Pubdate: Fri, 05 Sep 2003 Source: Daily Texan (TX Edu) Copyright: 2003 Daily Texan Contact: http://www.dailytexanonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/115 Author: Erick Fajardo Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?214 (Drug Policy Alliance) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/racial.htm (Racial Issues) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) DRUG POLICY STILL NEEDS WORK Because we are approaching an election year, here's something to consider when deciding which candidate deserves your vote. Many elected officials, such as Gov. Perry for example, have and continue to be bolstered by platforms that include staunch support for being "tough on crime" and for promoting the continuance of the "war on drugs." However, it is a well-documented fact that the communities most impacted by the so called "war on drugs" are impoverished communities, and, according to state statistical analyses of race percentages, there is an uneven number of blacks and Latinos living below the poverty line. Meanwhile, Texas, more than any other state, has an over-reliance on the prison system. Statistics show that 60 percent of the prison population consists of drug offenders, and although Latinos only comprise roughly 32 percent of the state population and blacks only make up about 11.5 percent (as reported in the 2000 census), the majority of those people in prison happen to be Latinos and blacks. A major victory was recently scored during the 78th Texas Legislature for drug policy reformers. Lawmakers were given the results of a study that showed that participants in drug treatment programs were 33-percent less likely to be arrested, 45-percent less likely to be convicted again, and 87-percent less likely to return to prison than those merely sent to prison. In addition to the study, legislators saw that HB 2668, which required that all first-time offenders caught with less than a gram of a controlled substance receive drug treatment, would save Texas $115 million over the next five years. The bill passed and went into effect Monday, Sept. 1. However, the war on drugs persists, and its effects continue to negatively impact minority communities. Families are torn apart when relatives are sent to prison on charges of either the sale or usage of drugs, and, according to data complied by the ACLU, NAACP, and LULAC, children of incarcerated parents are five times more likely to serve prison time when they become adults. Also, once these individuals are released from prison, a drug conviction on one's record serves as a permanent "scarlet letter" that prevents him or her from obtaining a job, housing or student loans - making it impossible for the individual to support a family or to make a living. Another point of concern is that there is no rehabilitation program within the prison system. After their release, these individuals are eventually forced back into the cycle of purchasing and/or using drugs. Further complicating the issue is the fact that black and Latino communities tend to be largely unaware of the benefits of rehabilitation, for they have only been presented with one remedy to drug related crimes - prison. These minorities, in other words, have bought into the ideology of political leaders who promise to clean up the streets by perpetuating the war on drugs. Such politicians, in essence, manipulate the fear and despair that African-Americans and Hispanics have because of the "war on drugs," selling an agenda that comes across as one that will end the prevalence of the sale and use of illegal narcotics. The problem, however, is not exclusive to Texas nor to Latinos and blacks. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, an organization that has complied national statistics, in addition to blacks and Latinos, Asians and Native Americans are also more likely to be the recipients of castigatory drug laws than whites. Thus, despite drug abuse being a problem that transcends all racial lines, minority communities are the ones most heavily targeted by existing policies and that is why in 2004, Americans need to elect a candidate that has the interests of these communities at heart. Fajardo is a government senior. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin