#I wrote a twenty page paper on this lmao I am SO hype to get to share a teeny tiny bit of that knowledge

[crownofstardustandbone]

Decriminalization is so good for a host of reasons (hi I did my undergrad thesis on this, I’m so excited to talk about it!), including physical health, mental health, and reductions in crime.

So! Physical health: when folks are using drugs there’s often sharing of needles, spoons, etc., which means there’s sharing of blood and other bodily fluids, which means there’s higher instances of diseases being spread. In countries that decriminalized they found a sharp drop in things like Hepatitis, HIV, and AIDS. There’s also overall health problems from drug use that happen, and when decriminalization happens there’s also usually a public health piece that comes with it where folks have access to healthcare and can get treatment for things like lung disease from smoking substances.

Mental health: A LOT of folks (not all!) using drugs are doing so because of pain issues (see the American opioid crisis) or untreated mental health disorders OR because of chronic trauma. AKA folks have experienced Some ShitTM and they’re looking to not feel that pain (which as a chronic pain haver who has been on Oxy—I GET it and support folks using the substances they need to survive).

In countries like Portugal who HAVE decriminalized, again, there’s a public health aspect that comes with it where they can get clean needles, but they can ALSO access mental health services without judgement so that someday, if they want to, they can try and stop using those substances with support and experience better mental health. This is unequivocally a good thing for everyone involved!!

Crime: When decriminalization happens, all those customers buying their drugs from street dealers and gangs/cartels? They no longer go to those folks, they go to legitimate businesses or state run agencies and receive drugs that aren’t cut with harmful substances (improving their health!), and those gangs/cartels lose their profits. When that happens, and there’s no longer a market for their product, countries that have decriminalized have found a significant decrease in gang and cartel activity—meaning lower violent crime (that thing that Republicans LOOOOOOOVE to harp on 🙄), fewer arrests, and overall a safer society!

There is SO much more to be said on this topic regarding race and poverty that I don’t have time to write up, but just know, the World Health Organization has been recommending to the US that we decriminalize since at least the 90’s—that’s 30+ years that they’ve continued to make that recommendation.

So if you’d like to see legalization and/or decriminalization happen, use your voice and call your reps! Do some digging on the data and send an email with why decriminalization helps the economy (cuz it’s ALL about the economy for govt), why it’s good for public health and safety!

I’m not saying it’ll happen right away, maybe not even in my lifetime, but it’s still important to let your elected officials know that YOU know there’s other, better options out there that don’t result in mass incarceration of innocent BIPOC people!

I'm not saying that I dislike that weed has been legalized in more and more states (imo all drugs should be legalized but that's not the point of this post)- I *am* saying that every time I pass a dispensary that looks like an apple store and I see white people talking freely about making special cookies and smoking in their spare time, all I can think about are the thousands and thousands of black people who experienced huge amounts of state-sponsered violence for even the suspicion of having weed on them and those who are STILL IN PRISON for possession charges.

And it. Just kinda makes me grit my teeth, you know? My father was illegally searched and brutalized in front of me when I was a little kid because the cop "thought he smelled weed" (he didn't, my dad doesn't touch the stuff) and in the mean time Becky in accounting takes a "special gummy" every night that she gets from a store next to the Starbucks.