Home News Democrats are Filing the First-Ever Bill to Federally Decriminalize All Drugs

Democrats are Filing the First-Ever Bill to Federally Decriminalize All Drugs

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Democrats are Filing the First-Ever Bill to Federally Decriminalize All Drugs

For the first time in Congress, two representatives will introduce a congressional bill to decriminalize the possession of all drugs federally.

Forthwith, the plan is to file the measure to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Nixon’s declaration of the war on drugs. Unfortunately, the drug war has brought mass incarceration and created collateral consequences for countless Americans. 

Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Cori Bush are sponsoring the legislation. The measure aims to address substance misuse with a health-centered approach. 

DPRA Changing Federal Policy 

The Drug Policy Reform Act (DPRA) will decriminalize personal use possession of all illicit drugs, including marijuana, and automatically delete records. The legislation will also provide resentencing for individuals serving time for qualifying drug-related arrests. 

Under this bill, the threat of incarceration for people caught possessing drugs for personal use would diminish. Instead, courts could decide to impose a fine, but if they cannot afford the fine, the courts will waive it. 

DPRA will also make the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responsible for classifying drugs. This change is different from the current system, where that responsibility falls on the Justice Department. The goal is to shift this role into a health-centered model

Federal district courts will need to assist with the expungement process and record sealing for those with qualifying convictions. They will have one year within the enactment of the bill to complete this process. 

Another significant component: the bill would withhold federal funds through the Byrne and COPS programs for states and cities that enforce criminalization of low-level drug possession. 

Working for Support 

Coleman said that her office is currently finding a Senate sponsor. In addition to making plans to meet with House Judiciary Committee officials to set up a hearing for the measure. 

“We recognize that we’re beyond this being urgent, and so we’ll be doing our outreach and trying to garner the kind of support—not only on the Senate side but even on the House side, working with the Progressive Caucus, the Black Caucus, the Hispanic Caucus and every other caucus to get as many members as possible to sign on.”

Advocates are excited that Congress introduced such an in-depth bill. However, this legislation seems controversial because Congress has stalled on more simplified reform proposals like the SAFE Banking Act. This Act would protect banks servicing state-legal marijuana businesses. Although this may be accurate, recent polls from DPA and the ACLU show that Americans want the policy change

Another critical point, two-thirds of voters believe that we should end the war on drugs. The same poll also found that two-thirds of Americans support decriminalizing simple possession of illegal drugs. 

Drug Policy Reform Act Broken Down

This proposal would change the federal government’s protracted approach to dealing with drug use. In addition to eliminating criminal penalties for the possession of drugs, the Drug Policy Reform Act will:

  • Automatically expunge and seal records within one year of its enactment.
  • Prevent drug use charges/convictions from being held against an individual to receive SNAP/TANF, housing assistance, and other federal benefits.
  • Provide relief for people currently incarcerated or on supervision for certain drug convictions.
  • Prevent the denial of voting rights regardless of whether they served their sentences, and it restores voting rights for those previously impacted
  • Promote evidence-based drug education.
  • Explicitly prohibit drug testing for individuals to receive federal benefits.
  • Prevent individuals in the U.S. from being denied immigration status due to personal drug use.
  • Prohibit the use of civil asset forfeitures related to personal drug possession cases.

Drug Policy Reform Act Continued

  • Shift the regulatory authority for substances listed under the Controlled Substances Act from the Attorney General to the HHS Secretary.
  • Reinvest funds to support programs that work on expanding access to substance use treatment, support harm reduction services, and reduce the criminalization of individuals who use drugs by supporting the development or expansion of pre-arrest diversion programs.
  • Charge HHS with establishing a “Commission on Substance Use, Health, and Safety” to determine the benchmark amounts for drug possession and publish an online report on their findings within 180 days. The information will also include recommendations for preventing the prosecution of individuals possessing, distributing, or dispensing personal use quantities of each drug.
  • Improve research on the impact of drug criminalization and enforcement.
  • Fund data collection and transparency on all available data related to enforcement of drug laws, including local arrests for drug possession and distribution offenses, possession of drug paraphernalia, public or intoxication, loitering, and all other drug-related violations.

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