So what would it do in your mind if I was to tell you that I am a legal marijuana patient

in the state of Connecticut?

From Futuro Media, it's Latino USA, I'm Maria Inohosa.

Today, the argument for decriminalization to end the war on drugs.

In the summer of 1971, President Richard Nixon declared a so-called war on drugs.

But I consider this problem so urgent.

I also found that it was scattered so much throughout the government with so much conflict,

without coordination that it had to be brought into the White House.

So that we have not only the responsibility but the authority to see that we wage a defensive

effectively and in a coordinated way.

The goal was to curb the use of illicit substances by levying increased police presence, classifying

a number of drugs at the federal level, and by making longer prison sentences mandatory

for the use and distribution of narcotics.

Nearing the 50th anniversary of that decision the war on drugs is still very much alive.

Millions of people have been incarcerated from broken windows policing and the advent

of stop and frisk, to no-knock warrants and the militarization of local police departments.

All of this, born from the so-called war on drugs, and all have been used to primarily

target communities of color.

Advocates for reform have long argued that punitive policies have not only failed to reduce

the flow of drugs across the country, but also strengthened illicit drug markets, creating

risky and unhealthy conditions for people who choose to use drugs.

Meanwhile, more than 70,000 people die last year alone as a result of drug overdoses.

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