Law Commons^™

Carrots, Sticks And Problem Drug Use: The Law Enforcement Lobby's Contribution To The Policy Discourse On Drug Use & The Opioid Crisis, Taleed El-Sabawi

Faculty Publications

Despite the growing support for the idea that problem drug use should be treated like a chronic medical disease, some law enforcement interest groups, including trial court judges associations, prosecuting attorneys associations, and police associations (“law enforcement groups” or “criminal justice actors”), continue to argue for the use of the criminal justice system to address the nation’s drug crises. The justification for the use of the criminal justice system to oversee the psychological and medical treatment of persons with substance use disorders (SUDs) is based on the belief that persons with SUDs are deviants, who cannot refrain from engaging in …