PUBLIC ACCESS TV TO AIR DRUG POLICY FORUM VIDEO

Efficacy founder: Treat drug use as public health issue, not one of
crime

People who didn't get to see the recent campus presentation in Hilo by
drug policy reform advocate Clifford Wallace Thornton Jr. can view the
program starting today on public access television channels 53 and
54.

Thornton, a resident of Hartford, Conn., and founder of Efficacy, a
nonprofit organization to "educate about drug policy reform," was the
special guest at a forum last month at the University of Hawaii at
Hilo.

Thornton and others in the Efficacy movement make the case that drug
use should be handled as a public health issue, not one of crime.

The organization believes America's "War on Drugs" has not been
successful, and has, instead, created drug gangs and cartels as well
as "turning the average citizen user into a criminal, even when no
violence or criminal behavior is involved."

"As in the case of our financial markets, there is a need for
regulation and control by our government," Thornton said. "The
resulting taxes and the moneys saved from prosecuting and imprisoning
drug-related cases could provide much-needed health care and other
services."

During his Hilo presentation, he also spoke in support of voting for
Ballot Question No. 1, an option on the General Election ballot that
would make cannabis the lowest law-enforcement priority for police.

The video lasts 30 minutes and can be viewed on Na Leo o Hawaii cable
access at the following times. It was produced by Island Eyes Video
Journalism as a public service, said spokeswoman Mary Marvin Porter.

The program will be shown on channel 53 today at 8:30 a.m., Saturday
at 1:30 p.m., Sunday at 7:30 p.m. and Monday at 7:30 p.m.

Public access channel 54 will broadcast the show at 5 p.m. Wednesday
and 9:30 p.m. on Thursday. On Friday, Oct. 31, the show will air at
9:30 p.m. On Saturday, Nov. 1, it will air at 3 p.m. The show also can
be seen at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2, and at 8 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 3.