Pubdate: Sun, 03 Jul 2011
Source: Union Leader (Manchester, NH)
Copyright: 2011 The Union Leader Corp.
Contact:  http://www.theunionleader.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/761
Note: Out-of-state letters are seldom published.
Author: Paul Feely
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/topic/Global+Commission+on+Drug+Policy
Cited: Global Commission on Drug 
Policy  http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/
Cited: Law Enforcement Against Prohibition  http://www.leap.cc/

SOME NH POLICE SAY DRUG WAR NOT LOST, BUT TACTICS MAY NEED TO CHANGE

The Global Commission on Drug Policy says the decades-old U.S. war on 
drugs has failed. Does that failure extend to the war being fought in 
New Hampshire on a daily basis by law-enforcement agencies?

Law-enforcement officials in Laconia, Concord, Derry and Nashua 
reject an international commission's conclusion that the "war on 
drugs" has failed, but suggest tactics might need some tweaking.

"Some of the minimum sentences are out of whack," said Laconia police 
Capt. William Cleary. "There are probably three or four small changes 
I'd like to see. There are times when people aren't doing as much 
time as you might think they should."

Sgt. Roger Baker, supervisor of the Concord Police Department's Drug 
Enforcement Unit, said, "This isn't about getting someone the most 
jail time they can for their offense. Sometimes going to a treatment 
program is a very viable option. Sometimes you do go to jail, for 
sure, but that's not always the best option."

Thec Global Commission on Drug Policy issued a report last month 
calling on government officials worldwide to begin efforts to 
decriminalize the use of drugs, especially marijuana, to curb the 
power of organized crime and dealer networks. It concluded that 
criminalization measures have not reduced drug use and have resulted 
in severe consequences for individuals.

The 19-member commission includes former presidents of Mexico, Brazil 
and Colombia; Kofi Annan, former U.N. secretary-general; George P. 
Schultz, former Cabinet member in the Reagan and Nixon 
administrations; Paul Volcker, former Federal Reserve chairman; and 
Richard Branson, British billionaire. Its report takes a hard stance 
on the 40-year-old U.S. drug policy.

"Political leaders and public figures should have the courage to 
articulate publicly what many of them acknowledge privately: that the 
evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that repressive strategies will 
not solve the drug problem and that the war on drugs has not, and 
cannot, be won," the report states.

"I wouldn't agree with that statement," said Lt. Mark Carignan of the 
Nashua Police Department's drug enforcement unit. "I wouldn't call it 
a failure. It's an ongoing battle. We don't target the local users, 
we target up the chain to get the distributors, those that are 
bringing it into the community."

"When you call it a 'drug war,' that implies to people that it's a 
fight you can win," said Derry police Capt. Vern Thomas. "Whenever 
you work at taking one drug off the streets, drug users find another 
one to abuse. But should we continue to go after those that abuse 
drugs and break the law by using illegal drugs? Absolutely, we should."

The state Attorney General's Office would not comment on the report's 
declaration of defeat, but did touch on related matters.

"To the extent that the report discusses both educational and 
treatment goals, it all starts with an educational component," 
Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said. "But to the extent that 
laws are broken, on the state and federal level, we need to have the 
ability to prosecute accordingly, and we will."

Young points to statistics from the state's Drug Task Force over the 
last three years as evidence that, locally, the fight against drug 
use is working.

In 2008, the task force investigated 938 cases and arrested 154 
people. Officers seized 43 weapons, 3.1 pounds of cocaine, 189.1 
grams of crack cocaine, and 1,197 pharmaceuticals. Those numbers 
jumped to 1,194 cases in 2009, with 136 arrests and 33 weapons seized 
along with 8.2 pounds of cocaine, 100.95 grams of crack and 4,758 
pharmaceuticals, 2,689 of which were oxycodone pills.

"Pharmaceuticals are where we are seeing the biggest increases," said Young.

The commission's findings did resonate with at least one New 
Hampshire prison official.

"Without question, I agree with their report," said Cheshire County 
Department of Corrections Superintendent Richard Van Wickler. "We 
have to come to the realization that drug use is not going to go 
away, and the question becomes how much money are we going to throw at it?"

Van Wickler is a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition 
(LEAP), which campaigns against the war on drugs in its current form. 
LEAP issued a report last week titled "Ending the Drug War -- A Dream 
Deferred," in which Van Wickler writes: "If prison-building were our 
goal, it would be a good reason to leave our drug laws as they are. 
But as a taxpayer and a professional, it's certainly not a goal of mine."

Instead of punishing drug users, the Global Commission on Drug Policy 
says, officials should work to "end the criminalization, 
marginalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs but who do 
no harm to others."

Local officials say their goal isn't to increase prison populations.

"I think some have the impression that there are a lot of people 
locked up in New Hampshire for minor drug-related offenses, and I 
think if you look at the numbers, that's just not case," said Sgt. 
Baker. "Here in Concord they do a good job in looking at the 
situations, at what's in the best interests of everyone involved."

In Laconia, Capt. Cleary said, one example of how they are not 
specifically targeting drug users is an approach they use to track 
the source of drugs.

"When someone overdoses, we look at cell phone records, social media, 
all looking for the source -- the seller," said Cleary. "Selling a 
fatal dosage of drugs can carry a minimum of 20 years. People think 
that after they sell the drugs, they aren't responsible, but by 
pursuing these charges against them, I think it's helped scare off 
some sellers."

Young said that while law enforcement agencies need to continue to 
aggressively enforce drug laws, they also must continue to take each 
new investigation on a case-by-case basis.

"You have to look at the individual person," said Young. "Is the 
person an addict? Or are they a wholesaler looking to make a lot of 
selling? The distributors are the ones law enforcement continues to 
go after. New Hampshire takes this problem seriously, and we will 
continue to prosecute those that break the laws accordingly."
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