How does your state measure up when it comes to establishing policies that reduce the harms of both drug use and drug prohibition?
Harm Reduction
Does the state permit access to clean syringes for people who inject drugs?
Does the state have legal naloxone distribution to prevent overdose deaths?
Does the state have a 911 Good Samaritan law?
Does the state have legal methadone access?
Marijuana
Are marijuana possession and use legal for medical purposes?
Is there a government-regulated distribution system for medical marijuana?
More information on medical marijuana:
What are the criminal penalties for marijuana possession?
Criminal Justice
How many people are arrested for a drug offense each year?
What are the racial disparities in arrest rates?
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Total population (2010): white: 77.3%, black: 3.6%.
Arrests: 83.8% white, 11.5% black.
What happens to people’s voting rights when they become part of the criminal justice system?
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Voting rights restored upon completion of sentence, including prison, parole and probation.
This is the law that was passed by the voters in Washington State legalizing and regulating marijuana.
Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Measure Also Passes
Statement from Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance
Colorado and Washington have become not just the first U.S. states – but the first political jurisdictions anywhere in the world – to approve regulating, taxing and controlling marijuana similar to alcohol.
The Drug Policy Alliance and its electoral arm, Drug Policy Action, worked closely with local and national allies to draft these initiatives, build coalitions and raise funds.
Drug Policy Alliance Spokespeople Available for Comment
Colorado, Oregon and Washington voters head to the polls tomorrow to decide the fate of ballot initiatives that would end marijuana prohibition in their respective states. A win at the ballot would be a first of its kind in U.S. history.
The latest polls show that slight majorities in Colorado and Washington support the initiatives. The Drug Policy Alliance and its electoral arm, Drug Policy Action, have worked closely with local and national allies to draft these initiatives, build coalitions and raise funds.
This report reveals that nearly a quarter of a million people have been arrested in Washington for marijuana possession from 1986 to 2010. Police made more than half of those marijuana arrests in just the last 10 years.
Other key findings include:
Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans Disproportionately Arrested; 25 Years of Arrests in WA Cost $300 Million or More
Washington Voters to Decide on Making Marijuana Legal With November Vote
With just three weeks remaining before Washington voters decide whether to make marijuana possession legal in their state, a new report -- "240,000 Marijuana Arrests: Costs, Consequences, and Racial Disparities of Possession Arrests in Washington" -- reveals that nearly a quarter of a million people have been arrested in Washington for marijuana possession since 1986. Police made more than half of those marijuana arrests in just the last 10 years.
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