WHEREAS, drug addiction and overdoses are serious problems; and
WHEREAS, current criminal drug laws ruins lives; make access to
treatment and recovery difficult, dangerous, and expensive; distort the
priorities of law enforcement; and are deeply inequitable, disproportionately
targeting and impacting people of color and/or in poverty; and
WHEREAS, California needs a health-based approach to addiction and
overdose by expanding access to drug treatment, which is more effective,
humane, and cost-effective than criminal punishment;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Riverside County Democratic
Party supports the decriminalization of the personal possession of small
amounts of controlled substances by reducing felony possession laws,
which prevent people from getting housing, jobs, student loans,
professional licenses and more, to infractions; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, by the Riverside County Democratic Party
that the screening, health assessment, treatment and recovery services for
drug addiction be available to all, regardless of income, who need and want
access to those services.
Author(s): Lanny Swerdlow, RN LNC, AD47
Sponsored By: Riverside County Democratic Party
