Drug Policy Case Study

Philadelphia policymakers actively searched for a beneficial solution to their war-on-drugs, but remained mindful of the government’s overarching rule and contrasting beliefs. One of the largest disputes between local and federal was the handling of drug-related charges, most notably with the sentencing of offenders. The federal government set a precedent of allowing each offender to receive a fair trial, but their initial beliefs of strict enforcement were not abandoned. Though each offender would be given a just trial, they were still more likely to be given a long prison sentence. The harshness of these drug sentences led to a negative impact on prison population:
The impacts on prison populations are potentially the most serious, because
While the city has opened itself to new ways of tolerating and moderating the use of recreational drugs, each new policy change had to be supported and found legitimate by federal law. If federal law was not in agreement with a city or state’s policymaking, then the policy in question would become nullified. While the federal government supports and enforces the nation’s original drug policy, The Controlled Substances Act, which continues to categorize marijuana as a prohibited drug, Congress has openly respected a state’s desire to announce medical marijuana laws and have taken no action to impede on the policy changes. “Finding that the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment demonstrates Congress’ intent ‘that States implement their medical marijuana laws in the ways they see fit’, without federal intrusion.” With the federal government choosing to give local municipalities’ leniency on the issue, the future relationship between the government and recreational drugs looked
In two years, Philadelphia was able to start a state-wide movement of decriminalizing a recreational drug, which then led to a domino effect of the entire state joining a nation-wide policy change for using recreational drugs as a way of benefiting their economies as well as the well-being of their citizens. If elected officials were to continue on with the balanced approach, then there is no limit to the success it could bring to national, state, and city