IF DRUGS ARE IT, ACQUIT

The "war on drugs" seems just about as successful as the one on
"terror." Instead of a decrease in drug use and a drop in addiction
rates, we see more Americans (one out of every 100) imprisoned. People
like Chico's Brian Epis, convicted for growing pot plants, do not
belong in jail. Neither do most other casualties of the "drug war."

Californians know this. We've attempted to create more humane drug
laws, as in the provisions of Proposition 36, allowing for treatment
rather than incarceration, and our decision under Proposition 215 to
allow the use of marijuana by patients with a prescription.

But as the federal government and local law enforcement continue to
show no respect for California's decision to decriminalize the medical
use of marijuana, it's time for citizens to take action.

The creators of the award-winning television series The Wire recently
called for an unusual step. Noting the high rate of incarceration in
America, the disparity in sentencing among races and social classes
and the resources spent chasing drug convictions rather than being
used to make our cities safer, they've called for citizens to engage
in "jury nullification."

Ed Burns, Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos, Richard Price and David
Simon all vow that, when seated on a jury "deliberating a violation of
state or federal drug laws, we will vote to acquit, regardless of the
evidence presented."

Quite sensibly, they make exception for cases that involve violence.
But if the defendant is charged with a drug offense--and a drug offense
only--they will "nullify" the law by acquitting.

Jury nullification, an old concept in the history of U.S. law, remains
the last option when the laws themselves are unjust and the government
has refused to alter them.

In California, this means most specifically the continued prosecution
of citizens for growing, distributing and using marijuana for medical
purposes. It is obscene for the government to continue prosecuting ill
people for using a drug to make their lives more comfortable. All drug
offenses can sensibly fall into the same category.

We'll happily convict a defendant who used guns to protect his stash
or who stole from a neighbor to get her fix. But recreational use is
no threat to society, and addiction is a disease better treated
outside prison.

If the legislative and executive branches don't care enough about the
welfare of our citizens to change the drug laws, we can use our
involvement in the judicial branch and refuse to enforce them.