Majority of Americans support drug decriminalization

Significantly more than half, 60 per cent, of people polled in the U.S. believe the War on Drugs should end, and support the decriminalization of illegal substances.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Drug Policy Allegiance (DPA) released the poll ahead of the 50-year anniversary of President Richard Nixon declaring that drugs were “public enemy number 1.” The U.S. police had an impact on the lives of thousands of people, resulting in many incarcerations, disproportionately affecting Black, Latino and Indigenous people.

According to the poll, 65 per cent of the people surveyed agreed that the U.S. should stop the War on Drugs, with 66 per cent of those polled reporting they believe in decriminalizing drugs altogether.

Poll results show how much views have evolved since the 1970s. Nearly two-thirds of respondents believe there should be new healthcare enforcement instead of new law enforcement. The majority of those taking part in the survey also noted they think drugs should be a problem solved by healthcare providers and not officers.

In all, 83 per cent of respondents said they believed the War on Drugs has failed.

The ACLU sees the findings as a clear message for President Joe Biden.

“On this 50th anniversary of the drug war, President Biden must make good on his campaign promises and take steps to begin dismantling the system of over-policing and mass incarceration that is endemic to the War on Drugs,” said Udi Ofer, director of the ACLU’s justice division.

FILE: Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden delivers a speech at the William Hicks Anderson Community Center, on July 28, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. / PHOTO BY MARK MAKELA/GETTY IMAGES

“Today, drug possession continues to be the number one arrest in the United States, with more than 1.35 million arrests per year. Every 25 seconds, a person is arrested for possessing drugs for personal use, with Black people disproportionately targeted by this over-policing,” Ofer continued.

In the coming weeks, the ACLU and the DPA plan to launch a media campaign asking the U.S. president to begin taking assertive action by reducing the sentences of people who are currently in federal prison as a result of drugs.

In the past, Biden has said that no one should go to prison for low-level drug cases. His administration has stated that rescheduling cannabis would be a good first step in order to release inmates charged with marijuana convictions.