PERFECT SETTING FOR DRUG POLICY REVIEW

Houston's prestigious James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at
Rice University will conduct in April a two-day international conference on
drug policy, and I intend to help.

This is a big deal, the details of which will be officially announced
pretty soon. And no other spot in the world is more suited to hosting a
serious study of the planet's currently most vexing social problem.

One reason is that our town is a major entry point and distribution center
for the drug trade. Another is that former President Bush lives here, as
does James Baker III, who has been important to both Bush presidents in
helping them deal with crises and problems. How appropriate it is for the
institute named for Baker to assist in an examination of drug policy reform.

There is a hint of irony in this, considering former President Bush was an
energetic backer of drug war efforts and expenditures, and the nation
continues waging and escalating the war under the current President Bush.

Changing opinions However, criticisms of the ever-mounting damage done by
the drug war are growing apace. People are changing their opinions. More
and more folks are saying the drug war is doing more harm than the drugs.
They are saying it is time for our leaders to pursue an exit strategy. This
conference could well be an important step toward designing such a strategy.

Rice professor Bill Martin is the principal organizer of this conference.
He is a fellow whose mind and logic I have admired since first becoming
aware of him from some pieces he wrote about churches for Texas Monthly a
couple of decades ago.

One of Martin's areas of interest and expertise is religion. But as a
sociologist of the top rank, he recognizes the importance of studying any
major force that impacts the way people behave and get along with one
another. Thus, he became interested in the drug war and in organizing a
conference.

Martin said the "operative assumption" of the conference is that the war on
drugs "is deeply flawed, that massive expenditures on such measures as
increased punishment, interdiction and defoliation have not only failed to
diminish the use of drugs but have caused enormous social harm."

He said leaders from both sides of the issue are being invited "to sit down
with each other on an extended basis." Conference participants will be
coming here from such other countries as the Netherlands, Australia and
Colombia to exchange views and ideas with leading drug policy experts of
the United States.

Top banana at the Baker Institute is Edward Djerejian, although I shouldn't
call him top banana. Too informal. He is founding director of the institute
but people commonly address him as "Ambassador Djerejian," due to his
having served as U.S. ambassador to Syria and to Israel. His career as a
diplomat is long and distinguished. He no doubt can count as personal
friends many of the world's most powerful leaders.

In other words, the man has long rubbed shoulders with many other top
bananas. He knows the importance of bringing together people on different
sides of an issue. He knows how to go about it.

Sending a check So, even though financing has not yet been nailed down
securely for the upcoming drug policies conference, Djerejian has given it
a definite go-ahead, confident he will find donors to cover the costs. I
asked Martin for a rough estimate of the price tag on arranging such a
get-together. About $150,000, he said.

Here's where I decided to help. I'm pitching a few bucks into the pot. I
don't think this conference should be paid for by just a few wealthy
people. This is an opportunity to do something for our kids. It will be a
much better world for them if some way can be found to end the drug war
problems.

For far too long we have only been able to watch, feeling helpless and
frustrated. So I'm sending my little check to the Baker Institute for
Public Policy, marking it "for the drug policy conference," and hoping for
some results.

This is a big deal. I want to be able to tell my grandkids some day that I
played a little part in helping to find some solutions.