Published by the ACLU and the Drug Policy Alliance in December 2013. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) set the stage for a new health-oriented policy framework to address substance use and mental health disorders. By dramatically expanding and funding healthcare coverage to millions of currently uninsured people, the ACA represented a remarkable opportunity for criminal justice and drug policy reform advocates to advance efforts for policies promoting safe and healthy communities, without excessive reliance on the criminal justice solutions that have become so prevalent under the War on Drugs. This paper is intended as a starting framework for criminal justice and drug policy advocates to navigate the ACA, and to take advantage of the conceptual and practical opportunities it offers for shifting the conversation and the landscape.
After the paper was published, I wrote an op-ed about it, published first in HuffPost in December 2013.
Download the report below, or find the report on the website of the ACLU.
