LECTURE QUESTIONS STATE POLICY TOWARD DRUGS

The New Jersey Drug Policy Alliance Director Roseanne Scotti twirled
a flat version of the globe in the air demonstrating those who
believe in the "war on drugs" view the world with ignorance.

Drug policies in the United States, particularly in New Jersey,
continue to aid in the arrest of millions of nonviolent people,
especially those of color, said Scotti, who spoke Thursday at a
lecture titled "The War on Drugs Policy and Reform" at Campbell Hall
on the College Avenue campus.

This war on drugs is actually becoming a war against the people, she said.

"We don't arrest little marijuana baggies or incarcerate syringes,"
Scotti said. "We arrest people."

Scotti said she felt that the amount of people incarcerated for drug
related offenses was detrimental to the country.

"It's a colossal waste of money," Scotti said. "It's also failing to
accomplish the goal of eliminating drugs."

Scotti suggested the government should take a different approach to
drug policies.

"I think what essentially is going on here is that we're looking at
this problem through the wrong lens," Scotti said. "We will never get
rid of drugs."

Students also felt the amount of money put into the war on drugs is absurd.

"When you factor in all the stages, from training the police, having
extra narcotics teams, and the costs of keeping these people in
prisons, it's just ridiculous," Rutgers College junior Aleks Gecevski said.

Our society moved from a health paradigm to a criminal justice one,
in which an overwhelming majority of the money is put into funding
for prisons rather than treatment for those with an addiction, Scotti said.

"Two-thirds of addicts who seek drug treatment can't get it," Scotti
said. "There just isn't enough money."

Even when undergoing treatment, drug abuse is the only chronic
condition where you can get thrown out because of relapse, Scotti said.

"Diabetes is a chronic condition and they won't throw you out if your
blood pressure is too high," Scotti said. "That would be crazy."

This lack of health treatment is a primary cause for the endless
cycle of drug abuse and arrests, she said.

The Drug Policy Alliance works not toward an ultimate solution to the
drug problem, but taking steps to reduce drug use and eliminating
harmful policies.

Scotti said programs such as DARE, used to teach adolescents about
drugs, are proven to have no effect or even a slightly negative one.

In fact, DARE seemed to promote drug usage rather than condemn it,
Livingston College sophomore Thom Prewett said.

"I remember when they were telling us what LSD was in fifth grade,"
Prewett said. "They said you could see all sorts of colors and things
that weren't there, and I'd never been more intrigued in my life."

Scotti agreed that those who try to deter students from trying drugs
may actually do the opposite.

"The police officers have good intentions, but it doesn't make them
experts," Scotti said. "Science-based drug education is more effective."

Scotti also pointed out many of the commercials discouraging drug
abuse are inaccurate.

"They have this 'reefer madness' perception that one day you're
smoking a joint, and the next you're lying in the gutter with a
needle sticking out of your arm," Scotti said. "It's just not
realistic, and kids know it's not."

Prewett said few of the commercials he's seen are decent, while
others seem to be unrealistic.

"The one with the kid playing with the gun is just ridiculous,"
Prewett said. "But the one with the older brother teaching his
younger brother things to say if he's offered drugs, that's real."

Scotti is also concerned about mandatory minimum sentences drug-free
school zones bring about. Drug dealers caught within 1,000 feet
around every school have a mandatory sentence of three years on top
of the original offense.

"When you see these signs and get all warm and fuzzy because you
think it's for the protection of our children, you're wrong," Scotti
said. "This policy is strictly for the mandatory minimum, and it's
racially discriminatory."

The drug-free school zones in urban areas overlap and cover just
about the entire city.

"If you're in Newark," Scotti said. "You're in the zone!"

Not everyone disagreed with the drug-free zones. Doville Ruginyte, a
University professor, said she would applaud the drug-free school
zones but admits they seem to be unfair.

"The focus has degenerated from the children being safe onto minority
drug dealers being punished perhaps too harshly," Ruginyte said.

Scotti said drug-free school zones should be reduced to 200 feet with
an increased penalty, to keep the schools safe and eliminate the
unfair advantage those in suburban areas, with less chance of getting
caught in a school zone, have over those in urban areas.

Scotti also mentioned issues such as clean needle exchange and
medical marijuana in New Jersey.

New Jersey was the only state without syringe access until a few months ago.

"Our rate of dirty needles is twice the average," Scotti said. "One
in 31 African Americans in Newark and Atlantic City has HIV."

Scotti said the bill for clean needle exchange took so long to pass
because of the ignorant view it would condone drug use rather than
help save people's lives.

"New Jersey is very liberal," Scotti said. "But we have this crazy
blind spot when it comes to drugs."

Regarding legalizing medical marijuana, Scotti said she hopes it will
be passed within the next year, and that those who are seriously ill
will have access to the drug without fear of being arrested.

Gecevski said medical marijuana might also have negative effects in
that it could further fuel this war on drugs.

"I think it will create means for increased malpractice lawsuits
because doctors might prescribe illegally to people who want it for
recreational purposes," Gecevski said. "It will just become another
thing for drug users and dealers to be arrested for in the state."

Although changing the war on drugs is difficult, Scotti said, the
Drug Policy Alliance continues to fight for drug policies based on
health and human rights, rather than zero tolerance.

"If you believe in zero tolerance, 40 percent of America should be
incarcerated," Scotti said.