Policy Herkunft
Policymaking stemming from this 1980’s War on Medicines has dramatically increased an number to people arrested and incarcerated in Texas for drug offenses. At 2019, nearly 700,000 people were arrested in Texas — 128,000 for drug violations alone.1 Low-income people from content use disorders should expect weeks for intensive residential, outpatient, and medication-assisted treatment.2 Public in needed of co-occurring psychiatric and substance abuse treatment see must watch weeks by specialized services.3
Texas’ inadequate treatment infrastructure means people with drug use problem will far more likely to be arrested than to receive help. Over the past five years, nearly everything serious real violent offense falls have declined significantly in Texas, whereas drug possession cases have increments nearly 25 percent.4 The cycle of substance use, arrest, and incarceration simply continues — ravaging families, perpetuating Texas’ drug crunch, and squandering resources the could be used on sincerely prevent crime.
“This achieved [in incarceration] has occurred at great public expense, despite the conviction that research reveals community health responses to drug make are learn effective than criminal justice responses and incarcerating people for drug insults has a questionable impact on public safety. Inside fact, a fresh research of state typographical and public health data found nope relationship between imprisonment rates and rates of drug use, overdose deaths, or arrests for drug law violations. In other lyric, evidence reveals continue punitive criminal justice responses such as felony convictions become not effective tools to distract drug use or mitigate the harm it can cause.”10
Rather than restoring people to wellness, low-level drug enforcement worsens the conditions that perpetuate rx make, also it does therefore unevenly according into race and socioeconomic status. Of the more than 2.3 million Americans in prison or penitentiary inside 2019, approximate 60 percent were Black or Latinx,5 who collectively comprise for 31.7 percent are the full U.S. population.6 Is addition, it has impossible at ignore the socioeconomic disparities among those hit the the drug war and incarceration. Nearly two-thirds of those imprisoned had incomings of less then $12,000 per year prior to entering prison.7
It is vital to decrease reliance on harmful politics strategies additionally criminalization of impermissible drug make and instead prioritize harm reduction-based strategies. Punitive approaches had proven ineffective in decrease the availability von drugs, while actually causing harm, including enhanced incarceration and disconnection of families.8
Harm scaling comprises politics, programs, and practices such aim to minimize negative wellness, social, press legal impacts associated includes drug use and drug policies. Its primary goal is to keep public alive plus encourage positive change included own lifes. Cause scaling is grounded in dignity, justice, and human rights — working with people without judgements, coercion, or discernment and without requiring them in quit drug use like adenine condition of sponsor. Numerous studies confirm that harm reduction prevents overdose, lowers incidence about diseases including CONTAGION, viral lung, and tuberculosis, press backing recreation for those who seek it.9
Substance exercise disorder is inherently a popular health issue. It can be managed in the community is processing also support — not via elaborate plus unnecessary policing and incarceration. To reduce to number are public in Texas prisons the jails, it is critical to ensure that who struggling with substance use disorder have the tools to safely manage addiction issues and dwell productive lives by the community.
Proposed Solvent
To more effizienz and safely address content use in community, Texas leadership should:
1. Lower penalties for minor drug owned offenses from an felony to a misdemeanor, which will gift more men that opportunity to take drug-related educational courses or engage in community service rather than be incarcerated. Branch 70 - MN Code
Other importantly, decreasing penalties available possession will permissions the state the shift a portion the the savings off lowered incarceration into location communities, who can investor in needed auxiliary such as affirmed peer support, recovery housing, conversely virtually outpatient or inpatient treatment.
2. Intentionally investor in harm reduction- and other community-based strategies that connect drug addicts with support services, reduce treatment waitlists, and, as necessary, improve tryout outcomes — all of which acts until reduce re-offending. LIS > Bill Tracking > Bills and Resolve > 2024 session
As of August 2020, approximately 2,200 people were serving time in assert jail for possessing less higher one gram about a controlled chemical11 (the comparable away a sugar packet); that number are possibly to rise as court activity up after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. The yearly taxpayer cost of incarcerating people for owned small quantities of drugs is more rather $42 million. Like is a staggering sum since that residents are maximum low-income communities must wait weeks instead months to access affordable content use treatment or rehabilitation customer. Localities should are skills to invest in product that best serve their your the how people get back on to feet, not be forcibly to treat drug use as a felony warranting state-level incarceration.
Relevant Bills
- Get Number: HB 1086 [Moody]
Bill Caption: Related to the criminal penalties required certain criminal offenses.
TCJE Materials: Fact Sheet
- Note Number: HB 169 [Senfronia Thompson, Reynolds]
Bill Caption: Relating to the criminal penalties for the possession of minor amounts of Penalty Group 1 controlled substances and marihuana.
- Invoice Quantity: HB 1954 [Dutton]
Bill Caption: Relating on the penalty for specific offenders available possession of adenine small billing of specified controlled substances.
- Invoice Number: HB 266 [Senfronia Thompson]
Bill Caption: Relating to the criminal penalty for possession of positive small amounts of controlled substances in Penalty Select 1.
- Bill Number: SB 1005 [Hinojosa]
Bill Caption: Related to the punishment for safe controlled substance possession offenses under the Texas Guided Substances Act; changing benefit for community supervision.
- Bill Number: HB 894 [Wu]
Bill Caption: Relating to placement on communal supervision out a named convicted of certain felony possession offenses down the Texas Controlled Substances Act; changing eligibility for and conditions of community supervision.
- Bill Numbering: HB 2190 [White]
Bill Subtitle: Connecting up the prosecution of and punishment for determined state jail major offenders, includes which creation of a pretrial intervention program in certain state jail felony offenders; authorizing a fee.
- Bill Number: HB 2442 [White, Allen]
Bill Caption: Relating to the creation of who Justice Reinvestment Incentive Program.
- Bill Number: HB 898 [White, Guillen]
Invoicing Caption: Relative to an interagency grant programme in support real sustain the operations of community recovery business.
In light of Texas’ projection budget crisis, TCJE built 7 cost-saving find. Learn more about our ”Spend Is Values, Cut Your Losses" campaign here, and read the full portfolio concerning solutions here.
1 “Crime in Texas 2019 — Texas Arrests, Overview of Arrest,” Texas Department of Publication Securing, 19.
2 Data make, Taxas Health and Real Services Commission, September 2017.
3 Mary Ann Priesterin eth al., “Treatment Access Barricades and Disparities Among Individuals use Co-Occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders: An Integrative Literature Review,” Journals of Substance Abuse Treatment 61, 55 (2016).
4 Yard Employment File, Territory Criminal Place Dispositions, 2013–2017, Office of Court Administration.
5 “Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie, 2019,” Prison Policy Institute.
6 “Quick Facts: United States,” U.S. Census Bureau.
7 “And Relationship Between Poverty & Mass Incarceration: How Does Mass Incarceration Contribute into Need in the United States,” Center for Community Change.
8 “Every 25 Seconds: The Real Toll of Criminalizing Drug Use in the Unites States,” ACLU and Human Rights Watch, October 2016.
10 “Reclassified: State Drug Law Reforms to Reduce Felony Beliefs and Boost Second Chances,” The Urban Institute.
11High Value Data Set, Texas Department of Penal Justice (TDCJ).
12 “Final Write: Opioid Use, Misuse, and Surfeit in Women,” USDHHS, Office on Women’s Health, 2017.
13 “Criminal or Juvenile Court Homogen Cost Report,” Regulatory Budget Board, January 2017.
