CITY REEXAMINES DRUG POLICY--SORT OF

Retreat Embraces The Status Quo, While Many Seem Ready For Change.

When the movie Traffic recently opened in Colombia, people there
rejoiced, believing that the United States finally saw the wisdom of
pursuing a new drug policy. Nightline, responding to the acclaimed film,
devoted a full 150 minutes to questioning the current approach.
Meanwhile, closer to home, recently released numbers show that Madison
police made last year made 773 adult drug arrests, more than twice as
many as in 1995.

Against this backdrop, the Common Council last week held a retreat to
focus on drug policy. It was logical to expect a probing discussion, the
beginning of a search for new approaches.

Instead, the first words Council President Dorothy Borchardt spoke at
the retreat made it clear that wasn't likely. Surrounded by the Madison
Police Department's top drug officers, she announced, "This agenda
tonight is theirs. This is one of the most effective operations we
have."

What followed was 143 minutes of information on the risks drug officers
face, how heroin is the new burgeoning problem, why club drugs are
dangerous and what public outreach efforts police provide. No policy
changes were broached.

Yet Borchardt, and even her progressive colleagues, agree that gathering
information is a starting point. Next she plans to get data from city
health officials, building inspectors, and the county sheriff's
department.

"Right now, we don't have a clue what we want to do," Borchardt admits.
"But we do know we need to move on this."

If left to politicians, any such movement could mean more of the
same--more enforcement, more arrests, more people behind bars. And
that's why citizen activists are trying to shift the focus.

The local group Arc House hopes to organize a harm-reduction conference
this fall, and Progressive Dane recently convened a drug-policy working
group. Jimi Reinke, a member of the latter group, perceives declining
public support for what he calls the "prosecution/persecution" approach.

"As a community as a whole, we are just ready for change," says Reinke,
who works for a needle exchange program run by AIDS Network. "It's just
showing what broad support for change there is when all these separate
groups are working for it."

Having a radical drug-policy discussion was floated in November 1999 by
Ald. Judy Olson, when she drafted a resolution directing the Common
Council to examine and question local drug enforcement strategies.

"Despite massive allocation of financial and human resources," the
resolution stated, "drug abuse and illegal drug trafficking continue to
exist in our community." It also noted that "the costs and effectiveness
of [local drug] policies have not be systematically evaluated."

Twelve council members, from left-leaning Barb Vedder to right-winger
Judy Compton, signed on as sponsors. Yet after being endorsed by the
Public Health Commission, the resolution stalled in other committees,
where Olson admits she has let it sit, not certain how to begin the
dialogue.

Olson did make an overture at the end of last week's meeting, asking the
police to commit to participating in that type of discussion without it
becoming adversarial. Replied Police Chief Richard Williams, "We have
said from day one, the only way you create a healthy policy is with
discussion." Now Olson wants higher-ranking leaders like Mayor Sue
Bauman and County Exec Kathleen Falk to push for that dialogue-and
policy changes.

Ald. Matt Sloan, whose south-side district contains some of the biggest
open-air drug markets, isn't holding his breath. "Frankly there's a void
of leadership that's needed to get some of the other players to the
table," says Sloan. "If our chief executive [Bauman] isn't paying
attention, it doesn't say much about the seriousness of the effort."

Sloan, who twice voted for the controversial loitering ordinance,
believes police are wasting time on marijuana while many of his
constituents are so afraid of crack and cocaine dealers that they are
willing to surrender their civil liberties.

"Frankly these folks would be happy if they had police with Uzis on
every street corner checking IDs," he asserts. "But I have never had a
constituent call me and say, 'My neighbor is smoking pot.' We need to
talk about whether the police have the correct priorities for
enforcement."

Olson, who takes the blame for not doing more to push her resolution,
agrees. "I don't mind saying openly and freely that I think it's high
time that we start talking about decriminalization and legalization, but
I think it's healthy to be talking from any point of view."

When it comes to doing more than talking, however, Olson lays much of
the responsibility in the lap of the public--which may just be up to the
challenge.

It used to be that talk of decriminalizing marijuana was confined to Ben
Masel's Harvest Fest rallies or Libertarian Party gatherings. But now a
similar message is coming from more mainstream quarters.

"It just seems to me we have not taken the opportunity to really study
how much financial resources we as a community have put into what folks
call the War on Drugs," says Connie Ferris Bailey, who runs Operation
Fresh Start and whose late husband was Dane County sheriff. "How many
people are incarcerated? Is this cost-effective? Have we made an
impact?"

Ferris Bailey, who served for years on the city's Public Safety Review
Board, wonders if criminalizing drugs hasn't spawned drug-related
violence: "It's almost like we never learned from Prohibition. But it's
very scary for elected people to take a look at that question because I
think they fear being misinterpreted."

Rushing to fill that void is Progression Dane's drug-policy working
group. Member Reinke says the group is trying to set realistic goals:
"We're separating what we can actually do from what we'd like to do."

For instance, while group members would like to see marijuana legalized,
at least for medical purposes, one of the things it's pushing is to make
sure people who overdose can call 911 without worrying about being
busted by police. (Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard,
responding to an Isthmus column on this issue, met with Reinke and
others last week. "He seemed genuinely concerned and open," says Reinke.
"He was definitely interested in what other communities are doing and
we're going to try and get that information to him.")

And Reinke echoes both conservative and progressive alders in calling
for an end to waiting lists for drug treatment: "Even as soon as a
couple days later, people can change their minds. It's crazy. We can get
them a jail bed immediately, but that isn't helping anybody."

Reinke says Dance Safe, a national group that tests club drugs for users
who want to be sure of what they've bought, has recently become active
in Madison, but has to operate underground. That group, he says, should
be welcomed.

Ald. Gary Poulson, who is hoping to be elected the next council
president, says he'd prioritize these discussions. In fact, after the
Council retreat adjourned, Poulson joked that perhaps his first act if
elected council president should be take the alders to a rave. Now that
would be a meeting worth watching.

Olson: 'I think it's high time we start talking about decriminalization
and legalization.'

Adult drug arrests in Madison

273 319 398 360 340 533 567 535 734 773
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

SOURCE: STATE OFFICE OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE