{news} editorial in Connecticut Law Tribune

[Clifford Thornton]

This was sent to me by an editor of a paper
in Connecticut.  I don't have the url.  This
in anticipation of future conference and past
as well.



Drugs And Racial Disparity

Connecticut Law Tribune
Monday, January 16, 2009

One purpose of a recent conference (FEB.4th) at Central Connecticut State University sponsored by the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Criminal Justice System was to identify solutions to the disparities that exist within our system. One does not have to examine the problem too closely to realize that this nation’s and this state’s drug policies and enforcement practices are a major cause of the racial imbalance that exists within our prisons and jails.

A conference workshop on the impact of the "War on Drugs" on minority communities clearly revealed this: Although whites and blacks use illicit drugs at roughly the same rates (the rate is actually slightly higher for whites), and there are more than six times as many whites as blacks, blacks constitute more than 50 percent of all persons in prison in the U.S. for drug offenses. They are also 10 times more likely than whites to be incarcerated for a drug offense. This disparity originates with unequal enforcement in the local communities and continues in the courts where the sentencing decisions are made. 

While the "War on Drugs" and the policy of prohibition may have a good purpose, they clearly have failed to prevent the influx of illegal drugs into this country or to stop the use of drugs itself. Notwithstanding the availability of alternative policy models, we plow ahead under the delusion that somehow the massive infusion of resources and money on this "war" will eventually solve the problem.

It is time to seriously consider a different policy approach based upon prevention and treatment, rather than arrest and incarceration. Viable alternatives such as public health and harm reduction models, along with decriminalization of less serious possessory offenses, should be debated. The potential reduction in violence that would result from decriminalization should also be taken into account. 

Change will be difficult to achieve, as evidence by the fact that Connecticut was unable to even legalize the medical use of marijuana in 2007 due to the governor’s veto of a bill that had passed the General Assembly and enjoyed broad public support. On the other hand, the citizens of Massachusetts showed their openness to an alternative approach in the recent election by passing a ballot initiative which makes possession of less than one ounce of marijuana non-criminal and punishable by a civil fine of $100. It retains existing penalties for growing, trafficking, or driving under the influence of marijuana, but avoids the taint of a criminal record for those found in possession of less than an ounce. Although Connecticut has a variety of pretrial programs that provide several opportunities to avoid a criminal conviction, possession of marijuana remains a crime under our penal code that carries a penalty of up to one year in jail.

Laws similar to that of Massachusetts already exist in 12 other states that have adopted some form of decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana, and it is a good model for experimentation with an alternative approach for possession of other types of substances. Nevertheless, states are not able to adopt a straight public health model for dealing with the problem of drug use by decriminalizing possession of other substances without similar changes in federal law, which otherwise would still subject citizens to criminal prosecution. 

The United States spends more than $40 billion per year on the "War on Drugs," including the costs of incarceration, and yet the use of illegal drugs continues. Not to mention the toll that incarceration takes on individuals, families and particularly minority communities. Incarceration is not the only answer and surely much of that money could be better spent on prevention, treatment and even higher education.

An October 2008 Zogby public opinion poll indicated that three-quarters of Americans believe that the "War on Drugs" is a failure. Yet politicians are reluctant to address it or even talk about it, as evidenced by the lack of any serious discussion of drug policy in the just concluded presidential campaign. It is time for political leaders to initiate a national discussion of our policies and a serious debate about whether to continue on the same course or try a non-criminal approach for some drug offenses. In addition to being more realistic and productive, it would go a long way toward reducing the racial and ethnic disparity that infects our criminal justice system.

-END-

Efficacy
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"THE DRUG WAR IS MEANT TO BE WAGED NOT WON"

Working to end race and class drug war injustice, Efficacy is a non profit
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