Decriminalize drugs and prevent overdose in Vermont

The U.S. is in the midst of an overdose crisis. And we all want to keep people safe and alive. Despite more than five decades of investing in punitive and racially inequitable drug policies, Vermont continues to experience unprecedented numbers of drug overdoses.

Criminalizing people for drugs harms them psychologically, physically, and economically. It has not fulfilled its promise of keeping us safer. It’s done the opposite. It creates barriers to work, housing and available services. Even the fear of arrest pushes many people away from services that may help them remain safe and healthier.

It’s time for a new approach rooted in health. Legislation introduced in the Vermont General Assembly would take crucial steps forward by decriminalizing drugs and preventing tragic overdose deaths. H. 423 and the identical Senate version, S. 119 would end criminal penalties for simple drug possession while creating better connections to services for those who need and want them. These bills would set up a system shaped by experts in drug use, harm reduction, treatment and recovery and help refocus resources on efforts to keep people safe from overdose.

We need your help to move these bills forward. Tell your legislators to pass decriminalization legislation now and build a health approach to drugs in Vermont.

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Your Message

Subject

Dear Representative/Senator,

Message Body

Like you, we want to keep people safe and alive during an overdose crisis. Yet, Vermont’s laws that criminalize low level drug possession have caused extensive harm over decades and are clearly not keeping people safe from overdose. It’s time for a new approach to drugs that’s focused entirely on health, equity, and human rights.

Arresting people for drugs and charging them with criminal offenses hurts people in many ways. It disrupts or creates barriers to employment and housing, strains families, heightens anxiety, causes police interactions that can lead to dangerous situations, increases overdose risk in jails and prisons, disrupts communities, and wastes resources that could be better spent on providing supportive services. Instead of helping, our laws further stigmatize, traumatize and marginalize people who use drugs.

It’s time to rethink Vermont’s approach and end the use of the criminal-legal system to address drug use. Legislation introduced in the General Assembly would remove criminal penalties for simple drug possession while creating better connections to services for those who need and want them. H. 423 (sponsored by Reps. Logan Nicoll and Taylor Small) and S. 119 (sponsored by Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky) would set up a system shaped by experts in drug use, harm reduction, treatment and recovery and help refocus resources on efforts to keep people safe from overdose.

I urge you to endorse this legislation and actively support its passage now. Inaction will continue to hurt our family members, friends, and neighbors, while wasting taxpayer dollars on failed and inequitable approaches. Passing this legislation is a critical first step toward building a health-based approach to drugs and repairing the harms of the past. Thank you.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]
[Your Address]

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