Federal, State, and Local Laws

Community members can use a variety of laws and ordinances to curb drug abuse and improve neighborhoods:

• City Code and Regulation Enforcement: City housing, health, safety, and fire codes often are violated in areas where drug dealing is prevalent. Code violations may include improper or inadequate exits and fire escapes, broken sidewalks, or irregular refuse disposal. When residents suspect that drug activity is occurring at a property, they can discourage the activity by seeing that city codes are enforced.

• Specified Crime Property Ordinance: Residents of Des Moines, Iowa, worked with local law enforcement to win passage of a Specified Crime Property Ordinance. The strategy followed this process:
  1. When criminal activity (such as drug dealing, prostitution, or bootlegging) was taking place at a particular property, at least three neighborhood residents informed the police.

  2. The police informed the property owner that illegal activity was taking place and that unless it ceased, fines would be levied against the owner.

• Nuisance Abatement Laws: Nuisance abatement laws allow private citizens, local agencies, or city attorneys to file civil suits against property owners who allow specific nuisances or misconduct to occur on their property. One typical law states that any person who knowingly permits or makes a building available for the unlawful manufacturing or delivering of a controlled substance is subject to a felony rather than just a civil proceeding.

• Small Claims Court: Another method of holding property owners liable is to take them to small claims court to recover damages inflicted on the neighborhood.

• Paraphernalia Laws: Most states have enacted antiparaphernalia laws similar to the Model Drug Paraphernalia Act, which prohibits possession, manufacture, delivery, or advertising of drug paraphernalia.

• Drug-Free School Zones: A typical drug-free zone law sharply increases penalties for drug sales or use, gang recruitment, or weapon possession if the offense occurs within 1,000 feet of a school.

• Asset Forfeiture Laws: Assets (such as cars, jewelry, cash, and real estate) of individuals engaged in drug trafficking can be confiscated by the authorities and turned into income for drug-prevention efforts.

• Forfeiture of Public Housing Leases: Public-housing residents can work with local and federal authorities to enforce the federal Asset Forfeiture Law, which allows the seizure of leases of tenants engaged in drug trafficking.
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