DRUG POLICY STILL NEEDS WORK

Because we are approaching an election year, here's something to
consider when deciding which candidate deserves your vote. Many
elected officials, such as Gov. Perry for example, have and continue
to be bolstered by platforms that include staunch support for being
"tough on crime" and for promoting the continuance of the "war on
drugs." However, it is a well-documented fact that the communities
most impacted by the so called "war on drugs" are impoverished
communities, and, according to state statistical analyses of race
percentages, there is an uneven number of blacks and Latinos living
below the poverty line.

Meanwhile, Texas, more than any other state, has an over-reliance on
the prison system. Statistics show that 60 percent of the prison
population consists of drug offenders, and although Latinos only
comprise roughly 32 percent of the state population and blacks only
make up about 11.5 percent (as reported in the 2000 census), the
majority of those people in prison happen to be Latinos and blacks.

A major victory was recently scored during the 78th Texas Legislature
for drug policy reformers. Lawmakers were given the results of a study
that showed that participants in drug treatment programs were
33-percent less likely to be arrested, 45-percent less likely to be
convicted again, and 87-percent less likely to return to prison than
those merely sent to prison. In addition to the study, legislators saw
that HB 2668, which required that all first-time offenders caught with
less than a gram of a controlled substance receive drug treatment,
would save Texas $115 million over the next five years. The bill
passed and went into effect Monday, Sept. 1.

However, the war on drugs persists, and its effects continue to
negatively impact minority communities. Families are torn apart when
relatives are sent to prison on charges of either the sale or usage of
drugs, and, according to data complied by the ACLU, NAACP, and LULAC,
children of incarcerated parents are five times more likely to serve
prison time when they become adults. Also, once these individuals are
released from prison, a drug conviction on one's record serves as a
permanent "scarlet letter" that prevents him or her from obtaining a
job, housing or student loans - making it impossible for the
individual to support a family or to make a living. Another point of
concern is that there is no rehabilitation program within the prison
system. After their release, these individuals are eventually forced
back into the cycle of purchasing and/or using drugs.

Further complicating the issue is the fact that black and Latino
communities tend to be largely unaware of the benefits of
rehabilitation, for they have only been presented with one remedy to
drug related crimes - prison. These minorities, in other words, have
bought into the ideology of political leaders who promise to clean up
the streets by perpetuating the war on drugs. Such politicians, in
essence, manipulate the fear and despair that African-Americans and
Hispanics have because of the "war on drugs," selling an agenda that
comes across as one that will end the prevalence of the sale and use
of illegal narcotics.

The problem, however, is not exclusive to Texas nor to Latinos and
blacks. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, an organization that
has complied national statistics, in addition to blacks and Latinos,
Asians and Native Americans are also more likely to be the recipients
of castigatory drug laws than whites. Thus, despite drug abuse being a
problem that transcends all racial lines, minority communities are the
ones most heavily targeted by existing policies and that is why in
2004, Americans need to elect a candidate that has the interests of
these communities at heart.

Fajardo is a government senior.