War on Drugs Final Video

Collateral Damage of the War on Drugs in 1000 words

The history of the U.S. War on Drugs can be traced back nearly 100 years to the Harrison Narcotics Control Act of 1914, which banned the use of opiates. The 1920s and early 1930s saw the Prohibition Era, which draws comparisons to the current War on Drugs. Ultimately, Prohibition was  a failure, (considering the 21st Amendment in 1933 canceled out the 18th Amendment of 1919) and thus far, the War on Drugs has been a failure as well. As James Gray states in his 2002 book, Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed: A Judicial Indictment Of The War On Drugs, “The results of our Zero Tolerance Drug Prohibition policy are multifaceted, overlapping, and overwhelmingly negative.”

Although the U.S. War on Drugs can be traced back further in history, the “official” War on Drugs began nearly 40 years ago, in 1971, when Richard Nixon publicly declared a “war on drugs”. But it wasn’t until the Reagan administration that the War on Drugs came into fruition. During the Reagan years, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act was passed, and Nancy Reagan started her infamous “Just Say No” campaign.

Over the course of history, numerous foreign countries have fought against illicit drug use. Also, some countries have experimented with the decriminalization of drugs; most notably, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Decriminalization in these countries has been met with varying degrees of success. Perhaps the U.S. government could investigate further into the plausibility of decriminalizing drugs.

In a May 13, 2009 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Obama’s new drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, declared an end to using the term “war on drugs.” Kerlikowske also indicated a shift in focus from incarceration to treatment. Hopefully, this is signals a beginning of the end of the War on Drugs.

The state of Oregon is known for its progressive legislation concerning marijuana use.  Possession of marijuana is a misdemeanor, and is punished only by a $500 to $1000 dollar fine.
The international grassroots network, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, has a department located at the University of Oregon.  The SSDP mission statement is directed at inspiring young people to participate in the political process in order to fight back against counterproductive drug policies, particularly those that directly harm students and youth.

Paul Naylor, a member of SSDP at the University of Oregon, identifies the major flaws of our nation’s effort to stem illegal drug use.  ” Incarcerating people is  not an effective way of addressing the problem, and it is also a huge waste of resources.”  He advocates  a reform of America’s treatment programs and counciling methods.  He points to the real problem being the disease of  addiction itself.

Needle Exchange programs throughout the nation are one method of reducing the damage that drug addiction causes among users.  Robert Singleton, a volunteer at HIV Alliance in Eugene, Oregon, points to the biggest problem in the area being the focus of the police on individual drug users instead of dealers.  He says, “With imprisonment, you’re putting [drug users] in a criminal stock house.  Criminal mentality is perpetuated within prisons, increasing the chance of repeated offenses upon release.”

Singleton has personally witnessed a veteran without legs being carelessly placed upon the sidewalk during a drug bust.  He claims that this sort of police behavior is supported by the lack of civil rights that convicted drug users currently have.

Funding for such needle exchange programs is currently very limited.  President Obama plans to lift the ban of federal funding for needle exchange programs.  The programs  are intended to lessen the adverse effects drug culture inflicts upon communities, such as the spread of HIV, hepatitis and infection.

Mike Chartrey, a police dispatcher in Lane County, Oregon, indicates that the drug problems within the community primarily deal with property crimes and theft, which users engage in to fund their drug habits.  Chartney advocates for combining incarceration with a forced treatment system to improve the chances for rehabilitation.  He states, “Getting people back on track with their lives and becoming productive members of society will compound outside of the criminal justice system and strengthen our communities.”

In Eugene, marijuana is the lowest priority for law enforcement.  Even the University of Oregon public safety officers claim that marijuana is their lowest priority.  Alcohol-related crime is a far more serious problem on the UO campus, and if officers respond to a marijuana-related incident, they do not usually write citations.

Still, a simple possession charge can destroy students’ chances of receiving federal financial aid to help with tuition and seriously damage their futures.

President Obama supports treatment over incarceration, but has not introduced many significant changes to the war on drugs.  He is working to fix the sentencing disparity between cocaine and crack, which has often been cited as proof of racism in the law books, but he opposes legalization of marijuana.  Obama also claimed to support lifting the ban on federal funding for needle exchange programs, but did not include funding for the programs in his budget.

Although Kerlikowske claims that the war is over, there has yet to be a shift in the way the battle is fought.  The former Seattle police chief has refuted claims that he was lenient on narcotics in his city, stating that he was required by law to keep marijauna at the lowest priority and constrained by limited resources.

Attorney General Eric Holder announced the end of federal authorities attempts to control state-approved medical marijuana, but this has yet to be proven.  The recent raid of a legal medical marijuana dispensary in California demonstrates law enforcement agencies’ reluctance to allow legalization under any circumstances.

Legalization of controlled substances would curb violent crime around the world.  As the largest consumer of narcotics, the U.S. cannot ignore our ever-increasing demand for illegal drugs and the problems our insatiable appetite has caused less affluent countries.  Drug-related violence in Latin America is at an all-time high, and cartels often have more power than their governments.

How can we fight the war on drugs when we are buying more than any other country?  It is hypocritical and illogical to continue on this path, and legalization coupled with free treatment would be a huge step toward solving our addiction problems.

Public Service Announcement

Drug Abuse Prevention: New Strategies

Both the city of Eugene, Oregon and Lane county are experiencing budget cuts in the face of an increasing need for public safety and human services.  Eugene and Lane County Budget Committee member, Mary Ann Holser, presents the budget crisis and the dilemma concerning a lack of jail beds in a May, 2009 article in the Register Guard.  Holser points to an increase in crime due to lawbreakers believing that they will not be jailed.  She also writes that judges are ceasing to impose meaningful sentences because they know that they will not be carried out.  Holser has a long history of working with drug- and alcohol-dependent offenders and argues that, “Short and effective consequences for early-on lawbreakers can prevent escalation to more unlawful behavior.”

Now that the new director of the National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske, has ended the “war” metaphor for our nation’s struggle with drug abuse, his focus includes treatment and prevention.
The Parents. The Anti-Drug website is an example of an informational site that parents can utilize to prevent drug use among youths.  The website is highlighted by a new awareness campaign concerning teens misusing prescription drugs. The site claims, “While illicit drug use by teens is declining, now there’s a threat from the family medicine cabinet: The abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs.”

Kerlikowske provides  insight into the nature in which drug-related issues are deeply connected with healthcare reform and international relations.  He is a member of the Cabinet, and will be working directly with the President to reform healthcare with a specific focus on reducing prescription drug abuse.

Above the Influence.com presents the risks of drug use through an entertaining and fun website.  It is full of quizzes, puzzles and interactive media links, which are intended to engage the viewer and to appeal to logic with the use of anecdotes from peers.  Chillfarm.com presents the argument that sites directed at the prevention of drug abuse among teens may actually promote drug use.  One example of such a statistic is, “Teens who use drugs are 5 times more likely to have sex than those teens who do not use drugs.”

The United States must now emerge from a forty-year war and formulate new strategies in order to alleviate the collateral damage of the war on drugs.
-By Max Edmonds

The Register Guard-http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/sevendays/14354427-35/story.csp
National Journal-http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/ii_20090526_6945.php

The Anti-Drug-http://www.theantidrug.com/

Above the Influence-http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/fun/default.aspx?path=nav

Chillpharm-http://www.chillpharm.com/antidrug.html

The End of the War on Drugs?

Obama’s new drug czar announced the official demise of the term “war on drugs” last Wednesday.  He also cited prescription drug abuse and meth as top priorities and reinforced his anti-legalization stance on all currently prohibited substances in his first interview since taking control of the ONDCP.

The Obama Administration’s appointment of Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske will likely cause a shift in National drug control policy.  The former Seattle chief of police is interested in focusing more on prevention and treatment and less on prosecution and incarceration.

According to Kerlikowske, the federal government needs to “completely and forever end the war analogy,” adding, “Regardless of how you try to explain to people it’s a ‘war on drugs’ or a ‘war on a product,’ people see a war as a war on them. We’re not at war with people in this country.”

Although the Drug Czar is not allowed by law to advocate for legalization in any form, Seattle’s police department had a lax approach to minor drug offenses, and the city’s yearly Hempfest celebration is known for its extremely permissive atmosphere.

Kerlikowske rebuffed accusations of being soft on drug control however, restating his opposition to the 2003 Seattle initiative that placed marijuana-related crimes lowest on law enforcement priority lists and saying that the decision to focus less on minor drug crimes was due to limited resources.

Attorney General Eric Holder has vowed to end federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries and the President claims to favor lifting the ban on federal funding for needle exchange programs, but their actions have contradicted their words.  Obama’s budget does not include needle exchange funds, and a legal medical marijuana dispensary in California was raided earlier this month with the help of the DEA.

A spokesman for the DEA claimed they were only assisting the local sherrif’s department.  Sherrif Donny Youngblood said the department will not target nonprofits run by patients, but that anyone who profits from marijuana sales should be treated like a drug dealer.

Prison and the War on Drugs

U.S. prisons have experienced incalculable collateral damage due to the War on Drugs. The War on Drugs has contributed to over-crowding in prisons as well.

According to the BBC website, although the U.S. constitutes 5% of the world’s population, 25% of the world’s prisoners are incarcerated in America.

Today, 1 in every 100 Americans is incarcerated. A 2008 report by the Pew Center on the States indicates that since 1987, the U.S. prison population has almost tripled. More than half of all prisoners are incarcerated due to drug offenses, according to a report by The Sentencing Project.

With regard to drug legislation, Oregon recently passed Measure 57, which, among other things, increases penalties for Oregonians who commit high-level and repeat drug crimes.

According to the Pew Center report, Oregon spends $1 in every $10 on prisons. This means that Oregon spends a larger percentage of its budget on prisons than any other U.S. state.

The Oregon Department of Corrections website states that in April 2009, about 75% of inmates have a moderate to severe substance abuse problem. This shows that life in prison only adds to the drug problem. Incarcerating drug offenders as part of the War on Drugs will only aggravate the problem.

Furthermore, penalties for drug offenses are unrealistic and out of touch. For instance, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) website states that the penalty for carrying more than 1 oz. of marijuana results in a sentence of 10 years in prison, or a $100,000 fine. Anyone would agree that this is unrealistic, and only serves to exacerbate the War on Drugs.

In a January 2008 testimony to the KY Senate Judiciary Committee, KY State Justice Secretary J. Michael Brown said, “I don’t think we’re getting the worst drug lords into the prisons. We’re just getting the people who went out and got caught. It’s the low-hanging fruit.” He couldn’t be more right. The U.S., and Oregon in particular, need dramatic changes in drug legislation and prison sentencing.

-Edwin Ouellette

The Climbing Number of Drug Related Arrests

While drug dealers and manufacturers continue to be arrested at the same rate, drug users are increasingly becoming targets for law enforcement. We have incarcerated more of our citizens than any other industrialized democratic nation. Our prisons and jails are overcrowded and lack necessary funding. How long will we continue to escalate our increasingly costly war on drugs?

Drug Money Supports Who?

The Office of National Drug Control Policy represents the official standpoint of the executive branch relating to illegal narcotics.  The head of the ONDCP is often referred to as the Drug Czar, and is appointed by the President.  

The Drug Czars’ views on illegal narcotics and anything that has not  “been approved for use for medical purposes by the Food and Drug Administration” are irrelevant because they are required by law to oppose legalization of any of these substances.  The ONDCP’s Reauthorization Act of 1998 states that the director

Shall ensure that no Federal funds appropriated to the Office of National Drug Control Policy shall be expended for any study or contract relating to the legalization (for a medical use or any other use) of a substance listed in schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812) and take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance (in any form) that–
(A) is listed in schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812); and
(B) has not been approved for use for medical purposes by the Food and Drug Administration.

The ONDCP is funded by our tax dollars, and the director is in charge of the budget.  They fund most of the anti-drug public service announcements, some of which have been deemed by critics as propaganda.  

One infamous ONDCP ad shows two boys smoking marijuana in what appears to be a parent’s office.  The two discover a loaded gun and it goes off, presumably killing one of the boys.  The message?  Marijuana is NOT “harmless.”  Another ad from this campaign featured an extremely stoned girl at a party.  She falls asleep on the couch, and some guy starts to take off her shirt.  The screen fades to black, leaving the viewer to assume that the pot smoker was sexually assaulted.  The following video reminds drug users of all the people they have apparently killed by purchasing illegal narcotics.

The problem with these videos is that they are completely unrealistic.  If there were PSA’s stating that marijuana lead to falling asleep eating cheetos, I would trust them a little more.  Unfortunately, the ONDCP is using questionable facts and strange hypothetical situations that just don’t make sense.  

Women are much more likely to be sexually assaulted while passed out from drinking than smoking pot (which does not cause unconsciousness, only sleep).  Thirteen-year-olds should not have access to loaded guns, regardless of their level of sobriety.  And oil is more likely to support terrorism than any narcotic.

If there was a commercial claiming that drug use supports Latin American cartels, that would be a bit more factual.  But the legalization of drugs would stop cartels far more effectively than any anti-drug campaign.

Family Guy – Bag of Weed

This video clip is from the popular TV cartoon show, Family Guy. Although this clip is not directly linked to the War on Drugs, it is still connected to the topic. The video addresses the issue of legalizing pot, in typical Family Guy fashion. It parodies the song “Me Ol’ Bamboo” from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, turning the tune into a song about legalizing pot.

This clip is interesting because it shows how the issue has permeated into American society and various sorts of media – even cartoons. The fact that a cartoon is addressing the issue of marijuana legality is testament to the widespread range of the issue.

In the clip, Stewie and Brian lead a song and dance routine, suggesting that Americans would be better off with a “bag of weed,” instead of keeping marijuana illegal. Furthermore, the cartoon reveals the ridiculousness of the War on Drugs and drug prohibition.

The War on Drugs in 100 Seconds

This video was created by the MPP (Marijuana Policy Project). According to the MPP YouTube channel, MPP is “the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the U.S.” Their ultimate goal is to replace marijuana prohibition with “taxation and regulation.” This MPP video is relevant and pertinent, for it gives a brief outline of the War on Drugs. Although the video is basically just a slide-show of images along with narrated excerpts from Michael Pollan’s book “The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s Eye View of the World,” it’s still useful. The video provides an interesting introduction to the War on Drugs. It contributes to debate surrounding the War on Drugs, for it is clearly in opposition to the War on Drugs. It suggests that the War on Drugs has hindered American freedom, and needlessly wasted billions of dollars, among other things.