[{"command":"settings","settings":{"pluralDelimiter":"\u0003","suppressDeprecationErrors":true,"ajaxPageState":{"libraries":"eJxLzSvJLKmMT81NSk3RT04sKMnMz9Mpy0wtL9YHk3qJWYkVKAK5-SmlOakAd1UWCw","theme":"hrw_design","theme_token":null},"ajaxTrustedUrl":[],"views":{"ajax_path":"\/views\/ajax","ajaxViews":{"views_dom_id:blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__294553__en":{"view_name":"blog_live_feed","view_display_id":"blog_body_block","view_args":"294553","view_path":"\/blog\/content\/294553","view_base_path":null,"view_dom_id":"blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__294553__en","pager_element":0}}},"csp":{"nonce":"sfNijS6EnEQZQXGStl7HBg"},"user":{"uid":0,"permissionsHash":"bc8921424f39d39c64af84232b603fadae46f840a8176c1b2436a5ee00791ac5"}},"merge":true},{"command":"add_css","data":[{"rel":"stylesheet","media":"all","href":"\/sites\/default\/files\/css\/css_ttdgUoxkB-pbINT5dW1cMh3IgYOCVTjCJ6Cp-XWwa0k.css?delta=0\u0026language=en\u0026theme=hrw_design\u0026include=eJxLzi9K1U8pKi1IzNFLzEqs0EnNK8ksqYxPzU1KTdFPTiwoyczP0ynLTC0v1geTern5KaU5qQBrXRXg"}]},{"command":"add_js","selector":"body","data":[{"src":"\/sites\/default\/files\/js\/js_VAWKYxPX4vFoyXs0iEPUrnc99CjyNLIu_pZawjEz9i8.js?scope=footer\u0026delta=0\u0026language=en\u0026theme=hrw_design\u0026include=eJwry0wtL9YvA5F6iVmJFQA22wZe"}]},{"command":"insert","method":"replaceWith","selector":".js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__294553__en","data":"\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__294553__en\u0022\u003E\n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \u003Cdiv\u003E\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022blog-block__content__description rich-text pt-6 mb:pt-10 mx-auto\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EDespite much discussion about crime during the US presidential election campaign, neither major party candidate has fully spelled out their views on a defining feature of US criminal justice policy: the so-called \u201cwar on drugs.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFor decades, the US has poured \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/world-report\/2014\/essays\/human-rights-case-for-drug-reform\u0022\u003Ebillions of dollars a year\u003C\/a\u003E into combatting drugs, through heavy-handed enforcement within the country and abroad of criminal laws on drug possession, production, and distribution. But in recent years, countries like Mexico and Colombia have questioned the effectiveness of this approach. Several US states have \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2015\/04\/20\/us-laws-weed-are-no-joke\u0022\u003Elegalized marijuana\u003C\/a\u003E, and the administration of President Barack Obama has increasingly \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2015\/08\/24\/comments-us-non-paper-2016-ungass-world-drug-problem\u0022\u003Estressed treatment for problematic drug use\u003C\/a\u003E rather than punishment.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022embed\u0022 data-type=\u0022image\u0022\u003E\n\n\n \n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022embed align-right embedded-entity embedded-entity-type-media embedded-entity-bundle-image embedded-entity-viewmode-embeddable embed--right\u0022 xmlns:xlink=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\u0022\u003E\n \n\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \n \n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\u0022figure figure--expand text-center info \u0022\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022figure__media relative inline-block mx-auto\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022\/modal\/14101\u0022 rel=\u0022modal:open\u0022 class=\u0022figure__link\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cimg loading=\u0022lazy\u0022 srcset=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/480w\/public\/media\/images\/photographs\/2009_Mexico_policearrest.jpg?itok=eWGDQvq6 480w, \/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/embed_xxl\/public\/media\/images\/photographs\/2009_Mexico_policearrest.jpg?itok=6-h35fpL 946w\u0022 sizes=\u0022(max-width: 524px) 100px, 500px\u0022 width=\u0022946\u0022 height=\u0022631\u0022 data-responsive-image-style=\u0022embedded_images\u0022 src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/embed_xxl\/public\/media\/images\/photographs\/2009_Mexico_policearrest.jpg?itok=6-h35fpL\u0022\u003E\n\n\n\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022figure__expand absolute block bottom-0 right-0 w-8 h-8 bg-white text-gray-700\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022sr-only\u0022\u003EClick to expand Image\u003C\/span\u003E\n \n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022icon fill-current w-full inline-block\u0022\u003E\n \u003Csvg viewBox=\u00220 0 20 20\u0022 fill=\u0022currentColor\u0022 role=\u0022img\u0022 focusable=\u0022false\u0022 aria-hidden=\u0022true\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022\/themes\/custom\/hrw_design\/dist\/app-drupal\/assets\/spritemap.svg?cacheBuster=250315#sprite-expand\u0022 \/\u003E\n \u003C\/svg\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022figure__info text-left font-serif text-xs md:text-sm lg:text-base mx-auto text-gray-700 mt-1\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022figure__caption\u0022\u003EMexican Army and municipal police officers conduct a joint raid in Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez searching street vendors for drugs and weapons, March 2009. \u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022figure__credit\u0022\u003E\u00a9 2009 Eros Hoagland\/Redux\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n \u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\n\n\n\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDonald Trump recently \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/donald-trump-calls-drugs-a-big-factor-in-charlotte-violence-1474584332\u0022\u003Esaid\u003C\/a\u003E: \u201cwe will appoint the best\u2026 federal law enforcement officers in the country to dismantle the international cartels\u2026 and I will stop the drugs from flowing into our country and poisoning our youth\u2026.\u201d In the past, he has spoken of the need for \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/trump-calls-heroin-addiction-tough-thing\/story?id=36516102\u0022\u003Etreatment for drug dependence\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EHillary Clinton\u2019s campaign has talked about \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hillaryclinton.com\/issues\/criminal-justice-reform\/\u0022\u003Evarious criminal justice reforms\u003C\/a\u003E, including prioritizing treatment over incarceration for low-level, non-violent drug offenders, and \u201cfocusing federal enforcement resources on violent crime, not simple marijuana possession.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EClinton has signaled openness to allowing states to experiment with legalization of marijuana, while Trump has not taken a definitive position.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe reality is that, 45 years since US President Richard Nixon declared the \u201cwar on drugs,\u201d little has changed in the rates of global drug production or overall drug use in the US. Rather than \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/blog-feed\/rethinking-war-drugs\u0022\u003Ehelping people\u003C\/a\u003E with problematic drug use, tough enforcement has often led to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2015\/05\/15\/human-rights-watch-submission-office-un-high-commissioner-human-rights-issue-drugs\u0022\u003Ehuman rights abuses\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 extrajudicial executions in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2016\/08\/22\/philippine-police-killing-spree-demands-accountability\u0022\u003Ethe Philippines\u003C\/a\u003E, the death penalty for drug offenses in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2016\/07\/27\/indonesia-stop-imminent-executions\u0022\u003EIndonesia\u003C\/a\u003E, killings and torture in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/blog-feed\/rethinking-war-drugs\u0022\u003EMexico\u003C\/a\u003E. In the US, existing policies have contributed to mass arrests, disproportionately of Black people, with devastating consequences for the lives and communities of those arrested. Meanwhile, the criminalization of drugs has generated enormous revenues for \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hir.harvard.edu\/winding-down-the-war-on-drugs-reevaluating-global-drug-policy\/\u0022\u003Eorganized criminal groups\u003C\/a\u003E that commit atrocities, corrupt authorities, and undermine democratic institutions in countries from Colombia to Afghanistan.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EMany people in the US and across the world are starting to come to terms with this reality and to call for a fresh approach, moving away from the current heavy emphasis on criminalization. The candidates should listen, and the next president should chart a course away from the failed policies of the war on drugs.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n\u003C\/div\u003E\n","settings":null},{"command":"insert","method":"prepend","selector":".js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__294553__en","data":"","settings":null}]