Pubdate: Mon, 20 Jun 2011 Source: State News, The (MI State U, MI Edu) Copyright: 2011 The State News Contact: http://www.statenews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1246 Author: Marina Csomor VIGIL HELD TO END 40-YEAR DRUG WAR Friday marked the 40th anniversary of the U.S. "war on drugs," a policy of zero tolerance first declared by then-President Richard Nixon in 1971, but members of the MSU branch of Students for Sensible Drug Policy hope that this anniversary will be the country's last. MSU Students for Sensible Drug Policy, or MSU SSDP, held a candlelight vigil at 8:30 p.m. Friday outside the Capitol to protest what they consider to be failed prohibitionist drug policies and to remember the people who have died because of them. The idea behind this vigil was to understand the impact the war on drugs has had on so many communities, said Jonathan Perri, associate director of the international SSDP organization. "Everybody knows someone who uses an illegal substance," he said. "Almost everybody knows somebody who has been in the criminal justice system because of it." During these four decades, the U.S. has worked to eliminate drug manufacturing, imports, sales and use in the nation, incarcerating individuals involved with such illegal activity. Citizens have been taught to fear drugs by being told drug use elicits violence and causes death, said Kyle Seewald, the soon-to-be president of MSU SSDP. "Once (that fear) is ingrained in people's minds, it's hard to change," the environmental studies and agriscience junior said. MSU SSDP's event was one of nearly 20 vigils held throughout the nation Friday, in cities including Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Tallahassee, Fla. There also was a vigil held in Mexico City. Perri said many of these vigils were held near government buildings because attendees wanted to draw the attention of public officials. "Americans -- (government officials') constituents, their supporters -- no longer support the war on drugs," he said. "We're bringing this debate right to (officials') doorsteps." Local residents as well as the president of the Lansing branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, Mary Pollock, attended the vigil at the Capitol. Pollock spoke about the negative impacts of this drug war at the event. "(The war on drugs) erodes personal liberties," she said. "It has been used as an excuse by police to violate Fourth Amendment rights to be free from search and seizure without reasonable cause." Children also are growing up without their parents because of the incarceration of nonviolent criminals involved with drug use. Haslett resident Robin Schneider, who attended the vigil and is a member of the campaign Moms United to End the War on Drugs, said she lost out on having a regular childhood after her father was prosecuted for possession of marijuana. "If they were to just regulate the drugs and have these people taken care of by doctors, we'd see a lot less deaths and a lot less violent crimes surrounding the drugs," she said. Trillions of dollars have been spent on this drug war, Perri said, and yet people still are using and abusing drugs. Members of MSU SSDP aren't the only ones calling for the end of the American war on drugs. The Global Commission on Drug Policy released a report earlier this month recommending an end to the criminalization of drug use, advocating instead that governments legally regulate drugs. Former President Jimmy Carter published an opinion column in The New York Times Thursday stating his support for the commission's recommendations to end prohibitionist drug policies. Perri, Pollock and Schneider each said they support a public health approach to combating drug abuse, including investment in drug treatment, education and regulation of drug availability. "(We cannot) just lock people up and throw away the key, which, for the last 40 years, has been our only approach," Perri said. After Friday's vigil, MSU SSDP will continue to work to end the war on drugs. "We want the government to recognize what we're doing," Seewald said. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.