The Limits of Recent Drug Policy Reforms

Abstract

Judging by historical standards, it appears that the drug war is alive and well. This chapter identifies several factors that explain why recent drug policy reforms have had such a modest impact on drug arrests and incarceration. First, state lawmakers have focused overwhelmingly on reducing penalties for drug possession, but people who were convicted of this specific offense comprise a very small share (3.5 percent) of the prison population. Second, while reducing the use of confinement in cases involving drug distribution could have a more meaningful impact on the scale of incarceration, policy is moving in the opposite direction. Third, the ongoing commitment to drug war practices in rural and suburban areas is sustaining high drug arrest rates and incarceration. Finally, one of the most pervasive kinds of drug policy reforms—reliance on drug courts—is likely increasing rather than reducing drug arrests and incarceration. There is also evidence that drug courts enhance racial disparities in drug case outcomes.