Photo Credit: https://www.theverge.com/2014/5/28/5757126/nypd-will-begin-carrying-narcan-kits-to-reverse-heroin-overdoses (last visited March 16, 2021).
Written By: McKenzie Meade
Member, American Journal of Trial Advocacy
Did Oregon take the first real step in ending the war on drugs?
Almost fifty years later, America’s war on drugs continues. President Richard Nixon first coined this phrase in June 1971, when he declared drug abuse as “public enemy number one.”[i] Subsequent to this declaration, the number of people incarcerated for drug offenses drastically escalated in America, especially if you were a person of color.[ii] That was because President Nixon attempted to combat this war by “utilizing policies of prohibition” and invoking mandatory sentencing requirements.[iii] However, none of this worked. President Nixon’s strategy seemed to only further drug abuse, violence, and death.[iv] Continue reading “Ending the War on Drugs: Decriminalizing Drug Possession”
American Journal of Trial Advocacy 