Case study: How smart states combat homelessness with tough-on-drug policies
The homelessness epidemic is not chiefly an issue of high housing costs or welcoming weather, says the California Globe team, but drug laws. In progressive states that keep homeless numbers down, consequences for hard drug use include substantial fines and sentencing—while in CA, perpetrators get little more than a slap on the wrist, and can stay in the streets while averting needful mental health interventions.
First, some would have us believe that our high cost of housing is the problem. But several states with high housing costs have low homelessness. And we’ve spent billions on housing while the problem has grown exponentially. Others argue that our temperate climate is the cause of homelessness. But several states with cold climates also have high homelessness, and others with warm climates have low homelessness. These arguments may be superficially appealing. But facts, as they say, are stubborn things.
However, what does stand out in the facts is that several large, Democratic states have low homelessness. It is these blue states that show us the way to ending our crisis. Let’s take New Jersey, Maryland, Michigan, and Illinois as examples. No one could honestly question the progressive bona fides of Newark, Baltimore, Detroit, and Chicago. Yet the states that are home to each of these cities have substantially lower homelessness per capita than California.
Why?
There is one simple answer–each of these states have much stronger hard drug laws than California. Fentanyl, heroin, other hard drug addictions, and the associated mental health crises that these drugs entail are the root cause of California’s homeless crisis. Until we address addiction and mental health, homelessness in our state will only continue to grow. The stubborn fact is that California’s hard drug laws are out of step with progressive states that have low homelessness.
In California, there is essentially no consequence for hard drug possession. Therefore law enforcement rarely arrests for the crime.
In New Jersey, hard drug possession can lead to a 3-5 year sentence and substantial fines. The result is a homeless rate more than 4 times lower than California’s.
In Maryland, multiple cases of hard drug possession can result in an 18-24 month sentence and substantial fines. Maryland has a more than 5 times lower homeless rate than California.
In Michigan, hard drug possession can result in a 4 year sentence and substantial fines. Michigan’s homeless rate is also more than 5 times lower than California’s.
In Illinois, possession of fentanyl can result in a 3-7 year sentence and substantial fines. The result is one of the lowest homeless rates in the country—a rate over 6 times lower than California.
The facts are unmistakable. The way to end our homeless crisis—is to end our drug crisis.
This article originally appeared in the California Globe. Read the whole thing here.
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