President Obama granted clemency to 240 felons in earlyAugust and 111 more later in the month, almost all of whom were in prison on
drug-related charges. This is welcome news, particularly for those serving
heavy-handed crack sentences. Let’s hope for an ongoing trend away from punitive correction
of people who suffer with substance use disorder. Punishment of people with mental disorders is expensive, ineffective, and inhumane. The latest round
of commuted sentences brings the total number of clemencies to 673 people. It
is time to stop the War on Drugs because it has been both ineffective and
costly for the government.
Doing nothing would be better than what we’ve done
the last 40 years or so. Hopefully some of the money wasted on the War on Drugs
can be reallocated to providing caring and thoughtful treatment instead. It is
time for us to turn the tiller away from harsh drug sentences and toward
decriminalization and compassionate therapy for people with these mental
disorders.
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