REPORT: STATE BLACKS ARE 53 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO GO TO PRISON FOR DRUG OFFENSE

MOUNT PLEASANT - The war on drugs is a war on people of color, officials
from the Drug Policy Alliance said Friday.

The Alliance's conference, held at the Racine Marriott Hotel, brought
together leaders from communities most affected by drug law enforcement to
understand the war's impact on communities of color. The organization is
based in New York and works to reform drug laws.

"We're going to look at the history of drug prohibition in the U.S. How
drug policy fits in with race and class, with addiction and treatment, with
crime and punishment and how the criminal justice system deals addiction,"
said Deborah Small, director of public policy and community outreach for
the Alliance.

In the United States black men are incarcerated for drug offenses at 13
times the rate of white men despite equal rates of drug use across races,
according to a report by the advocacy group Human Rights Watch.

The report found that in Wisconsin that blacks are 53 times more likely to
go to prison for a drug offense than a white man. The rate is the second
highest in the country and more than four times the national average.

Presenter Lenard Wells said changes have to be made to policies that return
people their communities without proper support. Wells is the chairperson
of the State of Wisconsin Parole Commission.

"States just send people back without support," Wells said. "We have to
work with churches, community-based organizations and families they all can
play a part in coordinating reentry."

The conference, "Breaking the Chains: Communities of Color and the War on
Drugs," was sponsored by WISDOM, a statewide interfaith organization.