This three-hour professional development module is intended to educate service providers, community members, coalitions, and other entities on the American War on Drugs and how it has influenced racist drug policy in the 21st century United States. Like Alcohol Prohibition in the early 1900s, drug prohibition has done little to curb drug use, while exacerbating drug-related public health crises through disinvestment in effective prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery resources. This training will explore the origins of the War on Drugs and racialized drug policies throughout U.S. history and examine how the drug war has fueled mass incarceration, health disparities, social inequities, and the current waves of overdose deaths in the United States. Participants will be introduced to the Iceberg Model for Systems Thinking to connect how events we see in the world events are fueled by underlying social structures. Participants will also brainstorm tactics and strategies to address some of the ramifications of the War on Drugs in their own communities.
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
- Define the War on Drugs
- Name 2 ramifications of the War on Drugs that we see play out today
- Be able to identify the four levels of racism
- Name 2 pieces of historical legislation that have perpetuated the War on Drugs and mass incarceration
- Identify 3 strategies to address the impacts of the War on Drugs in our communities
- Challenge our own deeply held narratives as individuals and a country around drugs and drug use
Topic: Health & Racial Equity, Policies
Audience: Employers/worksites, Providers, Substance Use Services, General Public
