Conference in Hartford

Trinity College in Hartford, CT is hosting a drug conference this Friday and Saturday, organized by City Councilman Robert Painter. (See article in the Hartford Courant.)
While the blurb on the conference page…

… would lead you to believe that this is the same old one-sided “How can we make prohibition work better” conference, the reality is much more interesting.
Look at some of the people who they’ve invited to speak and lead sessions:

• Roger Goodman, Director, King County Bar Association (yes, that’s the same bar association that came out with this amazing set of recommendations to eliminate the federal prohibition model)
• Eric Sterling, President of the Criminal Justice Foundation
• Jack Cole, Executive Director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
• Robert Rooks, Drug Policy Alliance
• Dr. Dale Gieringer, NORML
• Scarlett Swedlow, Executive Director, Students for Sensible Drug Policy

There’s also representatives from the Department of Justice, DEA, local police, a variety of social agencies, treatment centers, etc.
This is an amazingly impressive job by one community to really hear all the sides.
Could this be one more indication that, as a country, we’re breaking through that block, and starting to allow the public discussion of prohibition alternatives?