This submission is provided to support the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) Study. It examines the relationship between punitive drug policies in the United States (U.S.) and the practice of arbitrary detention, with particular attention to their racialized and gendered dimensions. The submission offers an analytical overview of drug policy in the U.S., outlining its human rights implications and the disproportionate burdens imposed on racial minority groups, low-income communities, and women. It further explores the intersecting forms of structural discrimination that compound the marginalization of women who use drugs and who are simultaneously low-income and members of racial minority groups. In addition, the submission assesses specific drug policy frameworks and legal mechanisms that facilitate the arbitrary detention of pregnant women, including the consequences of such practices for maternal health, bodily autonomy, and the realization of fundamental human rights.