Biden calls for more rehabilitation opportunities, as 'no one should go to jail for the use of a drug'

President Biden.
(Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images.)

President Biden reiterated Tuesday night that he does not want to "defund the police," but rather "put more money in police work so we have legitimate community policing" that keeps neighborhoods safe.

Biden was asked about policing and sentencing during CNN town hall in Milwaukee. It's time to change the laws, Biden said, because "no one should go to jail for a drug offense. No one should go to jail for the use of a drug. They should go to drug rehabilitation." People need to learn skills so they can have a profession when they get out, he continued, and they should not be denied opportunities for housing and education.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.