IT'S FOR THE PUPPIES!
Posted on 10/17/2002 7:13:26 AM PDT by MrLeRoy
The war on drugs has accumulated many horror stories, accounts like that of Chrissy Taylor, who at age 19 was sentenced to 20 years for conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, because her boyfriend coerced her into picking up a shipment of chemicals. Stories like that of Robert Booker, a first-time offender who was sentenced to life imprisonment for drug conspiracy.
The Journey for Justice is committed to spreading these very stories across the nation, heightening public awareness of the thousands of severe penalties doled out each year for nonviolent drug convictions. The combined effort of two national organizations, the November Coalition and Common Sense for Drug Policy, the Journey for Justice will tour the nation for four years, highlighting the injustices of current drug policy and calling for reform. The kickoff of the tour took place last weekend with a Friday lecture in Ann Arbor and a Saturday forum in Detroit.
Organizers say the drug war is a fallacy that has caused countless injustices, wasted tax dollars, invoked sexist and racist policies and resulted in thousands of draconian sentences for victimless crimes. The Journey for Justice is calling for a complete re-examination of the nation’s current war against drugs, and is attempting to organize a grassroots constituency through public education and discussion. Proponents are not interested in highlighting one particular drug or cause; instead, they want to draw attention to the drug war as a whole — especially the issues of incarceration vs. treatment and creating alternatives to current policy.
“War on people”
A group of varied ages and races, some clad in tie dye, others in crisp suits, filed into a U-M lecture hall. In a morose version of a family album, photos flipped by on an overhead screen, snapshots of men and women with their families, subtitled with such phrases as “marijuana conspiracy — 20 years” and “cocaine conspiracy — life imprisonment.”
Nora Callahan is executive director of the November Coalition. She initially became involved in drug policy reform when her brother was convicted on a drug charge 14 years ago. He has 13 years left to serve.
“The drug war is a fraud,” Callahan repeated again and again. “This isn’t a war on drugs, it’s a war on people.”
Callahan said one of the fundamental problems with the drug war is the focus on punishment and incarceration. She lamented that drug users are treated as criminals, not as people suffering from a disease. Callahan said the massive amount of government money used to jail offenders would be better spent if funneled into treatment programs for addicts.
“Treatment dollars in the U.S. were seven times more effective than money spent trying to eradicate drug use at the source,” she said, quoting a study from the RAND Corporation.
It’s no secret that the drug war is big business, on both sides of the equation. Callahan feels the enormous sums invested into the war on drugs are simply going up in smoke.
“Tax dollars are paying for a system that causes more harm than any illegal drugs ever did,” said Callahan.
Callahan would eventually like to see illegal drugs regulated in the same manner as prescription drugs, which she feels would make the illicit drug trade unprofitable.
“We need to take the profit out of the drug war, plain and simple.”
(Excerpt) Read more at metrotimes.com ...
Yes, and also to the immoral, irrational, and unconstitutional War On (Some) Drugs.
Three groups would hate to hear "drugs are now legal." The police, the lawyers, (including their personal lobby the politicians and their lackey supporters ) and the drug dealers. Guess why.
Say no to bandwidth-wasting blather.
Can you direct me to a resource for conservatives who want a CONSERVATIVE majority in the Senate?
Why should the WOD be stopped and drugs be legalized?
First, why is it immoral?
Second, we should legalize drug use because the prohibition does more damage to our society than the legal ABUSE of these drugs could ever do. Look at alcohol prohibition in the 1930's and one can see very clearly that the prohibition of a substance does NOTHING to stop the use of the substance. Prohibition does:
1. create government jobs for the prohibition enforcers,
2. reduce overall liberty and happiness of the population,
3. create a favorable economic environment for organized crime.
Which of these three proven effects of prohibition appeal to you? None if you're a conservative. The WOD is only attractive to criminals, fascists and morons. Which one are you?
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