Pubdate: Sat, 17 Sep 2005
Source: South Whidbey Record (WA)
Copyright: 2005 South Whidbey Record
Contact:  http://www.southwhidbeyrecord.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2515
Author: Brian Kelly

LAWYER SAYS DRUG WAR NEEDS MAJOR CHANGES ATTORNEY SAYS

America's war on drugs has failed, and the United States should take a new 
approach to illegal drugs other than throwing drug users in jail, said 
Roger Goodman, director of the King County Bar Association's Drug Policy 
Project.

In a speech Thursday to the League of Women Voters of South Whidbey Island, 
Goodman presented the outline for a new legal framework to handle drugs. 
The plan focuses on getting treatment for drug users, and includes 
suggestions such as retail sales of marijuana at state shops and 
dispensaries for addicts of drugs like heroin.

"The war on drugs is a failure. It's actually fundamentally flawed," 
Goodman said.

Punishment has not decreased the use of drugs.

"And if you try to clamp down at the source, it just pops up everywhere 
else. There's an unrelenting demand for the substances," he said.

Much work has been, and should be, focused on prevention. But Goodman said 
the just-say-no approach doesn't work.

"Our kids see through that," he said. "They see drug use at home and on TV. 
We're not in a drug-free society and kids know this."

Talking about a new approach to America's drug problem is controversial, 
Goodman admitted.

"In the drug area, we kind of keep running into a moralistic, ideological 
barrier. And so we continue to punish those who take drugs and lock them up."

Goodman has worked full-time studying drug issues in recent years as leader 
of the King County Bar Association's Drug Policy Project.

He recalled how a task force of professionals in law, from judges to 
attorneys, gathered to review America's drug laws and policies. The 
coalition has since grown to include numerous other professionals from the 
law, medical and social services fields.

"There's no hidden agenda. We're not a front for fringy, pony-tailed pot 
smokers," Goodman said.

"We have legitimate objectives to reduce crime, to improve health, to 
protect children and to save money."

Goodman touched on the reasons why some drugs today are illegal, and others 
aren't.

Often, drugs were made illegal because of the people who were using them, 
he said.

Coffee use was punishable by death in some cultures in the 1500s. Coffee 
made people more talkative, and the ruling class got worried when people 
started talking about the government.

"This is the history of prohibition, as we have taken substances to alter 
our state of mind, we become dangerous to the powers that be," he said.

His group's study on the issue, Goodman said, led to the conclusion that a 
prohibition against drugs just doesn't work.

But that doesn't mean a blind eye should be turned to drug addiction, he added.

Instead, the degree of state control over a psychoactive substance should 
reflect the degree of risk of problematic use and harm on society from each 
drug. A state commission should be convened to review how drugs can be 
regulated.

Laws already exist to hold people accountable for their behavior, he said, 
like laws against impaired driving. Still, the bar association's drug 
project has set limits on how drugs should be supplied to users.

"We're not talking about going to Bartell's and picking up your heroin," he 
added.

As it currently exists, the war on drugs can't be won.

"We've already surrendered. We've surrendered control of these dangerous 
substances to violent criminal enterprises," Goodman said.

As soon as one is stopped, another sprouts up to take its place.

What's needed, he said, is a new legal framework.

"Marijuana needs to be regulated. It's crying out for regulation," Goodman 
said.

He said marijuana could be suppled to users through private producers or 
medical co-ops, at a minimum, and perhaps through retail sales at state stores.

"That gets me scared," Goodman said. "Because then there's too much 
availability."

Even so, marijuana is already too easy for children to get.

More discussion needs to take place before a regulatory scheme can be created.

"We're just string to talk about this. We don't have the flesh on the bones 
yet," he said.

Meanwhile, Goodman said, work continues to find ways where law enforcement 
can work with drug users to intervene before arrests so addicts can get 
treatment. The opportunities for drug users to get help fall away after 
they are brought into the criminal justice system.

For example, just offering drug treatment referral information during drug 
arrests in Great Britain has show to be successful in getting addicts to 
seek help.

Changing the approach to illegal drugs is highly controversial.

"However, the political culture changes," Goodman said, adding that five 
years ago, treatment rather than jail was a radical idea.

"Somebody needs to lead. Somebody needs to keep pushing the envelope," 
Goodman said.

Island County Sheriff Mike Hawley said he was encouraged by talk about 
increased prevention efforts and treatment options, but said he has to 
enforce drug laws that are already on the books.

The number-one drug problem in Island County is alcohol use, Hawley said.

He added that he had only been to one domestic violence case in his entire 
law enforcement career where both people were sober.

"Alcohol is huge," Hawley said.
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