{"id":33563,"date":"2022-12-06T12:13:02","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T17:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/?p=33563"},"modified":"2022-12-31T21:54:55","modified_gmt":"2023-01-01T02:54:55","slug":"the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/","title":{"rendered":"The United States Needs To Decriminalize All Drugs"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Oct. 5, President Joe Biden instated a <\/span>proclamation<\/span><\/a><\/span> pardoning all offenses of simple possession of marijuana.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The decision, aimed at all weed charges that didn\u2019t involve the distribution or manufacturing of marijuana, is a monumental step toward reducing the rates of recidivism and drug relapse.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

America has had a fraught history with drug abuse, often mishandling the issue in ways that make it increase tenfold.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
JESSICA SOTO \/ THE REPORTER<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the 1970s, President Richard Nixon declared the War on Drugs when he said drug abuse was \u201cpublic enemy number one.\u201d Since then, succeeding presidents like Ronald Reagan continued to escalate Nixon\u2019s message.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Their approach to ending drug abuse constituted a reform of the criminal justice system to implement long-term sentences for drug trafficking and use.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Approaching the issue like this was a grave mistake. Reagan\u2019s policies in particular have received backlash for being racially motivated. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Under his watch, charges for possession of crack cocaine, which was used more in black communities, became <\/span>harsher<\/span><\/a><\/span> than normal cocaine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Possession of powder cocaine, commonly used amongst White Americans, took five hundred grams to earn a five-year prison sentence\u2014for crack, it was only five grams.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today the legacy of the War on Drugs is seen as a failure at virtually every level. It didn\u2019t lower rates of drug production, trafficking or abuse. Instead, it led to overcrowded prisons and the criminalization of the marginalized groups most susceptible to drug abuse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We should learn from countries like Spain and Portugal, which saw massive improvements after decriminalizing drugs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of criminalization, Portugal instituted a system in which drug offenses lead to counseling, rehabilitation and community service. The measure also doesn\u2019t create a criminal record for drug users.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since implementing these measures in 2001, Portugal has seen a <\/span>decline<\/span><\/a><\/span> in drug-related deaths, crime and general drug use.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s <\/span>decriminalization efforts<\/span><\/a><\/span> are relegated to local regions that act without jurisdiction from the central government.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These regions prioritize treating high-risk drug addicts, such as heroin users while punishing distributors. Some also allow for the existence of \u201ccannabis clubs\u201d through loopholes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like Portugal, Spain has seen positive effects in reducing drug abuse and crime because their measures focus on rehabilitation not punishment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the United States, the closest example we have to this approach is Oregon, which <\/span>decriminalized<\/span><\/a><\/span> the possession of small amounts of all drugs two years ago.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The state, which is regularly ranked as one of the states with the highest number of drug and alcohol users, hopes the non-punitive efforts often labeled as radical will improve the situation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Though we are starting to realize the mistakes of criminalizing drug use, we haven\u2019t done enough.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Biden\u2019s policy should have included all marijuana charges, including manufacturing, distribution and all cases of simple possession.<\/span><\/p>\n

Until we embrace a complete and effective rehabilitative measure, our country will continue to see death, relapse and overpopulated prisons.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Oct. 5, President Joe Biden instated a proclamation pardoning all offenses of simple possession of marijuana.\u00a0 The decision, aimed at all weed charges that didn\u2019t involve the distribution or manufacturing of marijuana, is a monumental step toward reducing the rates of recidivism and drug relapse.\u00a0\u00a0 America has had a fraught history with drug abuse, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13482599,"featured_media":33556,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-33563","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-forum"},"yoast_head":"\nThe United States Needs To Decriminalize All Drugs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The U.S. should tackle its war on drugs through rehabilitative methods reminiscent of those adapted in Portugal and Spain.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The United States Needs To Decriminalize All Drugs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The U.S. should tackle its war on drugs through rehabilitative methods reminiscent of those adapted in Portugal and Spain.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Reporter: The Student Newspaper at Miami Dade College\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-06T17:13:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-01T02:54:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Drugs1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sabrina Chaviano\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sabrina Chaviano\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sabrina Chaviano\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/402da19cf9613c68309f792585fc3d2c\"},\"headline\":\"The United States Needs To Decriminalize All Drugs\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-06T17:13:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-01T02:54:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":498,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/Drugs1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Forum\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\\\/\",\"name\":\"The United States Needs To Decriminalize All Drugs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/Drugs1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-06T17:13:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-01T02:54:55+00:00\",\"description\":\"The U.S. should tackle its war on drugs through rehabilitative methods reminiscent of those adapted in Portugal and Spain.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/Drugs1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/12\\\/Drugs1.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"JESSICA SOTO \\\/ THE REPORTER\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The United States Needs To Decriminalize All Drugs\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Reporter: The Student Newspaper at Miami Dade College\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MDC The Reporter\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/R_reporter_logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/R_reporter_logo.png\",\"width\":315,\"height\":309,\"caption\":\"MDC The Reporter\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/402da19cf9613c68309f792585fc3d2c\",\"name\":\"Sabrina Chaviano\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/09\\\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png\",\"caption\":\"Sabrina Chaviano\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mdcthereporter.com\\\/staging\\\/8357\\\/author\\\/sabrina-chaviano\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The United States Needs To Decriminalize All Drugs","description":"The U.S. should tackle its war on drugs through rehabilitative methods reminiscent of those adapted in Portugal and Spain.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The United States Needs To Decriminalize All Drugs","og_description":"The U.S. should tackle its war on drugs through rehabilitative methods reminiscent of those adapted in Portugal and Spain.","og_url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/","og_site_name":"The Reporter: The Student Newspaper at Miami Dade College","article_published_time":"2022-12-06T17:13:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-01-01T02:54:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Drugs1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sabrina Chaviano","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sabrina Chaviano","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/"},"author":{"name":"Sabrina Chaviano","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#\/schema\/person\/402da19cf9613c68309f792585fc3d2c"},"headline":"The United States Needs To Decriminalize All Drugs","datePublished":"2022-12-06T17:13:02+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-01T02:54:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/"},"wordCount":498,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Drugs1.jpg","articleSection":["Forum"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/","name":"The United States Needs To Decriminalize All Drugs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Drugs1.jpg","datePublished":"2022-12-06T17:13:02+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-01T02:54:55+00:00","description":"The U.S. should tackle its war on drugs through rehabilitative methods reminiscent of those adapted in Portugal and Spain.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Drugs1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Drugs1.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"JESSICA SOTO \/ THE REPORTER"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/the-united-states-needs-to-decriminalize-all-drugs\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The United States Needs To Decriminalize All Drugs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/","name":"The Reporter: The Student Newspaper at Miami Dade College","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#organization","name":"MDC The Reporter","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/R_reporter_logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/R_reporter_logo.png","width":315,"height":309,"caption":"MDC The Reporter"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/#\/schema\/person\/402da19cf9613c68309f792585fc3d2c","name":"Sabrina Chaviano","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png","url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/R_reporter_logo-1-1-125x125.png","caption":"Sabrina Chaviano"},"url":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/author\/sabrina-chaviano\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13482599"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33563"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33564,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33563\/revisions\/33564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}