Sanders talked about re-framing drugs, in the context of race and policing, and mentioned marijuana. But a more apt comparison might be the rise of harm-reduction policy when it comes to heroin and opiates, which are affecting white Americans mainly; but there has been a hard sell to treat crack cocaine or other drugs associated with black Americans from a public health perspective.
“Addiction is a disease, not a criminal activity,” Sanders said, but how the government chooses to treat and incarcerate is very different based on different drugs.
