Interesting new resource sorting through complicated realities of “drug decriminalization”

I just came across this notable report titled “Decriminalizing Drug Possession In The US: Emerging Models & Recommendations For Policy Design And Implementation.”   This document, which was produced by multiple public health scholars and was funded by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, seeks to unpack and assess different approaches to drug decriminalization.  Here is its executive summary:

Amid calls to address substance use as a public health issue, jurisdictions nationwide are rethinking the paradigm of criminalization for possession of drugs other than cannabis.  While decriminalization of all drugs through official legislation (de jure) has only been enacted in Oregon, many localities are leveraging prosecutorial discretion to de facto decriminalize simple drug possession.  However, the different policy provisions and implementation experiences of de facto strategies have not yet been systematically captured.  Through key informant interviews (N=22), we describe and contrast emerging models of de facto drug decriminalization (specifically, the use of prosecutorial discretion to depenalize and/or decriminalize the possession of drugs other than cannabis) in 14 jurisdictions nationally. 

Systematic thematic analysis revealed four distinct implementation models of de facto drug decriminalization: expanded diversion, substance-specific declination, case-by-case declination, and unconditional declination. Challenges and opportunities for implementation of de facto decriminalization included data availability and quality, addressing past and non-drug charges, and stakeholder and public engagement.  Key recommendations include tailoring policies to the local context, seeking multisectoral collaboration early in implementation, establishing research and evaluation partnerships, and explicitly adopting measures to improve outcomes for racial/ethnic minority and low-income communities disproportionately affected by drug enforcement.  The use of these strategies can help reduce exposure to and disparities in the carceral system, even in the absence of formal legislation.

UPDATE: Intriguingly, less than an hour after putting up this post, I saw an intriguing new headline and story on Fox News, “Vivek Ramaswamy breaks with GOP on decriminalization of hard drugs: ‘I’m in that direction’.”