Drug Decriminalization in Maryland Through an African Centered Research Paradigm- Analysis and Recommendations

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Introduction - Beyond the “Standard Model” of the “Decriminalize Drugs” Argument Since the 1930s, when Harry Anslinger led federal efforts to criminalize drugs through the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act, and then aggressively enforced prohibition under the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (the precursor to the DEA), drug prohibition enforcement has been a staple of American governance (Hari, 2016). Federal policy trickled down to state policy, claiming the harmful social and public health impacts of drug use warrants an aggressive expansion of the “War on Drugs.” With the notable exception of a short period in the 1970s where cannabis decriminalization was pursued, state and federal governments have continued to enforce drug prohibition aggressively. (Alexander, 2010). From its outset, with Anslinger conjuring fears of Mexican marijuana intoxication, creating the threat of violence, and targeting Black jazz musicians with explicitly racialized justification, the War on Drugs has had disproportionate impacts on racial minorities. Despite making up approximately 30% of the nation's population, minorities make up 80% of federal convictions on drug charges and 60% of state and local drug convictions (Drug Policy Alliance, 2016). Despite this hyper incarceration, rates of addiction and drug crime have primarily remained static despite the American prison population exploding by over 700% from 1970 to 2010 (Flatow, 2014). The impacts on communities of color have been expansive, and a full accounting of the harmful effects are beyond the scope of this project. Within the past 20 years, America's War on Drugs has faced a new development - the expansion of a widespread “opioid epidemic” - which has swept the nation. While created by a multitude of factors, the epidemic is largely seen as a confluence of economic malaise in broad swaths of the country, especially Appalachia and the Southern United States; the massive expansion of prescribed opioid-based painkillers such as Perdue Pharmaceuticals “oxycontin,” and the availability of less expensive heroin from Mexico (Quinones, 2015). Unlike the cocaine epidemic of the 1980s, this opioid epidemic produced a massive increase in overdose deaths, including in white communities, which largely avoided the worst impacts (both addiction and police crackdowns) of the cocaine panics of the 1980s and 1990s. Opioid overdose deaths have more than quadrupled from 2000 to 2019 (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2020). Visions of young men and women withering away under the grip of opioid addiction shocked the nation, leading many to wonder what radical interventions were needed to address this crisis. These historical realities create the environment for what one could call the “standard model” of drug decriminalization. This model is an intellectual intervention to the ideological “common sense” powering of the previously established narrative around the War on Drugs. In a nutshell, it might sound something like the following: 4151 Park Heights Avenue, Suite 207, Baltimore, MD 21215 • www.lbsbaltimore.com • (410) 374-7683
“In the face of this wave of overdose deaths, and after decades of prodding from public health officials, harm reduction activists, and concerned citizens nationwide, there is an increasing focus on fundamentally reconceptualizing addiction and drug policy in America, centering on shifting the issue of drug addiction from the criminal legal system to an approach driven by public health. The current environment of criminalizing drug use creates a chilling effect, deterring individuals from seeking treatment and even calling the police when someone doses from fear of being criminalized for their addiction. Moreover, the disruption of cycling in and out of jail prevents stability in terms of employment and housing, which is necessary for individuals to effectively recover from addiction. Rather than serving as an essential deterrent to addiction, it creates social disruption, which is perpetuating the addiction crisis. As opposed to viewing drug addiction as an issue of personal moral failing, drug addiction should be viewed as a disease, met with treatment, not incarceration. Rather than spending tens of thousands of dollars per year incarcerating individuals who were suffering from drug addiction, a key driver in the expansion of the prison system, putting individuals in treatment would save millions of dollars and allow individuals to return to being productive members of society. Drugs should thus be decriminalized, with policy implementation to be overseen by public health professionals, addiction treatment specialists, researchers, and community advocates, allowing for a more compassionate, evidence-based approach to drug policy to take shape. This might include centering addiction responses on housing, opioid replacement treatment such as methadone and suboxone, training police and other individuals on the delivery of overdose-reversing agents like naloxone, and replace the criminal legal system with parallel institutions specifically designed to address addicts, such as the “deferral commissions” pioneered by Portugal, which should be modeled in the United States.” This is the starting point for the vast majority of research on decriminalization produced by mainstream academic and nonprofit institutions. As such, it is essential to start at this narrative to explore its underlying assumptions and broader political implications. On Methodology - The Eurocentric Nature of “Scientism” and African Centered Research Paradigms The question of methodology is perpetually overlooked and under-theorized in the context of research. There are assumptions as to what constitutes “quality” research claims and how it relates to the scientific focus on quantification and ostensible research objectivity. These prerequisites are essential before interrogating any literature base. 4151 Park Heights Avenue, Suite 207, Baltimore, MD 21215 • www.lbsbaltimore.com • (410) 374-7683
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Drug Decriminalization in Maryland Through an African Centered Research Paradigm- Analysis and Recommendations

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