of income. And there's a pretty well-documented history of kids taking up that type of ownership over contributions to the household space. Again, if you are a kid with no formal training, no legitimate connections to larger money or politics or anything else, you have what’s around you and available and so, traditionally, selling a little bit of weed is most people's introduction into being able to make money… there could be potentially a bunch of kids, who while this product is legal both medically and recreationally, because they are trying to provide for their families in the same way that these White cannabis companies are, will continue to be arrested, and continue to be engaged in the juvenile justice system.” Not only did interviewees express concern about the worsening of conditions in a post-decriminalized Baltimore, but were clear that a communal and comprehensive response was sorely needed: “Let's not forget about the big business of the drug trade, right? It provides opportunities for primarily young Black men who are not gonna be a part of the so-called primary labor market. It gives them an opportunity to make money right, but it also obviously places them at risk to be incarcerated and murdered. So, this is kind of a grand scheme. Like autopilot since slavery, to continue as a society to racially control certain groups, and to essentially keep them subjugated and oppressed. Because ultimately...people don't want to give up their power and privilege.” (Jay) “The opportunities that vulnerable people have in the streets to make money is a way to also keep them cool and calm. But you take that opportunity to make money in the streets then people are going to become more desperate and if you don't have the services and the opportunities there, to rebuild and help the people, they will become more desperate, and they are not going to suffer peacefully. They’re going to turn that anger inward and outward, and I would say there would be more crime on the street. Now I’m not justifying the sale of drugs in any kind of way... Taking the opportunity away from the streets, what money can you get? A group can become desperate. We need to think about this collectively.” (Jay) Minor amendments proposed by the current decriminalization effort, such as re-conceptualizing levels of thresholds of drug possession, may not address the issue in the eyes of communities that have experienced the devastating effects of criminalization of drug possession. Interviewees expressed concerns that current decrim proposals do not resonate with the communities faced with high levels of drugs on the street. In the absence of politically tangible solutions for community stabilization, some community members may find it easier to reconcile with the criminal system of drug courts out of fear of drug-related violence. So, interviewees that raised such concerns warned about the fear of repackaging criminal reforms into other forms of social oppression. For example, the interviewee below shared apprehension of how the current approach will be received if they do not address structural conditions of drugs, crime, and policing: 36 of 55
Page 1 and 2: THE COMMUNAL IMPACTS OF DRUG CRIMIN
Page 3 and 4: Acknowledgements We would like to t
Page 5 and 6: “groupthink”. Also, I realize t
Page 7 and 8: Decriminalize Blackness First “It
Page 9 and 10: Indeed, this quote comes from a for
Page 11 and 12: criminal elements involved in the i
Page 13 and 14: Reparations Means Community Repair,
Page 15 and 16: The Communal Impacts of Drug Crimin
Page 17 and 18: The community-based scholar is info
Page 19 and 20: Definitions Black Civil Society Thi
Page 21 and 22: works. Specifically, we looked at h
Page 23 and 24: working with other Black Power orga
Page 25 and 26: Pseudonym Occupation/Community Role
Page 27 and 28: limiting a pipeline. There’s not
Page 29 and 30: “Black and brown people are being
Page 31 and 32: health and for community education?
Page 33 and 34: friendship community, 'cause heroin
Page 35: “And then actually right out of F
Page 39 and 40: “It’s the values that people ha
Page 41 and 42: A local pastor family interviewed r
Page 43 and 44: Policymakers and researchers intere
Page 45 and 46: advocates trust the experience of o
Page 47 and 48: powerful independent Black institut
Page 49 and 50: trust working-class people in turn
Page 51 and 52: systemic corruption and incompetenc
Page 53 and 54: & The Baltimore “Black Hole” [I
Page 55 and 56: Dan Baum investigates whether gun-c
Page 57: © 2023

The Communal Impacts of Drug Criminalization in Maryland

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