Law enforcement and drug rehabilitation
February 22, 2020
This HND piece traces the often sordid history of law enforcement and illegal drugs. There was always a racial and political component, from its inception in the 1870s. In any case, the War on Drugs has been a massive and expensive failure, and in the past few years, the law enforcement community has started to realize it. That's why, more and more police agencies are promoting rehab, rather than arrests.
Spearheading this effort is the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative, which has a kindred spirit in the Law Enforcement Action Partnership. Ironically, Nixon's War on Drugs did include provisions for rehab and treatment. Of course, these were immediately overshadowed by enforcement activities, racking up virtually no real success since the programs were instituted in 1971.
Read the complete article.
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