This unfortunate resistance is grounded in decades of criminalization of drug use that has failed in its purported mission to help those with substance use disorder and stem the flow of drugs into communities. The number of people incarcerated for using or selling drugs has grown tenfold in 25 years, with a disproportionate number of African-Americans being locked up for drug-related offenses despite using drugs at a lower rate than whites. And we’re not achieving what’s intended. A recent analysis found no statistically significant relationship between the rate of imprisonment for drug offenses and declining rates of illicit drug use, drug overdose deaths or drug arrests.