The Effects of Drug Control Policies on Individual and Community Health for People of Color: Proceedings Of A Workshop

By: Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice and National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and Health and Medicine Division and Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity

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Synopsis: The United States has a complex system of laws and policies that attempt to regulate the distribution, manufacture, and use of a variety of non-legal drug substances as part of its overall criminal justice system. Laws regarding drug use have disproportionately impacted individuals and communities of color at every step of the journey through the criminal justice system, including arrest, conviction, sentencing, and incarceration. These disparities have clear outcomes for both individual and community health. To examine the effects of drug control policies on the health of individuals and communities of color, the Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity held a workshop on October 8, 2018, in Washington, DC. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions of the workshop.