DRUG POLICY FORUM REFLECTS ON SUCCESSES

Group Helped Pass Marijuana Ordinance, Conducted Opinion Poll

It's been one year since a new group surfaced in Lawrence with the
goal of making Kansans rethink the war on drugs.

In that time, the Drug Policy Forum of Kansas has succeeded in
helping pass a city marijuana ordinance, conducted a statewide public
opinion poll and obtained official tax status as a nonprofit.

Executive director Laura A. Green said the group's e-mailed
newsletter has grown from about 50 recipients to more than 600.

Green said that, typically, people who speak out for drug reform are
labeled "radicals or legalizers" -- something she's tried to avoid in
her dealings with law enforcement and elected leaders.

"I'm not there to challenge them. I'm there to discuss the policies,"
Green said Thursday as she sat inside a west-side rental home she was
renovating, wearing a T-shirt with the words "No More Drug War" on
the back. "It's important that we have civil discourse with our
elected officials and our law-enforcement community. ... Being
antagonistic and critical is not our mission."

Green cited a statewide poll of 500 frequent voters, conducted by
Jayhawk Consulting, as one of the group's main accomplishments in its
first year. Among its findings:

73 percent of those polled agreed that students in junior high and
high school who participate in extracurricular activities should be
drug tested. But she cited research, including a 2003 study by the
University of Michigan, that showed drug-testing in schools does not
deter drug use. She said the group is planning a town-hall style
forum on the subject where both sides will be presented.

52 percent of those polled believed we are losing the "war on drugs."

By nearly three to one (60 percent to 21 percent), those polled said
they viewed someone with a drug problem as a criminal to be punished,
rather than a person with a health problem.

62 percent were unopposed to changing Kansas law to allow marijuana
use by someone with a "serious and terminal medical condition" if it
was recommended by a doctor.

One of the group's goals is to promote "public health" alternatives
to the current criminal justice approach to drugs.

"For 35 years, we've had the same policies, and they're not working,"
Green said. "Our mission is to elevate the debate so that both sides
are presented, so that the general public can make up their own minds
on the issues."

The group first came into the public eye when it began pushing for a
city marijuana ordinance that would allow cases to be handled in
Municipal Court instead of District Court. According to Municipal
Court, 66 cases have been prosecuted so far under the new law.

Green, however, said the changes have turned out to be somewhat of a
"nonissue." The $200 fine adopted by the city for marijuana
possession -- which is in addition to a $100 fee for an evaluation --
was higher than Green wanted to see, and the law left police with the
discretion of whether to arrest someone or issue a citation.

Green said the group is supported by donations and grants it has
received from the groups Common Sense for Drug Policy and the Drug
Policy Alliance. Lawrence lawyer Bob Eye is a founding board member,
and Carolyn Jones, of Lawrence, is the board secretary.

Lt. John Eickhorn, a Kansas Highway Patrol spokesman, said he and
Green may not agree on the issues, but that, so far, their contacts
have been cordial and professional. The two spoke at length earlier
this summer, when Green questioned the increased law enforcement
presence and police check lane at this year's Wakarusa Music &
Camping Festival.

As of this week, Green is awaiting a response to a records request
for information on how federal anti-drug grant money was used at the
festival, as well as statewide.

"They expressed their concern, and I think that they did it in a
polite way," Eickhorn said.