“Today, too many people are incarcerated in the United States — and too many of them are black and brown. To build safe and healthy communities, we need to rethink who we’re sending to jail, how we treat those in jail, and how we help them get the health care, education, jobs, and housing they need to successfully rejoin society after they serve their time.”

Joe Biden Sets Goal Of Housing 100% Of The Formerly Incarcerated
HuffingtonPost, July 23, 2019 | Maxwell Strachan

“It was a big mistake when it was made. We thought, we were told by the experts, that crack — you never go back; it was somehow fundamentally different. It’s not different, but it’s trapped an entire generation… [I] may not have always gotten things right.”

Biden: ‘I haven’t always been right’ on criminal justice
CNN, January 21, 2019 | Arlette Saenz

“I got stuck with, because I was chairman of the [Senate] Judiciary Committee, writing most of the drug legislation that occurred in [the 1980s and ’90s]… Big mistake was us buying into the idea that crack cocaine was different than powdered cocaine and having [different] penalties.” Speaking at the University of Pennsylvania on April 11, 2019 as part of a panel on the opioid crisis.

How Joe Biden’s Policies Made the Opioid Crisis Harder to Treat
Politico, May 23, 2019 | Zachary Siegel

“You’ve got Jim Crow sneaking back in,” he said, “You know what happens when you have an equal right to vote? They lose.”
Biden says ‘we’ve got Jim Crow sneaking back in’ thanks to Trump and Republicans
Business Insider, May 4, 2019 | Michelle Mark

“Expand federal funding for mental health and substance use disorder services and research. People experiencing mental health and substance use disorders should have access to affordable quality care long before their situations escalate and they interact with the criminal justice system. …Expand health insurance coverage so more Americans have access to treatment, …(and) double the number of … health professional in our schools so our kids get the mental health care they need.”
The Biden Plan for Strengthening America’s Commitment to Justice
Joe Biden campaign website | 2019

“Get people who should be supported with social services – instead of in our prisons – connected to the help they need. …partner mental health and substance use disorder experts, social workers and disability advocates with police departments…these service providers will respond to calls with police officers so individuals who should not be in the criminal justice system are diverted to treatment for addiction or mental health problems, or provided social services they may need.”
The Biden Plan for Strengthening America’s Commitment to Justice
Joe Biden campaign website | 2019

“Number one, I think we should decriminalize marijuana period. And I think anyone who has a record should be let out of jail, their records expunged, it be completely zeroed out. But, I do think it makes sense, based on data, that we should study what the long term effects are for the use of marijuana. That’s all it is. Number one, everyone gets out, records expunged.”

“The truth of the matter is, there’s not nearly been enough evidence that has been acquired as to whether or not it [marijuana] is a gateway drug. It’s a debate, and I want a lot more before I legalize it nationally. I want to make sure we know a lot more about the science behind it… It is not irrational to do more scientific investigation to determine, which we have not done significantly enough, whether or not there are any things that relate to whether it’s a gateway drug or not”
Joe Biden is still questioning if marijuana is a gateway drug, even though research doesn’t support the idea
Business Insider, November 17, 2019 | Ellen Cranley

“No one should be imprisoned for the use of illegal drugs alone. Instead, they should be diverted to drug courts and treatment.”
The Biden Plan for Strengthening America’s Commitment to Justice
Joe Biden campaign website, 2019

“Quite frankly, the president’s plan is not tough enough…The president said he wants to wage a war on drugs. But if that’s true, what we need is another D-Day, not another Vietnam; not another limited war fought on the cheap and destined for stalemate and human tragedy.” 1989 response to President George H.W. Bush’s special White House address
Democrats Are Racing to Look Progressive on Drugs
Vice, August 30, 2019 | Maia Szalavitz

“If I were governor of my state or mayor of my town, I would be passing new ordinances relating to stiff criminal penalties for anyone who held a rave. The promoter, the guy who owned the building, I’d put the son of a gun in jail!”
On King Holiday, Democrats Convey Hope, Remorse and Invective Against Trump
The New York Times, January 21, 2019 | Astead W. Herndon and Jonathan Martin

“Now I’m going to point out some specific things, six of them, that we find inadequate about the President’s plan. I think the President [Bush] has to join us in making a significantly greater commitment to these six areas to stem the rising tide of violence in America. And that’s what it is – violence. First we have to join together and ensure that drug dealers are punished – surely, swiftly, and severely. In align what the president is calling for, we have to hold every drug user accountable, because if there are no drug users, there would be no appetite for drugs. There would be no market for them. Let’s take a look at what the real problem is. It’s not just how many people are using drugs. As the President said, the number of people using drugs, cocaine in particular, is down in our country. That’s true, but the violence associated with drugs is spewing out all over America, and that’s terrible. I know its hard to believe, but this very day, violent drug offenders will commit more than 100,000 crimes, on this day alone. And the sad part is that we have no more police in the streets of our major cities than we had 10 years ago. And what the President proposes won’t help much… In a nutshell, what the President’s plan doesn’t include enough police officers to catch the violent thugs, not enough prosecutors to convict them, not enough judges to sentence them, and not enough prison cells to put them away for a long time…. That’s why we think the President should triple, triple the commitment he’s made tonight for police, prosecutors, and judges for our cities and our states.”
Democratic Anti-Drug Legislation
C-Span, July 31, 1989

“It was a big mistake when it was made. We thought, we were told by the experts, that crack — you never go back; it was somehow fundamentally different. It’s not different, but it’s trapped an entire generation… [I] may not have always gotten things right.” – At a January, 2019 breakfast commemorating Martin Luther King Jr. in reference to the 1988 legislation.
On King Holiday, Democrats Convey Hope, Remorse and Invective Against Trump
The New York Times, January 21, 2019 | Astead W. Herndon and Jonathan Martin