A guest looks over Michigan Liberation’s Care Not, Criminalization Resource.
We are working to end reliance on punitive and coercive responses to drug use, and to prevent the criminalization of people for using drugs. We must invest in a supportive, voluntary, evidence-based, community-rooted, health response to drug use.
Punitive and coercive responses to drug use remain dominant in our society, and are significant drivers of mass incarceration, criminalization, and stigma directed towards people who use drugs. We must prevent these harms, and invest in a supportive, health-based response to drug use.
How we work
Prevent the criminalization of people who use drugs in laws and regulations, and through the criminal legal system
Partnering with state and local governments to fund harm reduction pilot projects at county probation departments in Pennsylvania
Partnering with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and The Action Lab to train defense lawyers on drug use and drug-induced homicide cases
Supporting a statewide campaign in Kentucky to advocate for change to the carceral system to reduce its harms to people who are using drugs
Eliminate punitive sanctions in social policies and programs, and strengthen a supportive response
Establishing legal resources to help people who are wrongfully denied medication treatment
Implementing medical legal partnerships with harm reduction programs in New Jersey and Wisconsin
Conducting a review of non-criminal policies and programs related to drug use and recommending improvements for a supportive health-based response in Michigan
Establish and expand integrated civilian/community crisis response for drug-related and mental health emergencies
Planning and piloting community responder care-based safety teams for overdose response in Newark, NJ, and in Ypsilanti City and Washtenaw County, MI
Supporting the design, implementation, and statewide roll-out of the 988 crisis-line for mental health and drug use calls in New Mexico
Spotlight
Reimagining Public Health Approaches for Health Emergency
When someone is experiencing a mental health crisis or an overdose, police are often the default first responders. However, a police force ill-equipped to deal with these problems can worsen the situation. We partnered with The Council of State Governments Justice Center to support the creation of “Expanding First Response: A Toolkit for Community Responder Programs.”
Reimagining Public Health Approaches for Health Emergency
When someone is experiencing a mental health crisis or an overdose, police are often the default first responders. However, a police force ill-equipped to deal with these problems can worsen the situation. We partnered with The Council of State Governments Justice Center to support the creation of “Expanding First Response: A Toolkit for Community Responder Programs.”
