Introduction
Millions of people around the world suffer from an ongoing drug use problem. This problem exists in San Francisco, too, and the police there have difficulty finding a solution. I agree that drug addicts are sick and need treatment, which Chief Greg Suhr advocates. This view is consistent with a rational choice theory about drug addiction and is a more effective approach to reducing drug-related crime than punishment-based strategies.
Rational Choice Theory
Rational choice theory in drug abuse argues that users analyze the advantages and disadvantages of their choices and make decisions about drug use based on their evaluation. According to this hypothesis, people evaluate the possible benefits of drug use against the risks, including legal consequences, social stigma, and health risks (Rogeberg, 2020).
Suhr looks at drug problems from the perspective that drug users are ill and in need of medical care. He believes that prosecuting and imprisoning drug users does not solve the addiction problem at its core. To rehabilitate drug users, he has abolished the city’s drug squad and directed funding in this direction. Treating drug users and their communities while limiting harm is a rational method of dealing with addicts.
Evidence of Strategy Effectiveness
In support of the thesis, there are several studies on the effectiveness of Surh’s strategy in reducing crime and drug abuse in San Francisco. Some studies argue that a public health strategy that emphasizes treatment and harm reduction is superior to a law enforcement strategy for reducing drug use and its negative consequences. According to the San Francisco Department of Public Health, in 2021, the first year after the city’s opioid strategy was implemented, overdose deaths dropped by 17% (Appa et al., 2021). The strategy aims to expand medication-assisted treatment, increase the availability of overdose medications, and expand outreach to high-risk groups.
Personal Opinion
Considering that it adheres to public health theory on drug use, I agree with Sura’s method of addressing drug-related problems. Given that drug addict already has the stigma of being a lost cause and find it difficult to find their place in society, arresting them will only make the situation worse and does nothing to motivate them to solve the problem. In a situation where a drug addict will have the opportunity to undergo treatment and be monitored by a doctor afterward, their chances of rehabilitation are many times greater, which is consistent with Suhr’s opinion.
Several studies on crime trends have shown that the typical punitive responses to drug abuse do not reduce drug-related crime. Synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, have contributed significantly to an increase in drug overdose deaths in the US, rising from 40,000 in 2017 to 70,601 in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (NIDA, 2022). According to a study by López et al. (2021), group cognitive behavioral therapy and rehabilitation resulted in 66.7 percent of patients being able to comply with post-treatment withdrawal. Substitution therapy, residential treatment, and further rehabilitation are far more effective in treating addiction than punishment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr’s anti-drug strategy, which disbanded the city’s anti-drug unit and redirected funds to treatment for drug users, is a step in the right direction. Harm reduction and a treatment-oriented public health approach to drug abuse are consistent with these tactics. Research shows that the public health approach is more cost-effective than law enforcement initiatives in reducing drug use and its consequences, despite the lack of evidence for the effectiveness of the Sura strategy. To address drug use effectively, policymakers and law enforcement agencies must adopt a public health strategy that prioritizes treatment and harm reduction over incarceration.
References
Appa, A., Rodda, L. N., Cawley, C., Zevin, B., Coffin, P. O., Gandhi, M., & Imbert, E. (2021). Drug overdose deaths before and after shelter-in-place orders during the COVID-19 pandemic in San Francisco. JAMA Network Open, 4(5), e2110452. Web.
López, G., Orchowski, L. M., Reddy, M. K., Nargiso, J., & Johnson, J. E. (2021). A review of research-supported group treatments for drug use disorders. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 16(1). Web.
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2022). Overdose death rates. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Web.
ReasonTV. (2014). When San Francisco stopped prosecuting drug users, Violent Crime Went Down [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Rogeberg, O. (2020). The theory of rational addiction. Addiction, 115(1), 184–187. Web.