Ending The War On Drugs

I was raised in a community that was devastated by the War on Drugs. Seeing the disinvestment and policing of my neighborhood, then learning it was manufactured by Reagan-era tactics of crackdowns on black neighborhoods, solidified my belief that we need to drastically redefine how we address crime and drug use. We must face the opioid crisis we currently face in Philadelphia, and we must hold our government accountable for its failure to acknowledge the human rights crisis the War on Drugs wrought upon black and brown communities for the past 40 years.

We cannot incarcerate our way out of this problem. Rather than criminalizing drug use and sentencing users to prison, we must treat addiction as a health issue and provide necessary treatment for those who desire it.

I will:

Support full decriminalization and legalization of marijuana, vacating of past convictions for marijuana offenses, and prioritizing those impacted by past criminalization when establishing medical and recreational dispensaries
Advocate for prioritizing diversion programs over incarceration for drug offenses
Work to pass legislation reclassifying most other drug-related offenses to misdemeanors
Fight for legislation expanding access to Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT)
Demand that Naloxone distribution and training programs are established in every county