Decriminalization of Drugs in Utah
When it comes to the decriminalization of drugs, typically, a state legislature removes any criminal penalties for minor drug offenses, such as possession for personal use and minor drug sales. This move can also be made be a county commission, a city council, or other similar legislative body. By doing this, law enforcement can focus their efforts on more high-level offenses, which in turn eases the burden on our already overburdened jails and courts.
There are currently 27 states that have decriminalized cannabis entirely, if not partially, meaning there is no jail time if convicted and only a fine. In addition, eight states have introduced some form of drug decriminalization for other drugs, such as psilocybin mushrooms. However, only Oregon has passed legislation to decriminalize all drugs fully in these states. After passing a ballot initiative on November 3, 2020, Oregon became the first state in the U.S. to decriminalize cannabis and all drugs, including heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. While still illegal to sell, the simple possession of these drugs will not result in jail time.
By contrast, Utah is still one of only 19 states that still criminalize simple possession of cannabis and has yet even to introduce any type of legislation that would simply decriminalize cannabis, let alone other drugs, as Oregon has done. However, there are several compelling reasons why Utah should follow suit and consider decriminalizing some, if not all, illicit drugs.
First, decriminalizing all drugs would drastically reduce the number of arrests and subsequent incarcerations. According to the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), 1.5 million people are arrested each year for drug law offenses, and of those, over 80% were for simple possession. In addition, statistics on drug law violations show arrest and incarceration rates disproportionately affect minorities. Even though black people make up about 13% of the U.S. population, they comprise 29% of drug arrests and 35% of those incarcerated for drug possession.
ADVERTISEMENT
Second, even though drug decriminalization is a relatively new concept in the U.S., we can look at other counties that have done some form of decriminalization, specifically Portugal. In 2001, Portugal decriminalized the personal possession of all drugs. Instead, possession of drugs is treated as an administrative offense, meaning there is no jail time or criminal record. Since passing this groundbreaking legislation, Portugal has seen drug-related deaths remain below the European Union (EU) average ever since. The proportion of prisoners sentenced for drugs has fallen from 40% to 15%, and the rates of drug use have remained consistently below the EU average.
Finally, the majority of the public already support decriminalization of drugs in some form. According to a recent poll, two-thirds of American voters support decriminalizing all drugs, while a whopping 83 percent believe that the "war on drugs" has been a failure. The fact that the majority of voters in Oregon approved a ballot initiative last year decriminalizing all drugs is proof of that sentiment.
It’s high time that Utah get on board with the decriminalization effort. Statistics on the benefits of decriminalization and public opinion are overwhelmingly positive. While it seems unlikely in a conservative state such as Utah, there will be a complete decriminalization of alldrugs at once as Oregon has done. Utah could start small (so to speak) and only decriminalize cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms (as a number of states have already done) and then reassess decriminalizing other drugs in the future.