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CALIFORNIA — The NAACP passed an historic resolution calling to an end the war on drugs with a majority vote at the 102nd NAACP Annual Convention in Los Angeles, CA.

The resolution outlines key details of the war on drugs, which the organization notes are crucial failings; the U.S. spends $40 billion annually on the war, and low-level drug offenders — mostly of color — are often locked up.

“These flawed drug policies that have been mostly enforced in African-American communities must be stopped and replaced with evidenced-based practices that address the root causes of drug use and abuse in America,” said NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous.

Instead of sending offenders to prison, the resolution calls for the creation and expansion of rehabilitation and treatment programs, methadone clinics, and other treatment protocols that have been found effective.

Once the resolution is ratified by the board of directors in October, it will encourage more than 1200 active NAACP chapters to organize campaigns to advocate for the end to the war on drugs.

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