GREEN PARTY ASSAILS STATE'S DRUG LAWS AS UNFAIR

NEW HAVEN — At a Green Party forum Saturday afternoon, Alderman Jelani
Lawson, D-2, said the state's drug laws unfairly target minorities in a
failing war on narcotics.

Lawson rattled off state law and drug offense statistics for about two
dozen New Haven County Greens gathered at Green Party headquarters on Park
Street.

Under state law, drug offenders arrested near schools get longer sentences.
Because urban areas like New Haven have a higher school density, drug
arrests in the city carry stiffer penalties than in the suburbs, Lawson said.

"A person in New Haven gets a worse deal," Lawson said.

"Ninety-five percent of New Haven is covered by mandatory minimum drug
sentencing."

With blacks and Latinos making up much of the urban population, the school
proximity laws also jail more minorities than whites, Lawson said.

According to a July 2000 state Department of Corrections report, 12,657 of
the state's 17,459 prisoners were either black or Hispanic, roughly
two-thirds of the prison population.

Lawson, 26, is also executive director for A Better Way Foundation, a
non-profit organization that advocates a public health approach to drug
problems. Lawson said he spends much of his time educating political minded
groups like the Greens, hoping to develop support to change Connecticut's
drug laws.

The event was one of several forums being held by the Green Party's
Community Issues Committee to learn more about political issues that affect
New Haven residents, party member Jon Halle said.

"The drug war is a natural for us, the Green Party is opposed to the war on
drugs," Halle said.

The Green Party platform under presidential candidate Ralph Nader called
for an end to the war on drugs, and the release of non-violent drug offenders.

The party also suggests the decriminalization of drug possession and
regulating drug distribution.

During the first forum Feb. 24, University of Massachusetts economics
professor Rick Wolf, the Green Party's 1985 mayoral candidate, spoke about
Yale's relationship with the city. Next Saturday, the topic of the forum
will be recent problems at New Haven public schools.