Most Americans Favor Treatment, Not Jail, For Drug Abusers

Two thirds of Americans say they would prefer if drug abusers were forced to go to treatment, not jail, for the use of "hard drugs" like heroin and cocaine, according to the results of a recent poll.

The poll, which was published by the Pew Research Group in the Center for the People and the Press, sought to measure the public opinion of drug use prosecution in the United States in light of recent changes in the political stance on hard drugs in a handful of states and even the Whitehouse.

New York, Massachusetts, and fifteen other states located primarily on the West and East costs have been gradually changing their drug policies in recent years, equipping first responders and police officers with a means to save the lives of overdosing drug abusers, and even offering lighter sentences and treatment options for cooperating offenders.

At the Whitehouse, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and "Drug Czar" Gil Kerlikoweske have even called for all state law enforcement to adopt "good Samaritan policies" which would require that authorities not arrest drug abusers who call 911 looking to be saved from an overdose.

But in this rising wave of political sympathy for hard drug abusers, the opinion of the people seems to have been forgotten. Is this really what they want -- more sympathy and aid for drug offenders? The Pew Research data says yes.

Past poll data taken in 2001 said that the nation was divided on this issue, with 50 percent of the country wishing for stricter sentencing for drug abusers, while the other half wanted lighter sentencing and more treatment options for non-violent drug crimes.

However, 13 years later, the data indicates that public opinion has heavily swayed with the opinion of legislators. When asked what the government should focus on when addressing drug abuse policy 67 percent of the participants of the national survey chose "providing treatment," as opposed to only 26 percent who chose "prosecuting drug users." A mere seven percent of the participants said they didn't know or chose not to answer the question.

Even more remarkable, it wasn't just liberals who answered in favor of treatment. Fifty-one percent of all the Republicans included in the survey were in favor of treatment options over jail time for drug abusers.

This marks a dramatic shift in public opinion on drugs, but what it means for policy makers in the long-run remains to be seen.

The drug policy survey was conducted on February 14. The complete Pew Research report and conclusions were published on April 2.