PIECE DE RESISTANCE

Foes Of The War On Drugs Take A Stand In Missoula

Wars of oppression have a tendency to leave the deepest scars of any armed
conflict. In this country, the Civil War was fought in part over the
South's refusal to grant rights to black people, and we engaged World War
II in part to combat the inhuman treatment of Jews at the hands of the
Nazis. In both cases, rare beacons of hope arose in the forms of
underground resistance movements that assisted those directly affected by
the most savage of injustices.

Next week Missoula plays host to a modern-day resistance movement, with the
first annual Montana Drug Policy Summit at the University of Montana
starting Wednesday, Sept. 4. Co-organized by Montana NORML (The National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) Director John Masterson and
Frances DeForrest, a local nurse and mother, the conference will showcase
the growing movement to effect a large-scale dismantling of federal drug
policy.

The event was deliberately scheduled in the days preceding the Missoula
Hempfest, which each year attracts a growing crowd that typically supports
the cause. But Masterson hopes that the summit will generate interest
across a broader spectrum of citizens.

"Frances [DeForrest] and I realized that events like Hempfest attract a
certain group who have a progressive stance on drug policy issues,"
Masterson says. "The value of the summit is in attracting a more mainstream
audience, those who are undecided or even disagree with the drug policy
reform movement. We want to present the position of a progressive drug
policy in a more conservative, academic setting."

The summit boasts an all-star lineup. Two of the summit speakers have ties
to Missoula: local neurologist Ethan Russo, who has become a leading figure
in the national medical marijuana movement, and former Missoulian Dan Baum,
author of Smoke and Mirrors: The War on Drugs and the Politics of Failure,
a scathing disembowelment of the architects of the drug war. On a national
scale, the big hitters include the head honchos of several prominent drug
policy reform groups.

Kevin Zeese is president of Common Sense for Drug Policy (CSDP), a highly
regarded umbrella group that works behind the scenes to assist and
coordinate the efforts of myriad reform groups. CSDP is the driving force
behind the Alliance of Reform Organizations (ARO), a consortium of 150
leaders of like-minded groups. Zeese will lay out the argument against
current drug policy and will outline a four-point plan for an improved
national drug policy.

"The first thing is that treatment for drug addicts must be made available
like any other health service, because in most cases drug addiction and
abuse are symptoms of larger societal problems," Zeese says. "The second is
that we want to see money invested directly into our children instead of
the drug war, because the best way to prevent adolescent drug use is to
keep kids active and involved in life. The third is to restore justice to
the current system, because we must address the obvious racism there as
well as give judges the power to sentence people, rather than rely on
mandatory sentencing. And last, we must face up to the fact that
prohibition simply does not work."

Zeese and CDSP have helped nurture the November Coalition, a Colville,
Wash.-based organization that champions the cause of prisoners incarcerated
for drug offenses. November Coalition Director Nora Callahan knows
firsthand the anguish caused by the War on Drug's appetite for
incarceration. Her brother, Gary, is more than halfway through a 27-year
prison sentence on drug charges.

"We want to put a human face on them, and show the public who is in their
prisons," says Callahan. "They are not the monsters you'd expect, they are
like people in your own family. Our drug policy has to encompass a
compassionate, pragmatic view of our fellow neighbors. And right now it
does not do that. It's selective enforcement of mostly vulnerable people."
The energy level at the summit will no doubt be buttressed by Cliff
Thornton, a fiery, outspoken activist who heads Efficacy, a nonprofit that
advocates peaceful solutions to social problems. Thornton, whose mother
died of an apparent heroin overdose when he was in high school, has
recently taken black civil rights leaders to task for their complacency in
the drug war.

"What is most disturbing to me is that [black leaders] don't see the
overall devastation it's doing," Thornton says. "Let's be realistic. A lot
of these black leaders are in positions of power, and there must be some
type of unwritten code that says no one in the political arena can talk
about alternatives to the drug war for fear of retribution. It's ludicrous.
The overwhelming theme of this drug war is that it is a class war. It is a
war on poor people, primarily those of color. This is not rocket science."
Thornton echoes the growing sentiment among drug policy reformers that the
movement is gaining momentum every day. "We're picking up steam," he says.
"I predict that within the next three or four years, this is a question
that everyone is going to have to contend with openly."

That momentum, says Zeese, is contingent on the efforts of everyday
citizens like those here in Montana. "I think people need to understand the
incredible power they have as individuals, and that if they work together
as individuals, they can have a huge impact," he says. "I expect we may be
preaching to the choir here, which is OK as long as I can get the choir to
get bigger and sing louder."

The First Annual Montana Drug Policy Summit takes place at the University
of Montana Sept. 4-6. A complete schedule of events can be found at
www.montanadrugpolicy.org.