The war on drugs is the war on the poor. Auckland Action Against Poverty sees the negative impacts of criminalisation of drug use on a day-to-day basis. The criminalisation of drugs creates barriers to accessing housing and welfare assistance. We want laws that are centered on the well-being of people and treat drug use as a health issue. An example of beneficiaries being targeted by our current drug laws is when people on the benefit lose their benefit if they fail a drug test. The loss of income does nothing to address the harm from drug use and if anything puts the person more at risk of harmful consumption or behaviour.