Pubdate: Sat, 05 May 2001
Source: Montana Kaimin
Copyright: 2001 Montana Kaimin
Website: www.kaimin.org
Contact:  Montana Kaimin, Journalism 206, University of Montana, Missoula 
MT, 59801
Phone: (406) 243-4310
Author: Ted Sullivan

U. MONTANA LAW SCHOOL PANEL CLASHES ON LEGALIZING MARIJUANA

MISSOULA, Mont. -- Marijuana use is not as devastating as alcohol use, but 
legalizing it would make this country that much worse, said Sherry 
Matteucci, former U.S. attorney, at a drug, war and civil rights panel 
Thursday evening at the University of Montana.

The legalization of marijuana is favorable to many, but legalized marijuana 
would create pressure to legalize other illicit drugs, Matteucci said.

Beth Brenner, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union in 
Montana, disagreed.

Many drug users are law-abiding citizens and should not be in prison for 
what they do in private, Brenner said. Only drug users who harm other 
people should be prosecuted, she said.

Matteucci and Brenner were two of the seven panelists invited to speak at 
UM's law school. The panelists were judges, prosecutors, civil rights 
advocates and public defenders, and they discussed the ongoing drug war and 
civil rights.

Legalizing drugs is politically impossible, Tony Gallagher, a chief public 
defender, said.

"It will never happen," Gallagher said.

Drugs are a huge problem in our society, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bart 
Erickson said. Too many people are in prison because of drugs and the 
effects are devastating, he added.

"We do process a number of drug-related crimes in our federal system," 
Erickson said. "Folks, drugs aren't good for you."

Josh Van Der Wetering, assistant U.S. district attorney, said drug users 
take the risk of going to jail, and that's their fault.

Erickson offered a possible solution. He said educating people on drug 
prevention and using rehabilitation to treat addicts should be a priority, 
instead of incarceration.

Gallagher agreed.

The state needs to stop funding prosecution and incarceration and start 
funding rehabilitation, he said.

A major contributor to America's drug problem is economics, James Nelson, a 
Montana Supreme Court justice, said.

Illegal drugs can offer economic benefits to big businesses as well as drug 
dealers, Nelson said, because many companies manufacture crime-fighting 
technology.

But to curb drug use, America must address other social problems, Nelson 
said, such as America's educational system and the country's lack of health 
care.

Another problem is that minorities represent a majority of America's prison 
population, Gallagher said.

But, it is not because of discrimination, Gallagher said. It is because 
many of those minorities are poor and sell drugs for money.

Brenner disagreed, saying minorities are a majority of the prison 
population because of racial profiling.

Racial profiling allows officers to stop people for their appearance, like 
being Hispanic or having dreadlocks, Brenner said. It's ridiculous and 
discriminatory, he said.

The bottom line is drugs ruin families, Van Der Wetering said.
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