DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 248 Jan 4, 2002 IT'S TIME TO FOLLOW THE EUROPEAN LEAD FOR DRUG POLICY REFORM TO SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, DONATE OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS PLEASE SEE THE INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS FOCUS ALERT PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE New York's NEWSDAY gave drug law reformers a tremendous shot in the arm to start off the new year of 2002. On Jan 2 and 3, they printed a pair of columns denouncing the Drug War and also proposing very workable alternatives to current U.S. drug policy. The first column came from JEFFERSON M. FISH of St. John's University and thoroughly breaks down the many reasons why current Drug War funding is a horrible waste. He astutely notes that this funding results in weaker national defense and also takes much needed resources from 'real' police work that is vital to protect our communities. He makes a strong call for ending the War, especially against marijuana, and suggests that changes in European drug policy will soon have a demonstrable effect on international drug law treaties. On Thursday, NEWSDAY gave a full column space to Lindesmith Center DPF's ROBERT SHARPE. Robert's column focused on the significant differences between European drug policies and U.S. drug policies. Both columns' focus on smarter, more workable drug law policy are worthy of a huge thumbs-up and endorsement from reform minded supporters everywhere. NEWSDAY shows great journalistic courage in using these columns back-to-back. While the past five years clearly show us that they will receive far more supportive letters than opposing viewpoints, it is up to us to make sure that happens. Thanks for your effort and support. WRITE A LETTER TODAY It's not what others do it's what YOU do PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter, Phone, fax etc.) Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent letter list () if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to if you are not subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to follow suit. Subscribing to the Sent LTE list () will help you to review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing efforts. To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm and/or http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is one very effective way of gauging our impact and effectiveness. Source: Newsday (NY) Website: http://www.newsday.com/homepage.htm Address: 235 Pinelawn Rd., Melville NY 11747 Contact: Copyright: 2002 Newsday Inc. Forum: http://www.newsday.com/forums/forums.htm Fax: (516)843-2986 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ORIGINAL ARTICLES Both of the columns below are SNIPPED for brevity; please use the URL to read the complete column URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n006/a11.html Pubdate: Wed, 02 Jan 2002 Author: Jefferson M. Fish Note: Jefferson M. Fish, a psychology professor and former department chairman at St. John's University, is the editor of "Is Our Drug Policy Effective? Are There Alternatives?" and "How to Legalize Drugs." DIVERT DRUG-BUST MONEY TO WAR ON TERRORISM NEW YORK CITY, terrorist target, is also New York State's prime target in the war on drugs. A majority of drug felons come from the city and are shipped off to fill upstate prisons at more than $30,000 per prisoner per year. Arrests for marijuana smoking have escalated from about 700 in 1992 under former (and new) Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly to more than 50,000 last year. Certainly with the city facing a budget crisis and the police department trying to cut costs, it's time to re-examine this issue. Our new war on terrorism reveals a major policy contradiction not just for New York City, but for the United States. The war on drugs creates a gigantic and vicious black market, whose profits fund terrorism in many parts of the world from Colombia to Afghanistan. The more "successful" the war on drugs, the more dangerous and profitable the drug trade becomes. Yet no matter how "successful," the war can't be won, despite what our politicians proclaim. After all, if we can't keep drugs from entering our prisons, how can we can keep them from crossing our borders? As tax revenues fall in a weak economy, the tens of billions of dollars devoted to the war on drugs divert significant funds from the fight against terrorism, let alone the normal costs of law enforcement. Downsizing the war on drugs would both increase our resources available to fight terrorism and decrease terrorists' resources. (SNIP) URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n009/a04.html Pubdate: Thu, 03 Jan 2002 Author: Robert Sharpe, http://www.mapinc.org/author/Robert+Sharpe Note: The newspaper printed this is the space of a regular columnist, with the following note: Robert Sharpe is a program officer with the Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization in Washington. Marie Cocco is off. U.S. SHOULD FOLLOW EUROPE'S LEAD IN DRUG-LAW REFORM ONE OF THE MANY challenges facing a post-Taliban coalition government is the corrupting influence of drug trafficking. Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium, the raw material used to make heroin. According to the State Department, both the Taliban and the Northern Alliance have financed their activities by taxing the opium trade. A recent State Department report blames the Afghan drug trade for increased levels of global terrorism and notes that the production of opium "undermines the rule of law by generating large amounts of cash, contributing to regional money-laundering and official corruption." Paradoxically, Afghanistan's brutal Taliban regime was able to reap obscene profits from the heroin trade because of drug prohibition, not in spite of it. The same lesson, unfortunately, applies here at home. Just as alcohol prohibition did in the early 1900s, the modern-day drug war subsidizes organized crime. An easily grown weed like marijuana is literally worth its weight in gold in U.S. cities. In Colombia, the various armed factions waging civil war are financially dependent on America's drug war. The illicit trade keeps prices high and a cartel reaps the profits. While U.S. politicians ignore the historical precedent of alcohol prohibition, Europeans are instituting harm reduction, a public health alternative that seeks to minimize the damage associated with both drug use and drug prohibition. There is a middle ground between drug prohibition and legalization. (SNIP) SAMPLE LETTER To the editors of Newsday: re: DIVERT DRUG-BUST MONEY TO WAR ON TERRORISM (Jan 2) U.S. SHOULD FOLLOW EUROPE'S LEAD IN DRUG-LAW REFORM (Jan 3) Both authors astutely note the problems with U.S. drug law policies. And they also provide excellent alternatives that not only increase public safety, but public health as well. Most notable are the much smarter approaches practiced in Europe which focus on health and social aspects of drug use and abuse, with far less concern for harsh criminal sanctions on users. You will likely find that a majority of feedback to these columns is supportive. Note that staunch opposition will only come from those who have some form of financial gain from the current Drug War -- police, prosecutors and jailers who are fed by the steady flow of drug law arrests; drug prevention 'specialists' who earn money from coerced treatment patients provided by the courts; members of various federal agencies who get paid to wage the war, both home and abroad. And of course politicians whose campaigns are financed by all of the above. It's clear that we need to reconsider the policies supported by the many groups who currently profit from the failed policies from the past 20+ years. The columns from Fish and Sharpe provide us with plenty of great ways to do that. Respectfully submitted, Stephen Heath Drug Policy Forum of Florida http://www.drugsense.org/dpffl ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts 3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm Prepared by Stephen Heath DrugSense FOCUS Alert Specialist

Focus Alert Archive