Hill Katherine, Dunham Katherine, Doneski Kristin, Sue Kimberly L, Thakarar Kinna, Butner Jenna L
Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA.
Department of Epidemiology, Brown School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA.
Subst Use Addctn J. 2025 Jan;46(1):4-12. doi: 10.1177/29767342241277619. Epub 2024 Aug 31.
More than 25% of all arrests made nationwide are related to drug offenses, affecting almost 1.2 million people and their social networks. Furthermore, roughly 20% of people in jails and prisons across the United States are incarcerated for a drug offense and millions more are under community supervision for these charges. This criminalization of drug use has negatively affected the health and well-being of people who use drugs (PWUD) and their communities. Decriminalization-a process of removing criminal sanctions for a previously criminalized behavior-of drug use is central to harm reduction as it mitigates these negative consequences of drug use and supports the health of PWUD. As such, AMERSA supports the decriminalization of drug and paraphernalia possession for personal use for all currently illicit drugs and all associated equipment. AMERSA continues to strongly advocate for the funding of harm reduction strategies and addiction services to improve the health and well-being of PWUD since decriminalization without complementary funding for harm reduction services, addiction treatment services, and social safety nets will be incomplete.
全国范围内超过25%的逮捕与毒品犯罪有关，涉及近120万人及其社交网络。此外，美国监狱中约20%的人因毒品犯罪被监禁，另有数百万人因这些指控受到社区监管。这种将吸毒定为犯罪的做法对吸毒者及其社区的健康和福祉产生了负面影响。毒品使用非刑事化——即取消对先前被定为犯罪行为的刑事制裁——是减少伤害的核心，因为它减轻了吸毒的这些负面后果，并支持吸毒者的健康。因此，美国减少伤害协会支持将个人持有所有目前非法药物及其相关设备用于个人用途的行为非刑事化。美国减少伤害协会继续大力倡导为减少伤害战略和成瘾服务提供资金，以改善吸毒者的健康和福祉，因为如果非刑事化没有为减少伤害服务、成瘾治疗服务和社会安全网提供补充资金，将是不完整的。
