The Effects of Drug Control
Policies on Individual and
Community Health for
People of Color

______

Kat M. Anderson, Rapporteur

Roundtable on the Promotion of
Health Equity

Board on Population Health and
Public Health Practice

Health and Medicine Division

Proceedings of a Workshop

NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001

This activity was supported by contracts between the National Academy of Sciences and the Aetna Foundation, the Colorado Trust, the Health Services and Resources Administration, the Kresge Foundation, Merck Research Laboratories and the Office of the Chief Patient Officer, the NAM Robert Wood Johnson Culture of Health Program Endowment, and the Veterans Health Administration Office of Health Equity. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-27387-9
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-27387-0
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/26401

This publication is available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu.

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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. The effects of drug control policies on individual and community health for people of color: Proceedings of a workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26401.

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PLANNING COMMITTEE ON THE ROLE OF DRUG CONTROL POLICIES ON INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY HEALTH FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR¹

JULIE A. BALDWIN, Northern Arizona University

B. NED CALONGE, The Colorado Trust

MARY LOU LEARY, Office of National Drug Control Policy (retired)

MELENIE MAGNOTTA, Aetna Foundation

OCTAVIO N. MARTINEZ, Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, University of Texas at Austin

ERNEST MOY, Veterans Health Administration Office of Health Equity

Health and Medicine Division Staff

KAT M. ANDERSON, Roundtable Director

ANNA MARTIN, Administrative Assistant (from August 2018), Senior Program Assistant (until August 2018)

Y. CRYSTI PARK, Administrative Assistant (from April 2020)

ROSE MARIE MARTINEZ, Senior Board Director, Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice

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¹ The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s planning committees are solely responsible for organizing the workshop, identifying topics, and choosing speakers. The responsibility for the published Proceedings of a Workshop rests with the workshop rapporteur and the institution.

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ROUNDTABLE ON THE PROMOTION OF HEALTH EQUITY²

ANTONIA M. VILLARRUEL (Chair), University of Pennsylvania

PATRICIA BAKER, Connecticut Health Foundation

JULIE A. BALDWIN, Center for Health Equity Research, Northern Arizona University

GILLIAN BARCLAY, Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development

B. NED CALONGE, The Colorado Trust

KENDALL M. CAMPBELL, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University

LUTHER T. CLARK, Merck & Co., Inc.

FRANCISCO GARCÍA, Pima County Department of Health

JEFFREY A. HENDERSON, Black Hills Center for American Indian Health

EVE J. HIGGINBOTHAM, University of Pennsylvania

CARA V. JAMES, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

CHRIS KABEL, The Kresge Foundation

MELENIE MAGNOTTA, Aetna Foundation

OCTAVIO N. MARTINEZ, Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, the University of Texas at Austin

CHRISTINE RAMEY, Health Resources and Services Administration

MELISSA A. SIMON, Northwestern University

PATTIE TUCKER, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

UCHENNA S. UCHENDU, Office of Health Equity, Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

ROHIT VARMA, University of Southern California

WINSTON F. WONG, Kaiser Permanente

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² The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s forums and roundtables do not issue, review, or approve individual documents. The responsibility for the published Proceedings of a Workshop rests with the workshop rapporteur and the institution.

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Reviewers

This Proceedings of a Workshop was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings:

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by LINDA C. DEGUTIS, Yale University School of Public Health. She was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteur and the National Academies.

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Contents

1 INTRODUCTION

2 ASSESSING AMERICAN DRUG POLICIES

3 THE ROLE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, ARREST, AND PROSECUTION

4 HOW DRUG CONTROL POLICIES ARE APPLIED AND ENFORCED

5 PROMISING PRACTICES AND MODELS FOR CHANGING DRUG CONTROL POLICIES

6 FINAL REFLECTIONS

APPENDIXES

A REFERENCES

B WORKSHOP AGENDA

C SPEAKER BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

D STATEMENT OF TASK

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