DPA Ally Fall 2011

8/3/2019 DPA Ally Fall 2011

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Raising the Stakes

Youre Making a Difference

And Our Opponents are Digging In

Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director

Never before have I felt so optimistic about

prospects for ending the spectacularly

costly and counterproductive war on drugs.

Elder statesmen are calling for radical

change. Millions of victims of the drug war

are saying enough is enough. Fiscal con-

servatives are tiring of the enormous costs.

Young people and civil rights advocates are

embracing drug policy reform. Parents are

realizing that their children and the future of

our society are better served by policies

that rely dramatically less on criminal sanc-tions and harsh punishments. More and

more elected officials are deciding its time

to step out.

And more and more people like you are

supporting our efforts.

This summer, the Global Commission on

Drug Policy and the 40th anniversary of the

war on drugs demonstrated the unprec-

edented momentum for legalizing marijuana

and ending prohibition (see page 4). They

generated more than 4,000 news storiesaround the world a significant leap forward

in terms of expanding and legitimizing the

global debate over drug policy, prohibition

and legalization.

Although President Obama acknowledged

this spring that drug legalization is an

entirely legitimate topic for debate, his ad-

ministration made a string of disappointing

moves in the weeks following the Global

Commission and the 40th anniversary.

The Justice Department issued a vague

memo about state medical marijuana laws

that partly contradicts and partly upholds

earlier guidelines set forth in 2009, sowing

confusion among state policymakers and

medical marijuana patients (see page 2).

Shortly thereafter, the drug czars 2011

national strategy report disparaged the

medical benefits of marijuana. And the

DEA denied a citizen petition to remove

marijuana from the list of Schedule I narcot-

ics claiming that marijuana has a high

potential for abuse and lacks accepted

safety for use under medical supervision.

So much for Obamas promise to elevate

science over politics.

I felt mildly optimistic about Obamas drugpolicies until recently. He made good on

his campaign commitments by promoting

three evidence-based policies: reforming

the racially unjust crack sentencing laws;

eliminating the ban on states using federal

funding for syringe access programs to re-

duce the spread of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis;

and ending years of federal interference

in the implementation of state medical

marijuana laws.

But it has become increasingly difficult,

over the past year, to distinguish Obamasdrug policies from those of Reagan,

Clinton and the Bushes. His administration

has extended the tradition of issuing the

sort of intellectually indefensible statements

(continued on page 3)

In This Issue:

2: Medical Marijuana: Whiplash, Confusion

and Finally Some Clarification

3: The Marijuana Legalization Train is

Leaving the Station

4: Your Message Reaches Millions

6: Time to Come Home

New York Passes Groundbreaking

Law to Reduce Overdose Deaths

7: A Mother Speaks Out

8: Since We Last Spoke

Questions? Feedback?

We love to hear from our members.Contact the Allyby writing to editor

Jag Davies at:

[email protected]

Want to share one of these

stories with a friend?

The Allyis online at:

www.drugpolicy.org/library/ally.cfm

Fall 2011

www.drugpolicy.org

ecial Section Inside:

EPORT OF THE

LOBAL COMMISSION

ON DRUG POLICY

Above: Dozens of members of the national and

international media turned out for the launch of

the Global Commission on Drug Policys report.


2/8

Ally2 Fall 2011 www.drugpolicy.org

Medical Marijuana: Whiplash, Confusionand Finally Some ClarificationAfter Two Years of Rapid Expansion,

the Tide Shifts

On the campaign trail in 2008, President

Obama said that his administration would

respect state medical marijuana laws

and for the most part he made good on

that promise for two years, even as the

U.S. experienced a rapid expansion of

state laws and regulatory programs.

This spring and summer, though, the tide

seemed to be turning against us.

The first sign of trouble occurred in the

spring when federal prosecutors around

the country sent out letters attempting

to scare elected officials by suggesting

that they might arrest state officials

who are involved in regulating medical

marijuana. This was accompanied by

a wave of DEA raids that signaled a

seeming reversal of the federal govern-

ments previously stated hands off

approach toward states medical

marijuana programs. In New Jersey,Washington State and Rhode Island,

the implementation or expansion of

medical marijuana programs were tem-

porarily put on hold.

In response to requests from state

officials, the Justice Department then

issued a vague new memo on medical

marijuana, which appears to represent a

modest retreat from the administrations

previous commitment to respect state

laws, as well as a shot across the bow

saying, Dont go too far to medical

marijuana distributors. The truly egre-

gious element of these latest maneuvers,

however, is that the administration is

deliberately blocking responsible regula-

tion of medical marijuana distribution

by state and local authorities.

On the other hand, the new memo thank-

fully reiterates that federal resources

should not be focused on seriously ill

patients. While we would have preferred

a more favorable statement from the

Department of Justice, its clear that

responsibly regulated, relatively small-

scale operations will most likely be safe

from federal interference. State officials

who await blanket federal endorsement

of medical marijuana or blame the federal

government for their own failure to act

are responsible for enormous sufferingas cancer, AIDS and other seriously-ill

patients continue to go without a medicine

that is proven to alleviate many

debilitating symptoms.

DPA Fights Back

Thats why we were pleasantly surprised

when New Jersey Governor Chris Christie,

after stalling for a year and a half, finally

announced in July that he would move

forward with implementing the states

medical marijuana law.

DPAs New Jersey office and our members

pulled out all the stops to get allies, advo-

cates and the public to contact Governor

Christie to urge him to move forward with

the states medical marijuana program.

An online action campaign resulted in a

flood of messages to the governors office,

and scores of medical marijuana patients,

their families and supporters made calls

and sent letters and emails to the gover-

nor. DPA also conducted extensive media

outreach, resulting in dozens of articles

and editorials in favor of New Jerseys

program. These efforts went a long way

toward convincing the governor that

medical marijuana has broad support in

New Jersey.

Following Christies announcement,

governors in other states including

Andrew Cuomo in New York, Jan Brewer in

Arizona, and Lincoln Chafee in

Rhode Island are now being asked

to follow Christies lead by passing or

improving implementation of medical

marijuana laws in their own states.

Governor Christies announcement also

provided a significant measure of clarity

in the wake of the Justice Departments

ambiguous memo. Christie is the most

prominent Republican leader to speak

out so clearly and forcefully in support

of medical marijuana and the role of

state government in ensuring effectiveregulation of its distribution. The fact that

he is a former federal prosecutor lends

credibility to his view that state govern-

ments can proceed with implementing

a strictly regulated medical marijuana

distribution system.

Whats interesting is how governors

are varying in their interpretations.

The democratic governor of Washington

state, Christine Gregoire, used her veto

power to gut what would have been a

model medical marijuana regulatory bill.Meanwhile in Vermont, another demo-

cratic governor, Peter Shumlin, signed

a bill to expand Vermonts law while

making it clear that he found federal

interference unnecessary and unwel-

come. And in New Jersey, Governor

Christie, a Republican who had blocked

the implementation of the law signed

by his Democratic predecessor Jon

Corzine, surprised everyone.

Ultimately, both patients and state

officials stand to gain by reasonably

and responsibly regulating medical

marijuana. The confusion, and resulting

clarification, about the federal govern-

ments role in state medical marijuana

laws shows that medical marijuana

is continuing to evolve as an issue in

American politics.


3/8

www.drugpolicy.org 3Ally Fall 2011

Is Your Member of

Congress on Board?

Oftentimes the best defense is a

good offense. Thats why were moving

forward on ending marijuana prohibition

entirely at both the state and federal

levels. Ultimately, thats the best way

to protect the rights of patients and

everybody else.

Less than one week after the 40th anni-

versary of the war on drugs, a bipartisan

group of legislators introduced the

first bill ever that would end federal mari-

juana prohibition. The Ending Federal

Marijuana Prohibition Act would allow

states to control, regulate and tax mari-

juana like alcohol. The bill would let states

set their own marijuana policies without

federal interference, focus federal lawenforcement on violent criminals and orga-

nized crime, and save taxpayer money.

More than half of all drug arrests are

for marijuana, and most of those arrests

are for nothing more than possessing

marijuana for personal use. More than

850,000 Americans were arrested for

marijuana in 2009 alone (the latest year

data is available) and 88 percent of

those arrests were for mere possession.

Even though African-Americans are

no more likely to use or sell marijuana

than whites, theyre far more likely

to be searched, arrested and incarcer-

ated and thus more likely to be

discriminated against in employment,

education, housing and public benefits

because of their conviction.

Just a few years ago, Ron Paul and

Barney Frank would probably have been

the only Congressmen willing to sign on

to this sort of bill. Whats amazing is that

as of mid-September, 15 Representa-

tives have co-sponsored the bill includ-

ing people like Republican Rep. Dana

Rohrabacher, and Democratic Rep. John

Conyers, who recently chaired the House

Judiciary Committee. The most surpris-

ing co-sponsor so far is Democratic

Rep. Charles Rangel, who chaired theHouse Select Committee on Narcotics

Abuse and Control in the 1980s and

ranked among the leading drug warriors

in congress. DPA played a key role in

persuading members to sign on and is

continuing to do so.

While the federal bill is largely symbolic

its about getting the conversation going

and providing a vehicle for members of

Congress to express their support for

The Marijuana Legalization Train isLeaving the Station

ending marijuana prohibition our efforts

at the state level to legalize marijuana are

anything but symbolic.

In Colorado and Washington state, DPA

is deeply involved in drafting and funding

initiatives that will appear on the ballot in

2012. As these campaigns progress, we will

play a major role in shaping campaign strat-

egy, forging new coalitions, and educating

the public about whats at stake.

Does Your Representative Support the

Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act?

Sponsor: Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)

Co-Sponsors: (as of September 12)

Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)

Steve Cohen (D-TN)

John Conyers (D-MI)

Ral Grijalva (D-AZ)Michael Honda (D-CA)

Barbara Lee (D-CA)

Jim McDermott (D-WA)

Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)

Eleanor Norton [D-DC)

Ron Paul (R-TX)

Jared Polis (D-CO)

Charles Rangel (D-NY)

Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)

Pete Stark (D-CA)

that have been part and parcel of federal

drug policy pronouncements for all too

long. And it increasingly looks like the

administrations drug policy is beingadvised and dominated by the same

people responsible for the failures of past

administrations.

Whats different from previous decades is

that you and I are pushing back like never

before. Were preparing marijuana legaliza-

tion and other drug policy reform initiatives

for the ballot in 2012, working closely with

both Democrats and Republicans

in Congress to cut federal drug war

spending, and mobilizing unprec-

edented numbers of citizens online

and in the streets to push forward

with crucial drug policy reforms in cities

and states around the country.

You are making a difference. Stay with

us in this fight!

Raising the Stakes

(continued from cover)

Above: On June 17th, drug war victims, activists,

nonprofits and local residents engaged in events

across the country such as this rally in New York

organized by DPA grantee, VOCAL-NY to protest

40 years of the war on drugs.


4/8

Global Commission and

40th Anniversary of Drug War

Show How Far Weve Come

This summer, the Global Commission

on Drug Policy and the 40th anniversary

of the war on drugs generated unprec-

edented media coverage and debate

about the need for fundamental reforms

of the global prohibition regime.

These events were a high-water mark

in our efforts to end the war on drugs.

They are a major step toward attainingthe critical mass at which the momentum

for reform exceeds the powerful inertia

that has sustained punitive prohibitionist

policies for far too long.

The Global Commission is comprised

of Kofi Annan, former U.N. Secretary

General; George P. Shultz, former

U.S. Secretary of State; Paul Volcker,

former Chairman of the Federal Reserve;

four former presidents, including the

commissions chairman, Fernando

Henrique Cardoso of Brazil; Richard

Branson, founder of the Virgin Group;

and several other distinguished

world leaders.

Never before has such a prominent

group called for such far-reaching

changes in global drug policy

including not just alternatives to incar-

ceration and greater emphasis on public

health approaches to drug use, but alsodecriminalization and experiments in

legal regulation.

DPA has played a pivotal behind-the-

scenes role in the commission since

its inception. We helped shape the

Commissions formation and recommen-

dations identifying and assembling

the Commissions membership,

developing the content of their report,

Your Message Reaches Millions


spearheading the Commissions media

outreach, and managing their reports

finalization and production.

Momentum Grows on

40th Anniversary

Then, on June 17, just two weeks after

the Commission launched its report,

we celebrated the 40th anniversary

of President Nixons speech when he

declared drug abuse public enemy

number one and committed to waging

a new, all-out offensive. This moment iswidely regarded as the unofficial launch

of Americas spectacularly unsuccessful

and costly global war on drugs.

DPA organized allies in a day of action

with dozens of events throughout the

country, in New York, Los Angeles,

Chicago, San Francisco, New Orleans,

and dozens of other cities. The day of


5/8

Asma Jahangir, human rights activist, former

U.N. Special Rapporteur on Arbitrary, Extrajudicial

and Summary Executions, Pakistan

Carlos Fuentes, writer and public

intellectual, Mexico

Csar Gaviria, former President of Colmbia

Ernesto Zedillo, former President of Mxico

Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former President of

Brazil (chair)

George Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece

George Shultz, former Secretary of State, U.S.

(honorary chair)Javier Solana, former European Union High

Representative for the Common Foreign and

Security Policy, Spain

John Whitehead, banker and civil servant, chair of

the World Trade Center Memorial, U.S.

Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the

United Nations, Ghana

Louise Arbour, former U.N. High Commissioner

for Human Rights, president of the International

Crisis Group, Canada

Maria Cattaui, Member of the Board, PetroplusHoldings; former Secretary-General of the

International Chamber of Commerce, Switzerland

Marion Caspers-Merk, former State Secretary at

the Federal Ministry of Health, Germany

Mario Vargas Llosa, writer and public

intellectual, Peru

Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and

Malaria, France

Paul Volcker, former Chairman of the Federal

Reserve and of the Economic Recovery Board, U.S.

Richard Branson, entrepreneur, advocate

for social causes, founder of the Virgin Group,

cofounder of The Elders, U.K.

Ruth Dreifuss, former President of Switzerland

and Minister of Home Affairs

Thorvald Stoltenberg, former Minister of

Foreign Affairs and U.N. High Commissioner for

Refugees, Norway

action was highlighted

by large-scale events

in Washington D.C.,

where we were joined

by elected officials, civil

rights leaders, and

celebrities.

In all, the Global

Commission and the

drug wars 40th an-

niversary generated

more than 4,000 news

stories around theworld. This represents

a significant leap

forward in terms of

expanding and le-

gitimizing the global debate over drug

policy, prohibition and legalization.

So, whats next?

Were working closely with the Global

Commission and other allies to extend

and elevate its message throughout the

U.S. and around the world. Were alsoworking to get more VIPs to step out

on the issue. We were thrilled when

President Jimmy Carter and Reverend

Jesse Jackson each published an op-ed

on the 40th anniversary calling on U.S.

leaders to adopt the recommendations

of the Global Commission but there

are a lot more people who share their

convictions whove yet to step out.

Thanks to your support, we are making

it increasingly difficult for policymakers

to ignore the credibility of the Global

Commission and the seriousness of its

recommendations.

REPORTOFTHEGLOBALCOMMISSIONONDRUGPOLICY

JUNE2011

WAR

ONDRUGS

Members of the

Global Commission on Drug Policy

Above: The Global

Commission on Drug Policys

report, and other background

information, are available at:

globalcommissionondrugs.org

At left (clockwise): Former

Brazilian President Fernando

Henrique Cardoso, DPA Executive

Director Ethan Nadelmann, Virgin

Group founder Richard Branson,

and former Swiss President Ruth

Dreifuss spoke at the launch of

the Global Commissions report.

www.drugpolicy.org 5Ally Fall 2011


6/8

U.S. Sentencing Commission Votes

to Make Crack Cocaine Sentencing

Reforms Retroactive

Imagine that the Civil Rights Act of 1964

had upheld segregation in existing

schools, and only mandated integration

for new schools being built.

When Congress passed the Fair

Sentencing Act last year to reform the

notorious 100-to-1 crack/powder cocaine

disparity, thats basically what they did.

They failed to make the new law retroac-

tive, meaning that people sentencedprior to the reform continue to serve

sentences that are dramatically longer

than people convicted in the future of

the exact same offenses.

Thanks to Your Support,

Many Lives Will Be Saved

In the last two decades, overdose

deaths have quadrupled in the U.S.

and it is now the leading cause of

accidental deaths in many states, such

as New York.

The sad news and the hopeful news

is that most of these deaths are pre-ventable. The chance of surviving an

overdose, like that of surviving a heart

attack, depends greatly on how fast one

receives medical assistance. Witnesses

to heart attacks rarely think twice about

calling 911, but witnesses to an over-

dose often hesitate to call for help or, in

many cases, simply dont make the call.

Thanks to DPAs work with a powerful

coalition of criminal justice advocates,

though, this summer the U.S. Sentencing

Commission voted to retroactively apply

the Fair Sentencing Act. The Commission

received more than 43,000 pieces of

mail urging them to apply the new law

retroactively.

This means that more than 12,000 people

will be eligible for early release. Taxpayers

will save $240 million and, more impor-

tantly, people serving excessively harsh

sentences will be reunited with their

families and loved ones sooner. The rulingwill also address the egregious racial

disparities in our criminal justice system

almost 80 percent of those sentenced are

black, although most users and sellers

of crack are not black.

The most common reason people

cite for not calling 911 is fear of police

involvement.

To address this problem, DPA spear-

headed innovative legislation in New

York State that protects people from ar-

rest and prosecution for possession of

small amounts of drugs when they call

to report an overdose. This 911 Good

Samaritan law makes New York thefourth and largest state to pass

such legislation.

As a direct result of DPAs efforts,

New Mexico became the first state to

pass such a law in 2007, Washington

State followed suit in 2010, and

Connecticut passed a similar law

earlier this year.

Time to Come Home

New York Passes Groundbreaking Law

to Reduce Overdose Deaths


Since 1995, the U.S. Sentencing

Commission has, in four reports to

Congress, requested that Congress raise

the threshold quantities of crack that

trigger mandatory minimums to ease

the unconscionable racial disparities

in sentencing.

Thousands of people and their families

will benefit from this reform, but it doesnt

go far enough. With your continued

support, this will be the first of many

long-overdue sentencing reforms.

Whats especially innovative about

New Yorks law, though, is that it protects

911 callers not just from prosecution,

but from arrest as well unlike the other

three state laws that protect from prosecu-

tion, but not arrest. Whats also remarkable

about New Yorks law is that it was passed

with near-unanimous bipartisan support,

with upstate Republicans and downstate

Democrats reaching a rare consensus.

With the enactment of this law, New Yorks

elected officials sent a strong message

that fear of criminal justice involvement

should not be a barrier to calling 911 in

the event of an overdose and that the

harms of drugs can best be reduced

through a health framework, rather than

criminalization.


7/8

tragic waste of human potential,

a painful journey for the family, and

a tremendous cost to the state. I have

several friends who have lost children to

overdose, which could have been

prevented if their childrens friends hadnt

been afraid of being arrested if they

called for medical help.

I believe that we mothers are the silent

majority. Far too many of us have expe-

rienced the same devastation, but most

have been too stigmatized to speak out.

To continue to pursue a war that has

utterly failed and created so much dam-

age is unconscionable. Mothers must

speak out with courage and determination

to promote policies of harm reduction and

restoration for the sake of our children

and future generations.

On June 13, 1971, I became a mother

when my first son was born. Four days

later, President Nixon declared the

war on drugs. Little did I know then that

this war would be waged against families

like mine for the next four decades.

As I reflect on the joys and the chal-

lenges of motherhood, I feel compelled

to speak out against this silent but

deadly war that has stealthily eaten away

at the fabric of our lives. It has caused

countless casualties, wasted taxpayer

money, promoted discrimination against

people of color, and taken away basichuman liberties.

Employing fear-based, nonscientific

dogma, this misguided war has robbed

children of their futures, while building

a massive prison-industrial complex.

Grieving and angry mothers, tormented

by needless loss, are speaking out to

stop the violence, mass incarceration

and overdose deaths.

Throughout history, mothers have come

forward for the sake of their children topromote therapeutic and life-affirming

policies. In the early 70s, I belonged to

an organization called Another Mother

for Peace. In the 1930s, a group of

mothers were instrumental in ending

alcohol Prohibition in the U.S.

Once again, moms are organizing to call

for widespread drug policy reform, in

order to stop the devastating loss of lives

and liberty.

When my son was born, I realized that

my most important role had just begun,

and all my other passions and interests

paled by comparison. Both of my sons

were much adored, and we tried to

give them every opportunity to ensure

fabulous and fulfilling futures.

Unfortunately, both had addictive ill-ness, which would have caused enough

heartbreak and struggle, without the

blundering roadblocks to recovery

created by a criminal justice approach

to what was essentially a health care

problem. Besides dealing with the pain

of lives interrupted by a life-threatening

disorder, parents whose children are

lost in the maze of addiction must also

suffer humiliation, anger and stigma.

My older son spent a decade of his

young life cycling through the criminal

justice system for nonviolent drug

offenses and relapse. This was a

A Mother Speaks Out

Ally www.drugpolicy.org 7Fall 2011

Gretchen Burns Bergman

is the Co-Founder &

Executive Director ofA

New PATH(Parents for

Addiction Treatment &

Healing), a DPA grantee.

TheMoms United to

End the War on Drugs

campaign is a project of

A New PATH.


8/8

DPAExecutiveDirectorEthan

Nadelmann appeared as a special

guest on HBOs Real Time with BillMaheron July 8th. Nadelmann was

interviewed one-on-one by Maher at

the top of the show and the result

was a lively discussion about the

war on drugs and the momentum for

ending marijuana prohibition.

The2011POLLIEAwards,whichhonor

achievement in political and public

affairs communications, recognized

the work of DPAs 501(c)(4) partner,

Drug Policy Action. The Dont Take

Away Our Medicine ad, which advo-

cated protecting New Mexicos medical

marijuana program, received a Gold

award for the best web video in state

and local public affairs (see it at:

donttakeawayourmedicine.org).

Meanwhile, DPAs full-page newspaper

ad that ran in the Los Angeles Times

during last years Proposition 19

campaign in California was awarded

best in category.

TheU.S.ConferenceofMayorsunani -

mously passed a resolution in June

declaring the war on drugs a failure.

The war on drugs declared 40 years

ago this weekend has been the

principal driver of mass incarceration

in America, said U.S. mayors in the

resolution. The mayors pointed out

that the U.S. has by far the highest

incarceration rate in the world,

with 2.4 million of its residents in

prison or jail, including more than

500,000 Americans behind bars for

drug law violations an increase of

1200 percent since 1980.

Since We Last Spoke


If youre working to bring about drug policiesbased on science, compassion, health and

human rights, you cant afford to miss this

extraordinary gathering!

www.reformconference.org

International Drug Policy

Reform Conference

November 2-5, 2011Los Angeles, CA

Asking What has

$1 Trillion Bought Us?,

DPA hand delivered

a trillion dollar bill

to each member of

Congress on the

40th anniversary of

the war on drugs.

Documents

DPA Ally Fall 2011