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Broken no more

Not In Our Name

To Save More Lives, Oppose Drug-Induced Homicide Laws

Drug-induced homicide (DIH) laws charge people with murder, with sentences of 20 years to life in prison, for simply selling, providing, or even sharing drugs with someone who then dies of an overdose. Often, those arrested are the friends, family, or partners of those who have died. These laws make people fearful of calling for help during an overdose and, because of this fear, lives are lost.

Join us in demanding our lawmakers oppose drug-induced homicide laws.

Send a Letter to Your Lawmakers

Drug-Induced Homicide Laws

Counterproductive and Harmful
  • DIH laws punish people who seek help during overdose emergencies and increase the risk of overdose death. The number one reason people fail to call for help during an overdose is fear of the police. People should be encouraged to seek help when lives are on the line, not fear that they could spend 20 years to life in prison if they call 911.
  • DIH laws do nothing to stop the flow of drugs on our streets. We have decades of evidence showing that when street-level drug sellers are arrested, they are quickly replaced and nothing changes.
  • DIH laws do not deter drug sales. Research has demonstrated that it’s not the severity of the punishment that deters drug sales, but the certainty of capture (the belief that one will be caught) that acts as a deterrent. If someone does not believe they will be caught, the severity of a prison sentence is irrelevant. When someone dies of an overdose, it’s after a person has sold, provided, or shared drugs with them. Certainty of capture cannot act as a deterrent when the person doesn’t even know they will have committed a crime. DIH laws are, therefore, ineffective as a deterrent to drug sales, providing drugs, or sharing them.

Join us in telling lawmakers to oppose drug-induced homicide laws.

Send a Letter

Families Support Health, Not Punishment

Families call for health-led approaches instead of harmful drug laws
Parents and others who have lost a loved one to overdose know firsthand that health-based solutions can save others from experiencing this same horrific pain and grief. Punishment and criminalization through DIH laws are not the answer.

 

“Too many grieving families are encouraged to support drug-induced homicide laws, not realizing that those laws disproportionately harm Black and Brown communities.”
– Kimberly Douglas, who lost her son Bryce to an overdose.
“We cannot arrest our way out of this crisis…[Drug-induced homicide] laws do not bring our loved ones back, and they do not prevent future deaths. It’s time for us to think beyond incarceration.”
– Diannee Carden Glenn, who lost her son Michael to an overdose
“Overdose fatalities have dipped because of health-based policies in lieu of punishment. But this hope is compromised by drug-induced homicide laws.”
– Jessie Dunleavy, who lost her son Paul to an overdose