OPPORTUNITIES FOR DRUG REFORM IN THE OBAMA ERA

While President-elect Obama is not going to make ending the drug war
his #1 priority, he has said that America should start treating drug
use as a health issue instead of a criminal justice issue. He
supports repealing the federal syringe ban and ending the DEA's raids
on medical marijuana patients. He is also co-sponsor of Senator
Biden's bill to eliminate the 100-to-1 crack/powder cocaine
sentencing disparity.

Moreover, many Democrats in leadership positions in Congress support
drug policy reform, ranging from Speaker Nancy Pelosi to
Representative Dana Rohrabacher.

In the months ahead, President-elect Obama will choose a new Drug
Czar for our nation, and members of Congress will put together
legislation to overhaul his agency. We have an opportunity to
re-shape drug policy for a generation.

My enthusiasm is tempered, though, by the defeat of Proposition 5 in
California. We knew from early polling that a substantial majority of
Californians favored this major reform of the state's prisons and
drug sentencing policies. But a sordid coalition of the prison
guards' union, the beer distributors' association, gambling
interests, fanatical anti-drug groups and craven politicians raised
$3.5 million in the last few weeks of the campaign to run deceitful
TV ads across the state. Ultimately we could not compete with their
lies and scare tactics.

But I know from experience that there's opportunity to be found in
every defeat. We built new coalitions and found new allies, injected
new perspectives into the public debate, and increased our stature
and ability to shape future policies. We also won respect throughout
the state and the nation for taking on the Goliath of the
prison-industrial complex.

I feel energized like never before, and so do my colleagues at the
Drug Policy Alliance and our many allies in the growing movement to
end the drug war. I hope you do, too.