Drug use is fundamentally a public health issue and must be dealt with as such. Drug policies must be evidence-based and incorporate prevention, treatment and public safety. Texas, for example, has implemented a number of reforms in recent years that prioritize drug treatment over incarceration, and its crime rate has dropped to its lowest rate since 1973 as a result.
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Cases
Massachusetts v. Landry, ACLU Brief (2002 resource): Is it "a crime" for an enrollee in a Department of Public Health-approved needle exchange program in a particular city or town "to distribute or possess needles or syringes" in another city or town that has not granted approval to the participant's program?
Other Resources
Needle Exchange Programs Promote Public Safety (2006 resource): Fact Sheet on Needle Exchange Programs