The Intersection between Criminal Justice and Public Health: The Decriminalization of Drugs
By: Simi David
Xylazine, also known as “tranq,” is a non-opioid veterinary sedative that is infiltrating the U.S. drug supply, accounting for an exponentially heightening number of overdose deaths and wounds.
The detrimental effects of this drug can be most clearly seen in Kensington, Philadelphia, where this public health crisis has transformed the neighborhood and many of its residents into “zombie-like” beings. As dealers have been increasingly mixing xylazine with heroin, cocaine, and most especially fentanyl samples to increase personal profit, overdose deaths in the U.S. linked to xylazine have skyrocketed drastically, being 35 times higher in 2021 than in 2018. This escalation draws beaming attention to the fact that approximately 80% of opioid overdoses in the U.S. are caused by the presence of a non-opioid drug.
Historically, drug control policies on xylazine have been loosely regulated because veterinary drugs are not approved for human consumption and, therefore, were perceived to be of minimal threat to humans. However, throughout Kensington, tranq-users are multiplying, developing severe, infectious wounds on their skin that are incredibly difficult to fully heal–and if not treated, may require amputation, according to the DEA.
The effects of this drug have made many “tranq”-dependent, lessening the likelihood of sobriety for those using it and expanding the occurrences of necrotic, untreatable wounds and unintentional death by overdose.
While Congress has recently aimed to strengthen research and surveillance measures on tranq through the federal TRANQ Research Act, this legislative ripple in the water ties to a more pressing, paramount issue of the decriminalization of drugs and its effects on Americans–especially those in lower-income, drug-ridden neighborhoods.
It is undoubtedly true that drugs–and, in turn, drug laws–disproportionately discriminate against Black Americans. Although white and Black Americans use drugs at the same rates, Black adults are 2.5 times more likely than white adults to be arrested for drug possession. These arrests made under drug laws have funneled into a spiral of mass incarceration and perpetuation of systemic racism in the criminal justice system.
In light of this information, Human Rights Watch concludes that all drug use should be decriminalized as a primary step to mitigate the racial disparity of drug use and incarceration in the U.S. While the decriminalization of drugs may be positive in certain aspects and lessen the ability of law enforcement to make disproportionate arrests in Black and minority neighborhoods, it equally increases the likelihood of the public health crisis worsening and expanding even further.
Although xylazine is not directly approved for human consumption, it has yet found its way into numerous, varying drug samples. If more and more types of drugs are to be decriminalized, the chances of overdose by xylazine consumption increase drastically–and as a result, more and more Americans will be victimized.
While this issue is multifaceted and indisputably complex, it is imperative that public health officials and legislation collaborate and uncover a way to employ medical and political measures to combat this crisis, fighting illicit drug use and racial injustice synonymously.
Sources:
Braunschweiger, A. (2022, November 16). Interview: Why the US should decriminalize drug use. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/10/12/interview-why-us-should-decriminalize-drug-use?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAoeGuBhCBARIsAGfKY7zoZUDMQUEeE53xGkBnpVtOZ3SbAK3GNv9qgJTCQTota_Q9JbGRLJAaApKDEALw_wcB
Schwartz-Lavares, A. (2023, July 28). Community groups, medical experts work to combat emerging “tranq” drug crisis. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/US/community-groups-medical-experts-work-combat-emerging-tranq/story?id=101716074
Smith, M. A. (2023, September 26). “Tranq-Dope” Overdose and Mortality: Lethality Induced by Fentanyl and Xylazine. PubMed Central. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10557575/
Sugarman, O., & Shah, H. (2023, August 28). Tracking “tranq” laws: The State of policy responses to the growing xylazine crisis. Opioid Principles. https://opioidprinciples.jhsph.edu/tracking-tranq-laws-the-state-of-policy-responses-to-the-growing-xylazine-crisis/
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