American Civil Liberties Union: on Drugs

ACLU: Drug testing for welfare is ineffective and unconstitutional

Drug testing welfare recipients as a condition of eligibility is a policy that is scientifically, fiscally, and constitutionally unsound. The 1996 Welfare Reform Act authorized--but did not require--states to impose mandatory drug testing as a condition of eligibility. No states currently [do so because]:

Welfare recipients are no more likely to use drugs than the rest of the population, according to a 1996 study by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Science and medical experts overwhelmingly oppose the drug testing of welfare recipients [because] the stigma associated with testing impacted those on welfare negatively.
Random drug testing of welfare recipients is fiscally irresponsible: Drug testing is expensive.
Mandatory drug testing is an ineffective means to uncover drug abuse.
Random drug testing of welfare recipients is likely unconstitutional under both the U.S. Constitution and some state constitutions:

Source: ACLU 2015-16 voting recommendation on Welfare Weed Mar 2, 2012

ACLU: Drug prohibition means corruption, not an end to drug use

During the Civil War, morphine (an opium derivative and cousin of heroin) was found to have pain-killing properties and soon became the main ingredient in several patent medicines. In the late 19th century, marijuana and cocaine were put to various medicinal uses--marijuana to treat migraines; cocaine for chronic fatigue.

At the turn of the century, many drugs were made illegal when a mood of temperance swept the nation. In 1914, Congress banned opiates and cocaine. Alcohol prohibition quickly followed. That did not mean, however, an end to drug use. It meant that, suddenly, people were arrested and jailed for doing what they had previously done without government interference. Prohibition also meant the emergence of a black market, operated by criminals & marked by violence.

In 1933, because of concern over widespread organized crime & police corruption, alcohol prohibition was repealed. Meanwhile, federal prohibition of heroin and cocaine remained.

Source: ACLU 2017 voting recommendation on opioid crisis Feb 17, 2017

ACLU: A "drug free America" is not realistic; repeal prohibition

People in almost all cultures, in every era, have used psychoactive drugs. Native South Americans take coca-breaks the way we, in this country, take coffee-breaks. Native North Americans use peyote and tobacco in their religious ceremonies the way Europeans use wine. Alcohol is the drug of choice in Europe, the U.S. and Canada, while many Muslim countries tolerate the use of opium and marijuana.

A "drug free America" is not a realistic goal, and by criminally banning psychoactive drugs the government has ceded all control of potentially dangerous substances to criminals. Instead of trying to stamp out all drug use, our government should focus on reducing drug abuse and prohibition-generated crime. This requires a fundamental change in public policy: repeal of criminal prohibition and the creation of a reasonable regulatory system.

Source: ACLU 2017 voting recommendation on opioid crisis Feb 17, 2017