Studies and a Conference

February, 2004

Suzanne Wills, Drug Policy Chair

The Studies-Drug Policy at the state and national levels

The LWVUS social policy position is “…Promote social and economic justice and the health and safety of all Americans.” It is impossible to advocate effectively for this position without studying the drug war.

Crime and official corruption brought about by prohibition threaten us all. All of our children have easy access to polluted, illegal drugs. We all pay the approximately $500 million annual bill. However, despite equal rates of drug use across racial lines, people of color make up an overwhelming proportion of those penalized by the criminal justice system, suffering from drug-related HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C, excluded from public assistance, deported or detained, denied the right to vote and restricted from education and employment opportunities as a result of a drug offense.

The Austin Area LWV will propose drug policy studies to both LWV-TX and LWVUS. The studies were suggested by Noelle Davis. According to the Austin Area Voter, “Members agreed that the focus of such a study should be on laws and policies related to currently illegal recreational drugs, how they relate to social policy, and the legalization of medical use of marijuana. The study could be structured on a health-based model with focus on the effectiveness of drug policy.”

At either the state or national level these would clearly be large studies, but they would not be difficult to do. A great deal of information on drug policy and on medical use of cannabis is readily available. I urge the LWV of Dallas to support the Austin Area LWV in proposing both state and national drug policy studies.

The Conference-Breaking the Chains: Communities of Color and the War on Drugs

The most prominent drug policy reform organization, The Drug Policy Alliance, has long recognized that racial prejudice is integral to drug policy. It has hosted two successful Breaking the Chains conferences, in Los Angeles (2002) and in Racine, WI (2003). Texas was a logical location after the Tulia, Hearne and Dallas Sheetrock scandals. The 2004 conference will be held in Houston on April 1-3. The goals of the conference are to educate the public, community leaders and elected officials about the drug war's disproportionate impact on people of color; to mobilize local and national coalitions to advance drug policy reform; and to promote alternative models to punitive drug laws and enforcement practices. For information, registration and scholarship information see http://www.breakingthechains.info/ or call Renee Davis at 212-613-8052.