Note: This ad appears in The New Republic issue now on the news stands. It
will appear in the National Review, the Weekly Standard, The Nation,
Reason Magazine and The Progressive in December 1999 and early 2000. The
text below does not do the ad justice. A full page ad, it may be viewed as
printed and is available in downloadable Portable Document Format (PDF)
format for easy printing at the following URL - copies make nice handouts
and may posted everywhere. This is the latest of a series of ads which may
be seen at:
http://www.csdp.org/ads/

FIVE YEARS AGO DISCUSSING REFORM OF DRUG POLICY WAS TABOO.

NOW ENDING THE DRUG WAR IS POPULAR!

by Kevin B. Zeese

Over the past two years voters in seven states and the District of
Columbia passed initiatives favoring medical marijuana or
decriminalization of marijuana generally and treating drug offenses as
a health issue rather than a law enforcement issue. Recently, a wide
array of groups, including the NAACP, Volunteers of America, YWCA, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the United Methodist Church
and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, have called for a new approach to drug
control.

There are at least three good reasons for revaluation of our current
approaches:

Does Not Protect American Youth

Last year almost 10 percent of America's children between the ages of
12 and 17 used illegal drugs. That's nearly twice the 1992 percentage.
Before graduating from high school, half will try an illegal drug.

Throughout the last two decades approximately 90 percent of high
school students have said illegal drugs are easy for them to get -
easier than beer.

Advocates for the current policy claim drug use has decreased since
1978. These claims are highly doubtful. 1) These figures come from a
voluntary survey conducted by the federal government. Do we think
people will be as honest about their drug use in the repressive 90s as
they would have been in the more permissive 70s? 2) Certain key
populations, among them prisoners, are not included in the survey. 3)
Even according to this survey, last year, nearly 14 million Americans
used illegal drugs. That's an increase of over 1.5 million drug users
since the beginning of the Clinton Administration. 4) The health and
social problems associated with drugs have worsened since 1978 -
overdose deaths and mentions of drugs in hospital emergency rooms are
at record highs, while the spread of disease such as AIDS and
hepatitis-C is rampant. These serious health problems are largely the
result of prohibition which makes it impossible to know the purity of
illegal drugs, discourages people from seeking prompt medical
treatment for fear of incarceration, and often prohibits the sale of
sterile syringes thereby spreading disease.

High Costs Without Results

At the Federal level the drug control budget has increased from $9
billion to $18 billion in less than a decade. Since the Reagan-era
nearly $200 billion has been spent on the drug war by the federal
government. Nationally we spend approximately $50 billion annually on
drug control.

Drugs are more potent and less expensive despite record arrests and
incarceration of drug offenders. Since 1991, the price of pure heroin
has dropped from over $3,000 per gram to $1,000 per gram, cocaine
prices have dropped from $275 per gram to $94 per gram.

The economics of drug prohibition are undermining the economies and
democratic institutions in foreign countries. The drug market is a
$400 billion per year industry, equaling 8% of the world's trade
according to the United Nations. The US Office of National Drug
Control Policy estimates that $57 billion is spent annually on drugs
in the US alone. Drug profits fuel insurgency movements, corrupt
public officials and undermine the world's economy because prohibition
turns plants into products more valuable than gold.

Cruel and Discriminatory Practices

Arrest and incarceration rates are at record highs. Over 1.5 million
people are arrested each year for drug offenses, two-thirds for mere
possession according to the FBI. Nationally, 1.8 million Americans are
behind bars; 400,000 are incarcerated for drug offenses.

Only 11% of the nation's drug users are black; however, blacks
constitute almost 37% of those arrested for drug violations, over 42%
of those in federal prisons for drug violations, and almost 60% of
those in state prisons for drug felonies.

What Can We Do?

We can be more effective if we are pragmatic, base our policy choices
on the facts and are not afraid to face-up to the failure of current
policy. Citizens need to get informed, get active and help end a very
expensive and destructive policy. Future columns will discuss
alternatives to the drug war. To learn more now, please visit
www.csdp.org for alternative approaches, accurate information and
connections to reform-minded organizations. And let us know how you or
your organization can help spread the reform message.

Common Sense for Drug Policy, Kevin B. Zeese, President

703-354-9050, 703-354-5695, info@csdp.org http://www.csdp.org/