An Open Letter to Donald Trump–10/5/20
- Phoenix Congress 2020 represents members of the American Union, who are willing to vote for both Republicans and Democrats in the 471 federal races who will meet our terms, including Donald Trump. This is part of a series of open letters explaining our demands.
October 5th, 2020
Dear President Trump,
In the 1970s, policymakers under the Nixon administration responded to rapidly increasing drug use by instituting a total ban. The idea was simple: stop the supply of drugs, stop the drug use. However, use continued to increase over the next several decades. In the 1980s, the Reagan administration introduced legislation that further criminalized drug use, and encouraged people to “just say no” in an effort to produce new results. In the 1990s, President Clinton’s tough on crime politics increased mandatory minimums and criminal charges for drug use. In 2014 over 1.5 million Americans were arrested for drug-related offenses.
Mr. President, the war on drugs is not working. By any objective standard, drug prohibition has not only failed to achieve its goals, but it has also been counterproductive. Studies indicate that the war on drugs is directly responsible for the growth in powerful drug cartels, drug-related violence, and drug-related disease and overdose. Americans should recognize this, because the same thing happened during the 1920s alcohol prohibition.
However, the war on drugs is not simply a failed policy with an outdated approach to drug use, it is an unethical practice. Liberty demands that what a person puts in their own body should not be, by itself, grounds for incarceration. Instead, it must be a matter of choice. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are in prison today for the possession of a substance (marijuana) that is legal in 11 states and decriminalized in 16 others. The ethical complications of the war on drugs are why the Blueprint for a Better America ends it.
Just as concerning is the way the drug war has targeted and disproportionately affected minority communities. The sentencing disparities between cocaine and crack cocaine are just one example. It is time the United States became a more just nation and treated its citizens who use drugs with dignity, respect, and mercy.
Mr. President, drug use is a medical issue, not a criminal one. 65% of prisoners are addicted to one substance or another, but only 11% get addiction treatment while behind bars. This lack of treatment leads to continued abuse after a prison sentence is complete which will land the citizen right back in prison–a vicious cycle. However, there is another way. Before 2001, Portugal was experiencing high rates of heroin abuse. In that year, the Portuguese government decided not to arrest, try, or imprison anyone found with a personal supply of drugs. In 2009, a follow-up study by the Cato Institute in D.C. Cato found that the program had exceeded expectations in every metric. Drug treatment–rather than drug criminalization–began to solve the societal problems that stemmed from drug abuse. America must treat drug abuse like the public health crisis it is.
The Blueprint for a Better America contains provisions to legalize drugs and tax their production and sale, allowing the FDA to control the quality of substances whose impurities are claiming tens of thousands of American lives each year. In addition, the government will have another stream of revenue, part of which will go into providing treatment under our legislation.
As you look for swing voters in the last weeks before the election, remember that ending the war on drugs has been a major part of the Libertarian Party platform for decades, with little success. Their 2016 presidential candidate got a percentage of the vote that was larger than the margin between you and Senator Clinton. By taking up one of their issues, you can win broader support while addressing the moral stain of mass incarceration.
The Phoenix Congress recognizes that we can increase our personal liberties and address criminal justice reform at the same time. We invite to you to earn our support by passing the Blueprint for a Better America and ending the war on drugs. On October 15th, members of the American Union will join a national fast for peace to put moral pressure on you and all the candidates for federal office.
Mr. President, you have often said you want to end the endless wars. The drug war has been waged against our countrymen for too long. Will you end it?
Respectfully yours,
Other articles on Medium:
Series of open letters to Trump: Listed on our website
A call to action around Martin Luther King, Jr.’s triple evils: The Marginalized Must Unionize in 2020
A look at our duties as Americans and the legislation they inspire; The Blueprint for a Better America
