Pubdate: Fri, 04 Mar 2005
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2005 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://www.seattletimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Michael Ko, Seattle Times staff reporter
Cited: King County Bar Association ( www.kcba.org )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

COALITION SEEKS NEW DRUG POLICY

The "War on Drugs" failed a long time ago and it's time to create a new 
policy to control drug abuse, one based more on treatment and education and 
less on punishment, members of a coalition of local doctors, lawyers, 
church leaders and public-health officials said yesterday during a joint 
news conference.

"We are spending an enormous amount of money on drug issues at present," 
said John Cary, president of the King County Bar Association, which is 
spearheading the coalition. "This expenditure has a great impact on our 
justice system at every level. And it's not paying off for us."

Coalition members said a more effective approach could begin with the state 
Legislature creating a commission filled with experts from medicine, 
education and law enforcement, among others, to study what they consider 
the shortcomings of the current drug-policy approach and make 
recommendations for change.

"Opening up such a discussion is a socially responsible endeavor," said 
Sunil Aggarwal, president of the Washington Physicians for Social 
Responsibility, "as it allows for frank and public discussion of how we 
should best allocate scarce taxpayer resources in a manner that best 
protects public health and safety."

The bar association, concurrent with the news conference, released a 
145-page report three years in the making, authored by the association's 
"Drug Policy Project."

It begins with a history of drug enforcement in the United States and ends 
with suggestions for foundations for a new drug policy, specifically 
state-level government regulation and control of drugs, but not 
legalization or commercialization of them.

In between, the report discusses international trends in drug policy and 
provides examples from Canada, Australia and Europe, including countries 
that provide drugs to qualified addicts in controlled settings, or have 
decriminalized and decreased penalties for certain drugs.

The report also says the current drug-control system facilitates an 
underground "black market" for drugs that is controlled by criminals.

The coalition agrees to certain principles. For example, the way society 
responds to drug abuse should not be more costly and cause greater harm 
than drugs themselves, and there is too heavy an emphasis on putting drug 
users in prison.

"It's an injustice to try to solve deep social and psychological, spiritual 
and physical problems with one solution: incarceration," said the Rev. 
Sanford Brown, executive director of the Church Council of Greater Seattle. 
"We believe it's smarter social policy to be treating addicts than just to 
be warehousing them."

However, coalition members stopped short of endorsing any specific plans. 
That's in large part because the coalition continues to grow and there 
isn't yet consensus among each of the groups about what the best specific 
plans are, said Jeff Mero, president of the Washington State Public Health 
Association.

Copies of the report are available from the bar association by calling 
206-267-7001.
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