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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Historically, have arrests of street-level dealers had any impact on reducing illegal drug use?

By William Boger
NO

Arrests of street-level dealers have been largely ineffective as part of the long U.S. "war on drugs." "The public safety impact of incapacitating these offenders is essentially nullified because they are rapidly replaced," a Pew Charitable Trust study said.

Over three decades, the number of adults incarcerated for drug offenses grew tenfold, from 50,000 in 1972 to over 500,000 in 2002. Meanwhile, drug use among all ages has continued to stay either relatively the same or moderately increase.

The International Drug Policy Consortium, a group of non-governmental organizations focused on drug policy, identified a “balloon effect”: any intervention suppressing drug activity in one location pushes the activity to another part of the drug market, effectively making no lasting change in supply.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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