The LEAD Philosophy
Individuals should not be criminalized for their drug use. Often there are underlying mental health and substance use disorders that drive low, level nonviolent drug related crimes that cannot be adequately addressed by the criminal justice system. LEAD® offers as a tool for communities to respond to public order issues through a public health framework that reduces reliance on the formal criminal justice system.
LEAD aims to reduce the stigma related to drug use by removing the moral and legal judgments of persons addicted or dependent on drugs by applying: community policing, harm reduction, and training about the continuum of drug use, the cycle of recovery, and scope of drug treatment therapies.