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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Hannah Harris Green

Most in US view substance use as health issue, but many states treat it as crime

A woman taking a drug.
In 2024, 75% of Americans think SUD ‘should be treated more as a health problem than a criminal problem’, compared with 67% in 2019. Photograph: ArtistGNDphotography/Getty Images

New polling data from the Legal Action Center shows that more Americans than ever think substance use should be treated as a health issue, rather than a criminal justice issue.

But many state and federal laws continue to criminalize substance use – more than half of states still treat drug possession as a felony.

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