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The latest Harvard CAPS-Harris poll finds that “crime and drugs” are among the most important issues for American voters.

Since President Richard Nixon first declared a “war on drugs” in 1971, the criminal justice system has been the default for combating drug use and addiction. But with 107,543 drug overdose deaths in 2023, it’s clear that our current methods aren’t working.

That’s because drug addiction is a health problem, not a crime. As such, it cannot be cured by a system overwhelmingly designed to punish rather than heal.

For years, most Americans have recognized that people suffering from drug addiction should be treated rather than imprisoned. They want real solutions to the problems they see, not leaders who bend to the failed status quo and their empty promises.

It’s time to adopt a health-focused approach to drug use in America that will adequately treat those suffering from addiction, reduce the burdens on our overworked criminal justice systems, and keep communities safer and healthier.

I used to believe that people who used drugs were bad, that they were criminals who lacked self-control and deserved to be punished. That changed when I became a foster parent.

One of my foster children, Beckham, was taken from his mother, Joanne, when he was a newborn because she used drugs during her pregnancy. I assumed that Joanne was using drugs because she didn’t love her son enough to stop and that she could have easily stopped if she just cared about being a mom.

Then I met her and saw her love for Beckham. Joanne challenged everything she thought she knew about drug addiction.

As I began to do more research, it became clear that drug addiction does not appear out of thin air. It is often the result of unresolved trauma, PTSD, or other emotional and mental distress.

I realized that imprisoning people like Joanne would only add to that trauma. However, that is precisely what we are doing. In 2020, for example, about 87 percent of drug-related arrests were for “mere possession,” not sale or manufacture.

Not only are the conditions of incarceration often traumatic, but incarceration also separates people from their families and support systems, which are necessary to overcome addiction. It’s also hard on families. Studies show that children whose mothers have been incarcerated have a higher risk of developing behavioral and mental health problems. Incarceration leaves people with criminal records for life, making it difficult for them to obtain legal employment.

Fortunately, Joanne was not sent to prison. He received specialized treatment and is now in recovery, helping others overcome addiction. Not everyone has this opportunity.

An estimated 63 percent of people in prison and 58 percent of those in prison struggle with a substance use disorder. Most go untreated: An estimated 10 percent of people in state prisons who have substance use disorders receive clinical treatment.

People in prison don’t just go without treatment; they are actively getting worse. In fact, studies show that drug use tends to increase after periods of incarceration, and that incarceration also increases the risk of dying from a drug overdose.

It’s hard to break free from the mindset that people who use illegal drugs are synonymous with criminals. Even the CAPS-Harris survey lumps “crime” and “drugs” together in a single category.

The hard truth is that no matter how many people we incarcerate, drug use never goes away. We have had a five-decade trial to use the criminal justice system to manage drug use, to no avail. Decriminalizing drugs and addressing drug use from a health perspective is the best way to save lives and keep families together.

Ironically, making the criminal justice system less involved will make communities safer.

At least 20 percent of police calls involve a mental health or substance use crisis, which police are not adequately trained to handle. Devolving these responsibilities to community-based health professionals will allow the police to focus their limited resources on preventing and solving serious crime.

Research also shows that the availability of substance abuse treatment centers in a community reduces local crime rates. Drug courts, which offer people treatment instead of incarceration, have also been shown to reduce recidivism, with a meta-analysis finding a 24 percent decrease in recidivism among drug court participants compared with the imprisoned people.

Because illegal drugs are unregulated, they have become more lethal than ever as drug traffickers try to make more powerful drugs that pack a bigger punch in a smaller package, allowing them to better evade detection at the same time that increase profits. Regulating popular drugs, as we do with alcohol and tobacco, would ensure that the substances are safer and reduce the financial incentive to engage in the clandestine drug trade.

To be clear, this proposed solution is in no way “lenient” on drug dealers and violent criminals. People who hurt others should be prosecuted. It simply recognizes that we cannot imprison ourselves for our drug problem. What we are doing is not working, and has never worked. It’s time to invest in modern solutions that will save lives.