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

young and their are for more cannabis smokers than hard drug users, it does challenge the
assumption that the deferral commissions should be read centrally as a “compassionate” response
for hard drug users, as the majority of their work deals with lower level cannabis possession. Many
would say that the inclusion of lower level cannabis offenses proves the value of decriminalization,
as it keeps low level cannabis offenders out of the criminal legal system. However, Monaghan and
Bewley-Taylor offer a different interpretation for this dynamic, relaying interviews done by
journalist Glen Greenwald which presents different interpretation of this data, writing:
“The following paragraphs illustrate some of the areas of concern regarding policing
issues. In his review of the Portuguese decriminalisation ‘regime’, published in 2009,
Greenwald notes that:
The effect that the decriminalization regime has had on police conduct with regard to
drug users is unclear and is the source of some debate among Portuguese drug policy
experts. There are, to be sure, some police officers who largely refrain from issuing
citations to drug users on the grounds of perceived futility, as they often observe the cited
user on the street once again using drugs, leading such officers to conclude that the
issuance of citations, without arrests or the threat of criminal prosecution, is worthless.107
However, he continues:
Other police officers, however, are more inclined to act when they see drug usage
now than they were before decriminalization, as they believe that the
treatment options offered to such users are far more effective than turning users into
criminals (who, even under the criminalization scheme, were typically back on the street
the next day, but without real treatment options). (Geoffrey Monaghan and Dave Bewley-
Taylor, September 2013)
This raises the specter of “net widening”, or the expansion of the categories of individuals subject
to disciplinary institutions. It is possible that decriminalization led Protugeses police to send
individuals to deferral commission who otherwise would have simply been let go, under the belief
that they are actually helping the individual by sending them to the commissions. This should be
seen as a practical application of the theoretical analysis of discourse and cultural epistemology
this report has peruse, as this net widening should be seen as polie showing a desire to inculcate
positive “biocitizenship” in populations of drug users. While some decrim advocates claim
Portugal as an unqualified success, this analysis raises several questions around this narrative.
Even one of Portugal's most laudable accomplishments, a decrease in HIV infection rates, need
to be questioned, as these statistical trends were prevalent throughout Europe during this
timeframe, including nations that did not decriminalize drugs (UNAIDS,2020). This presents the
real possibility that the benefits of decriminalization could be overstated.
In addition to creating discretion for the criminal legal system to take over, the
“decriminalized” process of the deferral commission also contains a surprising degree of punitive
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