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Updated 01.27.12 While current drug policy criminalizes
addiction and enforcement often targets low-income communities and people of color, the
ACLU of Ohio works for fair and sensible drug policies that will support safe and healthy
communities across Ohio.
What’S Happening in Ohio
Drug Testing Recipients of Government Assistance
Following in the footsteps of Florida, the Ohio State Senate is
considering
Senate Bill 69, which would require all government assistance recipients to submit
to mandatory drug testing.
Despite assumptions to the contrary, government assistance recipients are no more likely
to use drugs than the rest of the general population. In fact, 70 percent of all illicit
drug users (not counting alcohol) ages 18-49 are employed full time.
The ACLU argues that mandatory drug testing violates the Fourth Amendment’s protection
against unreasonable searches. The broad scope of SB 69 would include welfare recipients,
elderly citizens on Medicaid, parents whose children receive federal education loans, and
a host of others who receive some form of “public” benefit.
Legal issues aside, these policies are also fiscally unsound. Estimates show that the
average drug test costs $42 per person. Some have estimated that the real-world cost of
catching one drug user with random testing can amount to $20,000.
An ACLU supporter recently wrote about his personal objections to this policy.
Read about it here. In late 2011, Governor John Kasich indicated
that he would not support this type of legislation.
Cuyahoga County’s Costly War on Drugs
Nearly 20 percent of Ohio’s inmates come from Cuyahoga County, meaning that Cuyahoga
Country residents are severely over-represented in state prisons. Much of this is due
to biased enforcement of drug-related crimes, based on race and geography.
On June 16, 2011, the ACLU of Ohio released "Overcharging, Overspending, Overlooking:
Cuyahoga County's Costly War on Drugs". The report was made possible with support
from the Drug Policy Alliance. It
looks at the impact these policies have had on Cuyahoga County, and echoes a 2008
report commissioned by
Citizens for a Safe and Fair
Cleveland.
Although whites use and sell drugs at a similar rate to people of color, African
Americans in Cuyahoga County are more likely than whites to be convicted of a felony
drug offense. Suburban and out-of-town whites are more likely to receive a misdemeanor
plea deal and access to diversion programs.
The ACLU of Ohio has focused on reducing disparities in Cuyahoga County through Citizens for a Safe and Fair
Cleveland, a coalition that works for unbiased law enforcement and judicial equity
for drug laws.
In 2008, the coalition found that many people of color in Cleveland were charged with
felonies simply for having residue on paraphernalia. In other areas of the county, similar
crimes were prosecuted as a misdemeanor. The coalition successfully lobbied Cleveland Mayor
Frank Jackson to change the city's procedure for handling drug paraphernalia cases to
reflect those followed by greater Cuyahoga County.
What’s Happening Nationally
Federal Sentencing Disparity
On August 3, 2010, President Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act to reduce the sentencing disparity between powdered cocaine and
crack cocaine to 18-to-1.
Previously under federal law, someone would need 100 grams of powdered cocaine to receive
the same sentence as someone in possession of one gram of crack cocaine. Although the myths
surrounding crack cocaine have been dispelled, the disparity persisted for decades. This
resulted in harsher punishments for people of color and devastated poor and minority
communities.
Student Financial Aid
In 1998, Congress enacted the Aid Elimination Penalty, which prevents anyone with a
drug-related conviction from receiving federal financial aid, including Pell Grants
or work-study. The provision hurts lower-income and minority students and families
disproportionately, often preventing those who most need assistance from getting it.
It also punishes a student twice for the same crime: once at sentencing, and again by
eliminating financial aid options.
Check out Injustice 101
from the ACLU’s Drug Law Reform Project for more information.
Resources
Visit our Juvenile Justice, Police Practices, and Criminal Justice issues pages for more
information about our justice system.
Check out our Publications page for
more resources on drug policy issues.
ACLU Criminal
Law Reform Project, News and reports on criminal justice issues
Drug Policy Alliance,
Information and advocacy resources on a variety of drug policy issues
Families Against
Mandatory Minimums, News and research on sentencing
Students for
Sensible Drug Policy, Advocacy for students interested in drug policy
The
Sentencing ProjectDrug Policy Page, Publications, news, and advocacy resources on
drug policy
Read drug policy news releases and articles in our
News Center.
Browse our webcasts for drug policy-related programs:
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