We're hosting a forum on the Drug War in our conservtive community

The Progressive Dems (about 6 people!) in my county are hosting a discussion forum on Substance Abuse. Three speakers are scheduled with a Q & A discussion afterward: One, a nurse from our local public health office talking on harm reduction, a man/recovering addict who runs a residential treatment facility, and a local physician who is Libertarian and spoke out against the Drug War at a Meth Coalition Vigil.

My 68 year old significant other and I are the main movers for Peace and Justice of La Luz (http://pajoll.org) and he is also a member of the Progressive Dems.


We are creating a cardboard three-panel informational display. I'm using some material from LEAP's recent newsletter, some newsletters from Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), some info on the Second Chance Act just passed by US Congress & the help it will provide for those imprisoned for non-violent drug offenses when they are 'out' and from our NM legislature on similar bills), and from the 'addict specialist' (my words) Nora Volkow, head of Nat'l Institute on Drug Abuse. She talks about imprisoning addicts instead of providing treatment when they relapse is like imprisoning diabetics when their blood sugar is too high. Addiction is a brain disease.

We are opening a discussion in our very conservative community. I am committing to listening first, getting to ask questions, then being able to share how I see things. We'll see how it goes.

There will probably be a bunch of diehard Loyal Bushies attending who would never, EVER vote for Obama.

Bring a BarrBarian to the meeting to school them on Libertarian teachings about drug policy, and to siphon off some Conservatard Bushie votes from McCain.

A two-fer!

He's a physician, ran for City Commission. There is much we disagree on, but we agree completely on the War on Drugs. I thought he'd be a great 'other' perspective (other meaning other than Progressives).
I think your idea is an excellent one.

Bushite) community. What does it cost to imprison a person for 10 years on a drug offense, when rehab and a job would be much more useful and productive, if not just handing them the money, minus rehab ($20,000/$10,000 split), and requiring rehab and a job for the assistance? Everyone in trouble needs money. That is often the reason they get into trouble in the first place, and then--due to the crisis of arrest, legal costs, family disruption, etc.-- get into more trouble. If they had cash to rent an apartment, get a car, buy clothes, and feel some self-respect and self-confidence, and knew that rehab and holding a job were the price for the help, those who CAN profit from this, will--whereas they otherwise would sink under the burden of the trouble they are in (especially added to other burdens--poverty, addiction, poor education, kids in trouble, abusive spouse, divorce, no health care, etc., etc.). I'm quite serious--just give the money it takes to imprison them to the prisoner. It would be less wasteful and destructive. And, in any case, use that TAXPAYER money in a constructive way, not to tear people down and destroy their lives over drug offenses, but to build people up--and help THEM understand that drug addiction is a medical problem and drug dealing is largely a poverty problem.

I say "largely," because cocaine production has INCREASED in Colombia, where the Bushites have misspent $5.5 BILLION of our taxes on the corrupt, murderous, failed "war on drugs"--yet another police state/military boondoggle. So the prevalence of cocaine on the streets, and the big crime syndicates behind it, are also a contributor to street level drug dealing, because of the PRICE of illicit drugs, making it enticing to the poor, and lucrative to the greedy. This is not the fault of the poor. They are its victims. Also true of Afghan heroine--greatly increased production and crime syndicates, due to Bushite policy.

We are way overdue for an amnesty--the release of all non-violent offenders. Our prison system is the disgrace of the world. However, just dumping people on the streets would be a mistake, after their imprisonment in these cauldrons of hatred, anger, bigotry, gang wars, beatings, rape, and official sadism. They need psychological help and material help to reintegrate into society. In California, under Reagan, they cut state costs for mental health facilities by dumping the mentally ill on the streets. Now the cities have the burden of those homeless people--or no one does. The homeless mentally ill just sink into the gutter and die. That is not what I mean--simply unburdening ourselves of the cost of imprisoning drug offenders, prostitutes and minor thieves (and the innocent! --the "justice" system sucks, for the poor). Obviously, most of these people are caught in a cycle of oppression that they can't get out of. They turn to drugs and drug dealing, and other such "crimes," as a solution. Our society needs to aim for the best--the salvaging of all of this human energy and potential human talent for everyone's good. That requires a social investment--at least some of the money we throw away on prisons and a broken "justice" system, AND a commitment of society to its poorest members.

I'm a fan of "The Wire."

"What drugs have not destroyed, the war on them has." --David Simon, creator of "The Wire"

http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/tv/int/2002/06/29/simon

One of things that this incredibly wonderful cop show reveals is the ingenuity of the poor, in creating and maintaining complicated drug rings, from the smart little tykes on the street to the more older entrepreneurs who dream of going straight by laundering their drug profits into legit businesses. Their illegit business requires not only close attention to all personnel, shrewd evaluation of other peoples' abilities, quick calculation of prices, costs, losses and futures, often in tense situations, and long term planning--including a formal drug ring cooperative--while constantly trying to evade discovery and capture. And it makes you weep to realize that all this talent and intelligence is being wasted on servicing addicts, and will end in prison or death at a young age, for the dealers (who don't tolerate addicts in their business, but who live in constant peril of imprisonment, or gang war death).

And the other part of the tragedy is that the cops who really understand the system--that the illegalization of drugs, just like Prohibition, CREATES crime--and those who aren't quite there yet, but understand that something is very wrong--are often smacked down by those over them, and prevented from doing any good. One cop, for instance, simply creates an informal arrest-free drug deal zone, and confines it all to ONE place--which results in "clean streets" (safe streets) for every other neighborhood in the jurisdiction. He, of course, gets fired for it--but he has the right idea. Legalize it, and the problems go away. The drug dealing itself is not the problem. It's the associated violence, the conflicts and shootings, the out-of-school kids, the addicts cruising the neighborhood, etc. But, OMG! the reaction! The political system simply can't yield to sensible solutions. They are horrified, and totally invested in their own myths.

I recommend "The Wire" as great TV drama--extremely well done--and also for anyone who really wants to understand the drug problem, at the receiving end of the drugs (drug dealers, cops, communities). (It doesn't really get into where the drugs are coming from and how and why.)

Your response made me cry, it was so eloquent. I hope you don't mind if I print it and put it on our 'informational display.' My son is currently one of the non-violent drug offenders in one of the "...cauldrons of hatred, anger, bigotry, gang wars, beatings, rape, and official sadism..." so this has become more personal to me. I'm just sorry it took THAT to get my so passionate.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

But I am certain that it will help him to know that YOU know what it is all about. UNDERSTANDING is very important--his understanding, helped by you--even if you can't prevent traumatic things happening to him. I can't think of anything more painful than losing control of your child's life in this way--except losing your child altogether. Stay as close to him as you can. Advise him. Be honest with him. Talk about fascism and bullying, if you can. Talk about your OWN feelings of helplessness. And, if he is going to be imprisoned for a while (or even for a short time, actually), help him make the decisions about who HE is going to be, in that difficult environment. Tell him that you KNOW that the system is not designed to make him a better person. He has to make his OWN decisions about that, in very adverse circumstances. I feel for you and for him. I had kids who escaped that system by the skin of their teeth. It helped (a lot!) to have a supportive community. Remember that YOU need support, too. And regard your kid just as you would a patient in a hospital, in need of an advocate. He is going to be the victim of bad medicine, and you need to mitigate it as well as you can.

Whatever else you are able to do, just BEING THERE is vital. You know, part of how doctors and nurses evaluate the prospects for a patient recovering from an illness, is: Does anyone visit them? Does anyone care? Because someone caring is an essential component of healing. It markedly affects the patient; it may actually stimulate the immune system. It also affects the way patients are treated. Similarly, a prisoner with outside contacts who care what happens to him is far, far better able to deal with the difficulties of prison, and far, far more likely to recover from any scars, than disconnected prisoners, without outside family and friends who keep in contact. Just the fact that you care may be all your son needs. He has to make his own way, whatever happens. That is true, in prison or out of it. You cannot really protect him, either way. The best thing you can do is show that you CARE--and that love will stay with him, believe me. No matter how it looks to you--even if he rejects you. He will be over adolescence one day soon, and he will remember and will fall back on that love and care.

I presume he's a teenager. If he is, you have a double whammy. Just remember, adolescence doesn't last long. And, after it's over, the child that you formed with your love and care will emerge from his cocoon as a loving, caring adult. Prison makes this transition harder, but it also makes your love and care more important to his eventual emergence as a good, well-adjusted, happy adult. Adolescence is a very traumatic time for the PARENTS, because teenage kids MUST reject you. It's in the genes! And the more you have loved them, sometimes the worse the rejection. But, like the "terrible two's," it's blessedly brief. You think you're losing your kid. You think it's the end of the world. Then it's over. Gone. Fini. Like it never happened. Prison might prolong this transition--a longer period of anger, rejection, acting out. But it WILL go away--if your kid is confident of your love and care.

May the Goddess bless you with strength and with healing powers! My heart goes out to you!

I 'found' PrisonTalk.com when my son first got in trouble. They strongly urged me to write as often as I can just so he can hear his name called. Sometimes I send jokes, articles, anything that might interest him. I can only visit once every three or four months.

He's 30 now, not an adolescent. He was 'in line' for a bed at a treatment facility, had started a Survivors of Suicide group through our local counseling center, has never stolen from me or anyone, but he slipped and used before 'they' could find an opening at a treatment center.

He hit 20 without getting into any trouble, but his dad (who had lost both legs at Chu Lai, Vietnam) committed suicide and Nathan went into a self-destructive nosedive. He had several years when he stayed clean, got married, had a son, went to school and worked full time, but, like many addicts, relapsed ...

Your kind words really mean alot to me--thank you for your insight, suggestions, caring.

We had a good turnout. I was surprised when an attending Republican suggested Cannabis should be legalized. We discussed the many problems with the War on Drugs, the need for more options for treatment, the recognition that some people can do drugs on their own time and, as adults, should be able to do so-
Thank you again for your kind words and support.

This shouldn't be like a Woody Harrelson or Cheech and Chong event. However if you make it clear that there are better ways to fight drug abuse besides the drug war, and emphasize treatment, then your cause will stand a good chance of getting respect. Having recovering addicts speak at the event is very powerful as well.

Here is someone else's summary. Our local paper still has printed it, but promises they will soon!
The following are my notes from the Forum on Substance Abuse held by the Otero County Chapter of PDA June 25th. I am also submitting this to ADN.


The Otero County chapter of Progressive Democrats of America hosted a panel discussion on the substance abuse situation in the county. Panel members Dr. Gil Heredia, physician and chair of the Otero Libertarian Party, Sharon Hodges of the New Mexico Department of Health, and Ken Larson, Certified Peer Specialist and Recovery Mentor presented a comprehensive survey of the drug problems we are facing in Otero County in front of an interested audience of local activists. Al Kissling of PDA NM was the moderator.


Dr. Heredia said that the so called "War on Drugs" was having a more devastating effect on our community than the actual use of drugs. He cited the emphasis of the drug war being on law enforcement and leading to incarceration rather than treatment and rehabilitation. When those caught in the system have finished their time, they are released back into the community, still addicted, without the root of their situation being addressed. Heredia noted the high cost of incarceration versus treatment. Also, drug crimes are crimes against oneself and not directly against the community. He said that if drugs were legal, market forces would pressure dealer profits, and the supply of drugs would dwindle. One community activist added that the prison industry has lobbied for mandatory minimum sentences to the benefit of the private prison industry while removing judges' discretion.


Sharon Hodges added that part of our problem is our proximity to the Mexican border and that the "border war" was now spilling into Southern New Mexico, causing a variety of new problems such as drugs laced with other harmful chemicals. Hodges stated that even marijuana was being spiked and bore no resemblance to the relatively benign drug of the '60s. She added that the present drug situation is wreaking havoc on affected families.


Ken Larson, who mentors at the Wright House and several other recovery facilities, agreed that drugs were now coming primarily out of Mexico. He noted that although local law enforcement agents have done an excellent job of seeking out and destroying meth labs in the county, meth amphetamine is coming in by the truck load from Mexico. Larson has talked with Border Patrol agents who said that "while one truck was being inspected, twenty other trucks had to be waived through."


Larson estimated that there are between one thousand and two thousand addicts in Otero County who are not in treatment or incarcerated. Their ages range from 12 to 56 with the majority of addicts between 18 and 24 years of age.


The panel members agreed that we need the full spectrum of treatment options in Alamogordo, including a detoxification center to care for all the drug and alcohol addictions. The hospital is not equipped for this service and would be too expensive for the uninsured and under insured. As it is, most of the funding for detox and treatment services wind up north of I-40.


There is also a great need for comprehensive drug awareness education in the entire community starting with pre-schoolers on up to adults, many of whom are not aware that a problem even exists. The panelists were hopeful that more people would become more active, if they were made aware of the very real problems facing our community.


The Progressive Democrats of America are holding these discussions all over the state and the nation. Their purpose is to read the pulse of each community at the grass-roots level and to present all our elected officials with data unaffected by corporate spin in the hope that this will affect their behavior in office and also give the voting public issues that will incite them to vote.