In 1996, the federal government implemented the "one strike initiative," (Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-120) authorizing local public housing authorities to obtain the criminal conviction records and records from drug abuse treatment facilities regarding the use of controlled substances of adult applicants for or tenants of public housing for screening and eviction purposes.

In Oakland, California, the Public Housing Authority began eviction proceedings against several elderly tenants whose family members, unbeknownst to the tenants, had been caught using drugs on or near public housing. Two of the tenants, Willie Lee and Barbara Hill face eviction from their homes after their grandsons were arrested for marijuana possession. Another tenant, Pearlie Rucker, faces eviction from the Oakland Housing Authority for her mentally-disabled daughter's possession of cocaine three blocks from the Rucker residence, and for her adult son's possession of cocaine eight blocks away, though no drugs were found inside Ms. Rucker's residence. Another tenant facing eviction, Herman Walker, is 75 years old and disabled. Mr. Walker's "offense" was having an in-home caretaker who had been cited for narcotics and paraphernalia (Mr. Walker subsequently fired the caretaker).

These "innocent" tenants challenged the Housing Authority's one-strike eviction policy and prevailed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. However, on March 26, 2002, the Supreme Court overturned the Ninth Circuit's ruling and upheld the one-strike policy. The Drug Policy Alliance filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court.

It is the position of DPA and many housing and social services professionals that the "one-strike" eviction policy upheld by the Court places an unreasonable burden on poor families and erects particularly difficult barriers for individuals and families who need support and resources to overcome drug problems. DPA fears that by rendering people with drug problems homeless, communities will exacerbate, not ameliorate, drug use and drug-related harms.