Pubdate: Wed, 19 Apr 2000 Source: Stanford Daily Website: http://daily.stanford.org/ Address: Storke Publications Building Suite 101, Stanford, CA 94305-2240 Contact: (650)725-1329 Author: David Abril, Contributing Writer PANEL OF SCHOLARS DEBATES CURRENT US POLICY ON DRUGS Three prominent scholars agreed that current U.S. drug policy is flawed and should be reformed at a panel discussion titled "Collateral Damage: The Hidden Costs of the War on Drugs" given last night at Annenberg Auditorium. The panelists emphasized the financial, human and social costs incurred by the war on drugs. Their comments aimed both to back their recommendations for reform and to promote awareness and create discussion about the drug problem. "What we're trying to do can't be done. The police are faced with a war that they didn't declare and can't win," said Joseph McNamara, a Hoover Fellow and former San Jose Police Chief, addressing problems of drug law enforcement. McNamara characterized the war on drugs within the United States as an expensive but futile task that has caused considerable damage to police credibility and ruined the lives of drug offenders. According to McNamara, the current budget for fighting the drug war is $17.8 billion. "What do we get for our money?" asked McNamara. "Great human costs: 400,000 people in prison for drug offenses with longer sentences than predatory criminals." McNamara added that the war on drugs has also created gangster cops who get involved with the trade under the umbrella of a drug war. When they get caught, it destroys the credibility of good police officers." Panelist Marsha Rosenbaum, an author and researcher at the Lindesmith Foundation, questioned the effectiveness of drug education in America's schools. According to Rosenbaum, the United States has spent $2 billion in prevention efforts, which include drug education. "The result is the most extensive drug education program in the world," said Rosenbaum. "Over 50 percent of high schoolers have tried pot, the use of ecstasy is up and increasing and the use of heroin, although a small proportion of drug use, is increasing. The messages don't prevent drug use." Rosenbaum criticized the simplistic approach of drug education programs like Drug Abuse Resistance Education, saying that they failed to provide young people with information that would allow them to make better judgments about drug use. In addition to an analysis of the domestic drug problem, the discussion included a presentation on the effects of the drug war in Colombia by author and peace activist John Lindsay-Polland. Lindsay-Polland criticized the proposed $218 billion aid package to the Colombian government to fight drug lords there, many of whom are affiliated with anti-government guerrilla groups. Military action would not decrease demand on the streets of America, according to Lindsay-Polland, but would undermine peace negotiations between the government and rebel groups. He believes the fighting would also result in the displacement of many Colombians from their homeland. "I have to wonder why are sending guns to that area," Lindsay-Polland said. "People in Congress believe you have to go to the source to eliminate the drug problem. Even if you believe this strategy is effective, which is doubtful, it's disturbing because it suggests that our victims are more important than the victims in Colombia." As policy alternatives, McNamara and Rosenbaum advocate decriminalizing marijuana and regulating it like alcohol. All panelists favor a redistribution of the current budget into efforts aimed at prevention and rehabilitation. There was consensus among the panelists that public awareness of the drug war's costs is key in reforming policy. "The drug war is un-American, but there's a lot of room for a reform movement," said McNamara. "What's needed most is discussion and debate about this issue." - --- MAP posted-by: Don Beck