Drug War Clock

Check out the DRUG WAR CLOCK at

http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm

This clock shows a running total of figures related to the war on drugs for 2009:

Federal Money Spent

currently $16,748,000,000

State Money Spent

currently $25,709,000,000

Total Money Spent

currently $42 Billion

(OVER $600 per second!)

People Arrested

1,542,000

Arrested for Cannabis

731,000

Incarcerated

9,058

TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC TIC TOC

Over-achieving Criminals

CRIMINAL DRUG USERS

Michael Phelps

..........14 OLYMPIC GOLDS!

...........37 World Records Broken!

.. and they say pot makes you lazy :)

Arnold Schwarzenegger

.......5 Mr. Universe wins

.......7 Mr. Olympia wins

"Marijuana is not a drug. It's a leaf. My drug was pumping iron, trust me." (interview by GQ 2007)

Not much of a pot smoker myself (okay, maybe I did inhale once or twice, unlike Bill Clinton), I have known many pot smokers that are amazing atheletes. I have personally known many professional and near professional-level snowboarders, skiers, and rock climbers who all seem to smoke pot! It doesn't seem to slow anyone down. In fact, it supposedly opens up your lungs and is often recommended as a natural remedy for asthma.

Initiative for 2010 to Legalize Pot in CA

There is an initiative currently in circulation that would legalize marijuana in California. According to the Secretary of State website (http://www.sos.ca.gov/), 433,971 signatures are required by February 10th in order to get the initiative turned into a proposition on the California ballot next fall.

(Yes, the Governator used to smoke dope before his workouts.. more on that later)

This initiative is called Initiative Measure 09-0024

"Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010"

I am personally in favor of this initiative. I think it is a part of what California needs to do on the road to decriminalizing drugs and reducing the harmful, overzealous, and racist effects of current drug policy. With a third of the state's incarcerated there for drug offenses, and half of the federally incarcerated behind bars due to drugs, change can't come soon enough.

In every way, marijuana is less harmful to people than cigarettes or alcohol. This is a fact.

While many Humboldt County locals would prefer to see marijuana remain illegal in order to continue to profit from the black market, I disagree. Even though our local economy would suffer, I don't think it's worth the success my local friends are having when it is at the expense of those who are behind bars, on probation, or are otherwise being held down by marijuana prohibition.

In fact, this black market of marijuana enthusiasts may be a hindrance to the passage of this bill. I am curious to know if it would pass in Humboldt County.

I hope that it would, as I believe the Humboldt Nation is more about social justice than making money.

Go Senator Jim Webb!!

Senator Webb may be THE political leader when it comes to drug policy reform. He is working hard in congress to make changes and gaining popularity.



To get an idea of what he is up to in an easy-read... look at this article in Parade, the mini magazine insert that goes in Sunday papers around the country.

http://webb.senate.gov/email/incardocs/parade_jimwebb.pdf



He introduced The National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009 in the Senate on March 26, 2009 .



He has created the "Blue Ribbon Commission", an 18 month program to address the inequalities, injustices, poor budgeting, and all of the other problems surrounding our current criminal justice and prison system.



http://webb.senate.gov/email/incardocs/FactSheeti.pdf



Exerpt:

"Why We Urgently Need this Legislation:
With 5% of the world's population, our country now houses 25% of the world's reported prisoners.

Incarcerated drug offenders have soared 1200% since 1980.

Four times as many mentally ill people are in prisons than in mental health hospitals.

Approximately 1 million gang members reside in the U.S., many of them foreign-based; and Mexican cartels operate in 230+ communities across the country.

Post-incarceration re-entry programs are haphazard and often nonexistent, undermining public safety and making it extremely difficult for ex-offenders to become full, contributing members of society. "

If video is more your thing, here is a quick overview of Webb's project on YouTube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WRc8LPMe4I Check it out! This is exciting!

LEAP

LAW ENFORCEMENT AGAINST PROHIBITION

Many people who have had experience in the field waging the "War on Drugs" know that it is a fruitless battle.

www.leap.cc

is a website where current and former officers have organized to become politically involved in creating more human solutions for drug users.

Criminalizing Poverty

POOR PEOPLE are targeted by law enforcement and fast-tracked towards incarceration....

They CAN'T AFFORD LAWYERS
They get TARGETED in their NEIGHBORHOODS
They CAN'T REBOUND from FINES
They CAN'T POST BAIL
The incarcerated poor are often MINORITIES
They are OFTEN MENTALLY ILL and UNINSURED
When they get out, they are FOREVER ENTANGLED in the SYSTEM

Below I have outlined the highlights from:

October 13, 2009: “Criminalizing” Poverty, By Tracy Velázquez, Executive Director, Justice Policy Institute

http://spotlightonpoverty.org/ExclusiveCommentary.aspx?id=5f13e0fe-a47d-4ce4-a945-187fc331e81d

How Public Policies Result in the Over-Incarceration of Low-Income Communities in America

NEIGHBORHOODS:
"America over-polices the poor. It makes sense that places with more crime would have a stronger police presence than communities with less. However, more policing in low-income areas results in more arrests and incarceration for offenses that would likely be handled informally or not at all in another neighborhood. "

RACE
"...component of over-policing is race... between January 2006 and September 2007, “random” frisks by New York City police included 453,042 blacks and only 94,530 whites. However, with race and income so closely intertwined, it is often difficult to separate the two. And the result is still that low-income individuals are more often the target of police attention, which means more are arrested and move deeper into the criminal justice system."

REPRESENTATION
".. However, individuals of lower income generally don’t choose their lawyer; one is assigned by the court. Or one should be, anyway; unfortunately, over one in four people in jail charged with misdemeanor offenses reported not having been represented by counsel. ..many work in conditions they describe as “assembly line justice.” ... many public defenders have barely met their client before they have to go into court and defend them... People who can afford a private attorney are less likely to go to state prison. "

BAIL
".. generally the same people who can’t afford to post bond. .. Currently, more than 60 percent of people in jails across the country have not been convicted of any offense. The inability to post bond not only makes it harder for people accused of crimes to meet with their lawyer and talk to people who might be able to aid in their defense, it also makes it harder to hold down their job and maintain custody of their children—even though they are still considered innocent. "

MENTAL ILLNESS
"Adult and juvenile correctional facilities are now among the country’s largest providers of mental health care...the Los Angeles County Jail is now the largest mental health facility in the country ...The manifestations of untreated mental illness often lead to behaviors that draw the attention of police—public order offenses that often accompany homelessness, crises that cause law enforcement to intervene, and “self-medicating” with alcohol and illegal drugs. "

RELEASE
"Currently, one in 31 people in the United States is under correctional supervision—whether in prison or jail, or on parole or probation. And millions more have a felony record that will never be erased, creating hardships for those trying to regain their lives and be a productive member of their community. ...people leaving prison...vulnerable to homelessness, often banned from federal housing... and lack the funds to afford available housing. Often, the obligations of parole fees and years of child support that went unpaid during their period of incarceration make it almost impossible to become economically successful.

"Policymakers continue to incarcerate millions of people, most of whom would not be in the system if there were more adequate resources in their communities. How can this situation be addressed, so that poverty and prison aren’t inevitably intertwined?"

Does prison work?
Does it change people and prevent crime?
Is punishment an effective way to change people's behavior?

I recently read "On the Effectiveness of Prison as Punishment" by Stuart Henry, Ph.D. from http://www.is.wayne.edu/stuarthenry/Effectiveness_of_Punishment.htm

This is what I learned:

"Psychological research on punishment in has shown that mild punishment can be effective in changing behavior, but the evidence is less clear about the effectiveness of severe punishment. Effectiveness of punishment is increased by:
1. Frequency of application
2. Immediacy of application
3. Punishment used in conjunction with positive reinforcement of pro-social behavior

However, punishment, especially in its severe form has several negative effects:
1. Avoidance or escape
2. Alienation of those punished, to the point of inaction
3. Aggressiveness, both targeted and generalized, by those punished
4. Conditioning of the punishers through rewarding them for behavioral change
5. Reproducing punishment behavior in those punished"

Looking at the incarceration of drug offenders, punishment is not a good strategy to use according to this research. First, punishment for the crime is not frequent, immediate, or used along with positive reinforcement for desired behaviors. Also, punishment promotes a gap between offenders and society in the forms of alienation, avoidance, and resentment.

Booming Business: PRIVATE PRISONS

PROFITTING from PRIVATE PRISONs

First, let me suggest...
Go to Google Videos to see:
NOW on PBS 419 Prisons for Profit

According to a NY Times article in 1995 private prisons housed 2% of the prison population and business was booming.http://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/12/nyregion/despite-setbacks-a-boom-in-private-prison-business.html

In this article, it was wisely noted that PEOPLE WHO RUN PRISONS SHOULD WANT TO EMPTY THEM, BUT PEOPLE WHO ARE PROFITTING FROM PRISONS NEED TO KEEP THEM FULL.

NOW, according to a 2008 report by the DOJ, an additional 5% of the prison population is housed in private facilities, or 7% of the 1.5 million in prison. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/journals/259/prison-privatization.htm





The Forbes website, a magazine about money, has a great article from which I will highlight a few quotes:

"The prison industry has a perverse incentive to keep the inmate population growing...."

"Federal and state governments spend more than $35 billion a year to lock up a greater portion of the population--one out of 138 Americans--than any other country on earth."

"Where are the financial incentives for prisons to properly perform their rehabilitative function?If anything, the captains of the incarceration industry have a perverse incentive to rehabilitate as few people as possible and keep business booming."

"...the system is so broken that the very people we entrust to rehabilitate prisoners actually profit from prolonged prisoner stays and quick prisoner returns."

"...the correctional officers union in California. This union has become one of the state's top political contributors. It has pushed not just for higher wages but for tougher laws and longer sentences."

"We now have a system that is divorced from its original purpose, which is to ensure neighborhood security, not job security."

"California spends $7.4 billion a year on prisons, more than on all its four-year colleges and universities combined. Nearly a dime out of every state dollar goes into California prisons, which house 170,000 inmates."

"How can we justify continuing to spend $40,000 to $100,000 annually per inmate in neighborhoods where we spend less than $9,000 per pupil?"


"If a community-based program can do a better job at keeping people out of prison with dimes than incarcerators have been doing with dollars, let's reallocate those funds."

AMEN to that!!