Drug WarRant

Panel:  Mandatory Madness:  The Zero Tolerance Drug War on Immigrants.  Moderator Judy Greene (Justice Strategies)  Panelists:  Marcela Diaz (Somos Un Pueblo Unido), Michelle Fei (Immigrant Defense Project), Joan Friedland (National Immigration Law Center), Nicole Porter (The Sentencing Project), Grant Smith (DPA) and Elsa Lopez (Somos Un Pueblo Unido).

This panel was great although very depressing as the drug war can be.  Essentially because ICE has been granting immigration enforcement authority to local police departments via a “287 G” resolution, small town cops are taking it upon themselves to thin out the immigrant population of their jurisdictions.  Often using small offenses, including low-level drug offenses as grounds for detention and eventual deportation.  This leads to immigrants being afraid to contact authorities and the law enforcement community becomes then enemy once again.  On the brighter side though these 287 G agreements are not everywhere and are being run out of town in some places.

Grant Smith spoke about how fear inspires and unites immigration and drug policy.  Citing how non-citizens are held to higher standards than citizens, he noted how the FBI allows up to 14 “experiences” with cannabis for those applying for a job and immigrants cannot report having any when trying to gain access or stay in this America.  Another thing he mentioned that I found interesting is the drug courts usually force a guilty plea when participants enter and this qualifies for deportation for many immigrants.  Michelle Fei talked about how drug charges affect all immigrants, and how Rikers Island in NYC had unidentified ICE members looking to deport immigrants.  Joan Friedland revealed some info on “287 G” which is a means for the transfer of authority from ICE to local law enforcement officials to enforce immigration policy.  This leads to many deportations for low level drug offenses, often without a hearing or any type of legal representation for immigrants.  Nicole Porter who runs a blog on Texas Prison Business gave great details about how privatized prisons are looking for more “business” and immigrants are the likely target.  She also provided some insight into a private prison in Texas, Hudow, where entire families were being held, newborns included, waiting for deportation.  The policy of babies being in that facility does not exist anymore but it is still horrific.  Marcela and her colleague spoke of local efforts in New Mexico and how they have been effective at mobilizing community outrage over these malicious deportations and targeting of legal immigrants and their families.

The second panel I attended was the MDMA as a prescription.  And let me suffice it to say that MAPS is targeting treating veterans with PTSD with MDMA assisted psychotherapy in tangent with the FDA approval process.

And the final session I attended was a roundtable on Innovative Approaches to Sentencing Reform. The roundtable was moderated by Jasmine Tyler (DPA) and consisted of Margaret Dooley-Sammuli (DPA), Corinne Carey (NYCLU), David Rogers (Partnership for Safety and Justice), Rob Rooks (NAACP), K.L. Shannon (The Defender Association) and Nkechi Taifa (Open Society Institute).

The different approaches basically outlined how each of the participants were able to work with or neutralize opposition to their efforts.  This ranged from uniting victims of crime with the offenders (not really applicable to the drug war), to dividing law enforcement lobbies by separating District Attorneys from corrections unions and using ballot initiative to change policy.  Although the ballot initiatives were mentioned as being difficult to allocate funding, even if programs are working and saving money, as is the case with Prop. 36 in California.  There was also a discussion of trying to unite victims of sexual and domestic abuse with drug policy reform.

Lunch was at Sushi Hana and was excellent, the salmon sashimi and spicy tuna handroll were delightful and miso soup is always a treat.

What an absolutely wonderfuld day I had yesterday. Not only is this my first visit to the US, but the first to a drug policy conference as well.

This is by far the the event I’ve attended where people were the most forthcoming, open and interested bunch I ever met. “Hi there, how’re you?”, is perhaps the question I’ve heard the most while nice, friendly, smiling people have come up to me and just started up a conversation. Everybody has had some story to tell or a question about my work and my country, Denmark.

This is like a happy version of Luc Besson’s scene in Leon where Gary Oldman tells his colleague to get everyone. “How many?” “EVERYONE!!!!!!” Except it wasn’t armed police being called, but mindful, concerned drug activists. So in the spirit of things I’ve talked to a lot of people too. Among others “our own” Drew who was at the conference with his new organization Christians Against Prohibition.

After attending the MAPS Meet & Greet I bumped into a couple of guys who were among the pioneers of Californian dispensaries and we went to their party upstairs while waiting for a chance to watch the “Busted #2” movie called 10 Rules for Dealing with Police from Flex Your Rights.

I accidentally walked into the Q&A of the previous movie about Hepatitis C. Those are always eye-opening moments. When you realize that there are people out here that are literally fighting for their lives. The hispanic man in the panel had been an addict for many years and as a consequences he’d been in and out of jail constantly and hadn’t received adequate treatment for his condition. It was heart-wrenching. Yet the “Everyone” image got challenged a bit, as one lady asked “what are opiates”? So some newbies were certainly also around, and one of the panelists calmly explained the term to her. As it turns out the movie was Health and Hope by Gretchen Hildebrand.

Flex Your Rights went on with a very lively and animated presentation by executive producer Steven Silveman, so everyone was pretty psyched even before the movie started. Needless to say they’d put together a great movie that would undoubtedly save countless of destroyed lives at the loosing business end of a police encounter.

It was quite something to sit in a dark room with tons of people and chant the magical, life-saving words “I do not c0nsent to a search” and “Am I being detained or am I free to go”. Those words could have saved  the life of Rachel Morningstar Hoffman from Tallahasse who got busted last year and was turned into a police agent, something that cost this young woman her life as drug dealers shot her dead.

Whether it be the movie on Hep. C or the 10 Rules one thing struck me above all during the Q&A: how hunted people feel, well, because they are hunted. It always sticks in the back on my mind that absent harm to others no one has the right to use force on anyone.

I also attended “Practice Doing Your Own Television Interviews” and “The Message is the medium: Communication and Outreach Without Borders”. More on those later, but today’s program is sooooo packed.

Many greetings to everyone from a happy conventionist.

Hello everyone!

This is my first DPA conference, and I am very happy that I came. There is a sense of great hope here for the future of the drug policy reform movement. I find most people here extremely knowledgeable, intelligent, and passionate, which explains, perhaps, the truth behind the words Ethan Nadelman spoke at the conference’s open plenary session—that for those of us in the movement, “the winds are against our backs now.”

The first session I attended was, “Supervised Injection Facilities: In the United States?” Liz Evans, the executive director and founder of the only North American SIF site, InSite, explained that Vancouver’s success in establishing a SIF site had much to do with sound public health policy that comprehensively advocated for prevention, enforcement, treatment, and harm reduction. Evans was coolly inspirational as she described ways she and her organization educated people about the benefits of SIFs—from demonstrations to circus tent conferences. “Make opportunities happen,” she encouraged.

Walking into the panel on “MDMA as Prescription Medicine,” I entered a room packed full of smiling people. All presenters were representing MAPS, and each discussed a different aspect to MAPS’ current partnership with the FDA in researching the effects of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Rick Doblin, the Executive Director of MAPS, expressed excitement as to how the study is proceeding.

The final panel I attended today examined the role of gender in drug policy reform. Each of the seven women presenting were amazing revolutionaries in their particular issue, which ranged from advocacy for pregnant women, support for medical marijuana, female-conducted psychedelic research, development of parent programs in prisons and much more.

Albuquerque is calmly sweet—smiles, relaxed pace, and general acceptance.

Hello Drug War Rant community! I am proud to be guest blogging here while attending the Drug Policy Alliance conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico and will do my best to cover the conference. Plus, I will try to throw in a few rants and peripheral commentary just to keep things in tune with the Drug War Rant philosophy.

For example, the last DPA conference involved Pete and myself driving from central Illinois to New Orleans and the changes in weather and terrain during that  journey were remarkable. I left Sycamore, Illinois in the middle of an ice storm to drive three hours to meet Pete and then proceed to New Orleans. The sharp contrast of starting the travel day out in full winter gear and treacherous driving conditions only to conclude the day arriving in New Orleans on a warm and humid night will always stick with me.

This time I flew to the conference and am attending it with my girlfriend, Tamara, who is on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Cannabis Patients Association. I will try to utilize her input in drafting these posts as well. We got into Albuquerque last night around 10 o’clock and the food options at that hour were very limited. I did some wandering and came across a hot dog stand and was extremely please with the $3 green chili chicken burrito that was recommended. If I see the cart out again anytime these next few days I will get another because the burrito was impressive, taste wise, not size.

This morning the conference began, it is being held at the convention center here and we’re staying at the Doubletree and some people are staying at the Hyatt. The hotel borders a nice public square along with the convention center so everything is within a short walk. The opening remarks began with the DPA’s New Mexico director, Reena Szczepanski, explaining how New Mexico is home to some reform oriented politicians as well as sensible policies. For instance, New Mexico Governors Gary Johnson and Bill Richardson have been outspoken allies of drug policy reform, and Richardson was supposed to be there this morning but postponed his appearance until tomorrow.

The first morning plenary was El Paso city council member, Beto O’Rourke discussing his motivations and the events that followed his resolution for an “open and honest debate about legalizing drugs between the U.S. and Mexico.” He recited how El Paso is on the American side of a larger metropolitan region that includes Ciudad Juárez. This border metro area has been plagued by bloodshed in an ongoing war between drug cartel families and last year 1,600 people were murdered in gruesome fashion there drawing national media attention. This year 2,200 people have been killed he reported. He said after the resolution was vetoed and he planned on overriding the veto until the federal legislators threatened to remove federal funding for El Paso if they followed through with the override. Essentially extorting these votes from city council members who represent one of the poorest communities in the country (he mentioned how his zip code is the third poorest in the country and relies heavily on federal money). O’Rourke was delighted though in the discussions and coverage that followed his actions and felt that those results provided more than the resolution ever could have, proving that anyone can push the debate and further the cause.

Next up was Ira Glasser speaking of how social justice movements “always bubble up from below” recalling that Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were not endorsed or supported by any congressional representative or the Kennedy administration. Mr. Glasser stated how America went from slavery to Jim Crow to drug prohibition but pointed out how the Berlin wall collapsed as a result of a collective movement overcoming ideology. He also reported how he came to the ACLU in the 1960s and was the sole testifier against the Rockefeller drug law in 1975 in Albany, NY. Furthermore, he correctly blamed Richard Nixon for our War on Drugs revealing how it was the product of Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” by appealing to southern white working class voters’ resentment, fueling racism. Lastly, he told the audience how the American Medical Association’s new position on rescheduling cannabis is radical for the AMA but weak in the minds of reformers.

Ethan Nadelmann was the final speaker of the opening plenary and he excitedly exclaimed how the opportunity has never been better for drug policy reform. The repeal of alcohol prohibition was partly due to the depression and our current economic woes are forcing a discussion on the ever-increasing costs of the War on Drugs. He called for drug policy reformers to “push and support Obama to do what is right and what must happen,” adding that it is up to the grassroots to change the political climate so that reform can be possible. Mr. Nadelmann used an analogy of how harm reduction as a concept has been applied to the automobile over the years and that cars, like drugs, are here to stay and it is simply best to reduce the harms associated with their use. As a speaker, Mr. Nadelmann is probably one of the best I have had the pleasure of witnessing, he knows how to motivate and educate, he makes people laugh yet can bring them to tears and anyone who has not had the opportunity to hear him speak should look into possible audio or video of his talks.

Feel free to talk about the conference and any of the sessions (or just where to get the best food) here.

Transform (UK) has, this morning, released their much-anticipated report: After the War on Drugs: Blueprint for Regulation.

The entire 200+ page book is available for free download at their site as a pdf file (there’s also an executive summary available).

Steve Rolles and the Transform staff have done a superb job. I haven’t read the whole thing in detail yet, but what I have read (and I’ve skimmed it all) is outstanding. It isn’t the end of the discussion — it’s the beginning. And appropriately, it doesn’t say “this is what we must do with this drug,” rather it says “here are some options that could be effective based on empirical data that already exists.”

The report recognizes that it will be a process and one that is adjusted based on a variety of factors. It discusses the full range of regulatory options that exist between prohibition and free market.

Rolles also clearly demonstrates, in a wonderful passage on page 6, that calls for regulated legalization are not radical, but rather that prohibition is the radical model.

This publication is a must-have, and the perfect counter to the prohibitionists who claim that we want 10-year-olds to buy heroin in shrink-wrapped packages in machines outside the convenience store.

It’s a shame that we don’t have any public policy analysts in this country who would have the ability to create such useful models for discussion, rather than just saying we shouldn’t discuss it.

So you sit there all proper and respectable,
and ask me why I am a legalizer.

A question of intellectual curiosity borne out of a desire to learn?
No, it is a question of pre-determined judgement and disgust,
As if I have something to explain!

How dare you, sir!

You, who created the nightmarish hell that plagues us all —
called it a success, proclaimed it a work in progress,
lauded the never-ending struggle,
even as the flames lapped higher, engulfing us.

You were too weak or too venal to embrace a real solution.
Educate and regulate, is that really so hard?
Minimize the harm and reward responsibility.
Instead you embraced fear, and decreed
that all others should follow in your footsteps,
marching in circles around your sand-buried dome.

Education was not only not a solution in your world, but not even an option.
It was ruled dangerous, subversive, UnChristian, and UnAmerican,
and so one thing that could have accomplished something
was deemed completely out-of-bounds.

Propaganda and ignorance, that unholy duo,
were recruited to care for our youth,
and to tend to our duties as citizens.

But that wasn’t enough, was it?
Oh, no, not for you.

You aligned yourself with the scum of the earth and said:
“Lo, I give unto you the drug trade,
that you may profit mightily, and that I may as well,
and one day our forces will meet on battlegrounds around the world,
and many will die, but none of them will be us.”

And you spent billions of dollars of our money,
legislating, arresting, arraigning, prosecuting,
convicting, incarcerating, probating, and forced urinating
aimed at the marginal members of society,
turning them into criminals and feeding your industries,
while increasing and protecting the profits of your partners.

You destroyed our Constitution, our courts, our respect for law,
our families, our youth, our environment, our cities, our health, our wealth,
our self-respect.

And yes, people died in the battlegrounds. Tragically, horribly.

Ashley Villareal was shot in her father’s car.
Esequiel Hernandez was shot by a sniper.
Alberto Sepulveda was shot in the back.
John Adams was shot watching TV.
Annie Rae Dixon was shot in her bed.
Tarika Wilson was shot holding her baby.
Kathryn Johnston was shot defending her home.
Veronica Bowers and her baby were shot down over Peru.

These weren’t drug dealers or drug warriors.
They were simple, extraordinary people who died
because you wouldn’t, couldn’t, educate and regulate.

And the severed heads and the massacres in Mexico.
And the executions in China and Indonesia and the Middle East.
And all the people locked up in dungeons all over the world,
Their futures cut short — while you sip your martinis, and nod sagely,
as the people who gain financially from the tragedies of others,
tell you how they can help you win your reelection,
so you can continue the job of legislating, incarcerating and annihilating.

And so again I say:

“How dare you, sir!
Have you no shame?”

I do not have to explain to the likes of you
why my agitation for legalization and education and regulation.
I have more sympathy for the child molesters
forced to live in boxes under bridges,
than I have for you.

But I will tell you anyway.

I am for legalization because I am a human being
with a moral responsibility
to do my part
to undo some small portion of the damage you have done
to… life.

I have no choice.
At least not while I maintain my humanity.
But that’s something you wouldn’t understand.

Bradley C. Schreiber, a guy who has made his living from the drug war, has an OpEd in The Baltimore Sun: Drug war lacks a plan: To succeed against narcotics traffickers, Obama should let the drug czar be a drug czar.

While it may seem like an obvious thing to have, the United States surprisingly lacks a comprehensive plan to bring down drug trafficking organizations. The federal government does have some counterdrug strategies, but they are either too broad – like the annual National Drug Control Strategy, which reads more like an “accomplishment report” of past successes rather than a “how to” manual – or too narrowly focused, like the National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy, which addresses, among other things, ways to strengthen security along the border itself. […]

The U.S. needs a comprehensive plan that not only includes ways to more aggressively dismantle all the drug trafficking routes, but also focuses on stemming the flow of money to the cartels and reducing domestic demand.

Well, you see Bradley, there is a strategy available that would “aggressively dismantle all the drug trafficking routes,” that “focuses on stemming the flow of money to the cartels” and would be helpful in reducing domestic demand harm.

It’s called legalization and regulation.

But as long as those words aren’t in the Drug Czar’s vocabulary, he’s not going to be able to develop a strategy to accomplish those goals.

Do you really think that with decades of fighting and billions spent and all the things we’ve tried, the only reason we haven’t gotten the drug war to work is we haven’t had a good enough plan?

There’s a kind of delusion involved here. It’s the kind that says “I can stop water from traveling downhill if I just try harder, or use a different shovel.”

The International Drug Policy Reform Conference begins tomorrow in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Unfortunately, I won’t be there. I really hate missing out on the chance to see so many folks that I know mostly online.

But hopefully you won’t miss out. I’ve got a couple of friends who have agreed to do some guest blogging here during the conference to let you know what’s going on — reactions to the conference in general or reports on specific workshops or plenaries. So don’t be surprised if you see some different writing here (all the posts have the author’s name at the bottom). If there are others at the conference who would like to share, send me your stuff and I’ll post it for you!

I’m not giving up yet, but I may have to ditch Google Ads. Ever since the move to the new address, Google Ads has not performed well here, serving up very few relevant ads. Despite increased traffic, ad revenue has actually been decreasing (down to about one-fifth of what it was). I think it’s because of “drugwarrant” in the address — Google may be blocking general interest ads because of the word “drug.”

Anybody have experience with other ad servers? AdBrite? AdBrite seems interesting because it allows people to specifically purchase ads on this site in addition to serving up general ads. And I want to go with a service that doesn’t require a lot of work dealing with advertising myself. (ie, put the code on the page and let it work). Again, I’m not trying to make a living off the advertising, and I don’t want to turn this into a site with annoying ads blocking everything — I like the simple ad on the right approach that people can view or not as they wish. However, it would be nice for it to actually do a better job of helping with my costs.

I’ve moved DrugWarRant to a private server at DreamHost, due to some difficulties I was having with processing posts when other sites on the same server were also experiencing high volume. This has increased the monthly charge slightly, but should make the site very stable.

If you’re interested, there is a button on the left where you can make a contribution to the server costs for Drug WarRant. The money goes directly to pre-paying my server bill at DreamHost (not to me) and means that I get a bill less often, which is nice.

This is huge news.

According to Americans for Safe Access:

HOUSTON — The American Medical Association (AMA) voted today to reverse its long-held position that marijuana be retained as a Schedule I substance with no medical value. The AMA adopted a report drafted by the AMA Council on Science and Public Health (CSAPH) entitled, “Use of Cannabis for Medicinal Purposes,” which affirmed the therapeutic benefits of marijuana and called for further research. The CSAPH report concluded that, “short term controlled trials indicate that smoked cannabis reduces neuropathic pain, improves appetite and caloric intake especially in patients with reduced muscle mass, and may relieve spasticity and pain in patients with multiple sclerosis.” Furthermore, the report urges that “the Schedule I status of marijuana be reviewed with the goal of facilitating clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods.”

The drug warriors have long used the fact that the AMA hasn’t supported reclassifying marijuana as a major proof of their position (despite the fact that many other medical organizations have supported it.

The unreleased draft of their statement is not an outright endorsement of medical marijuana, but it’s a huge step.

Our AMA urges that marijuanaÂ’’s status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods. This should not be viewed as an endorsement of state-based medical cannabis programs, the legalization of marijuana, or that scientific evidence on the therapeutic use of cannabis meets the current standards for a prescription drug product.

Update: The Los Angeles Times has an excellent article on this [Thanks, DavesNot] today: Medical marijuana gets a boost from major doctors group

As commenters have noted, the government response is almost pathetic

Reaction from the federal government was muted.

Dawn Dearden with the Drug Enforcement Administration said: “At this point, it’s still a Schedule I drug, and we’re going to treat it as such.” The Food and Drug Administration declined to comment.

In a statement, the office of the White House drug czar reiterated the administration’s opposition to legalization and said that it would defer to “the FDA’s judgment that the raw marijuana plant cannot meet the standards for identity, strength, quality, purity, packaging and labeling required of medicine.”

It’s still going to take a major act (by Congress or the Administration) to remove marijuana from Schedule 1, but the wall built up by the government over decades to protect their unconscionable stance keeps getting chipped away bit by bit. I believe that they know it’s no longer a question of “whether” but only of “when.”