Pubdate: Thu, 19 Jul 2007
Source: Taos Daily Horse Fly (NM)
Email:  http://www.taosdaily.com/index.php?fuseaction=home.main
Address:  P.O. Box 1135,  Taos, NM 87571
Copyright: 2007 Horse Fly
Author: Michael Jones, LEAP
Note: Monthly newspaper
Note: Michael Jones is a veteran of USMC combat in Viet Nam and spent 
20 years with the Gainesville Police Department in Florida. Three 
assignments in narcotics; Special Operations Unit, SWAT & Bomb Squad 
Cmdr., Patrol Division Cmdr., last 3-4 years Deputy Chief of Police. 
He and his wife moved to Taos/Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico in 1996.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?233 (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition)

THE POLICY ON DRUGS

LEAP, or Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, is a non-profit 
organization dedicated to drug policy reform. The founders were 
former drug warriors" and many members are former actors in the 
criminal justice system.

The War on Drugs (WOD) isn't a war, it is a policy. "War" implies 
battle, struggle, defeat, victory, injury, and death. The so-called 
War On Drugs has all of those. Except victory. Victory simply is 
impossible to achieve because the very nature of human desire for 
pleasure would have to be eliminated. That desire is biologically 
hard-wired in humans, and other animals as well. Elephants and 
non-human primates ingest fermented fruit for the apparent purpose of 
experiencing pleasure. Humans, also, are "pleasure seekers" and we 
engage in an astoundingly broad spectrum of methods for achieving 
pleasure, and whether it's high risk sporting adventures or using 
various drugs and plants, the objective is to experience pleasure and 
few would be denied their quest.

Currently two of the most dangerous drugs in modern society are 
legally regulated ­ tobacco and alcohol. In most instances, the use 
of either of these drugs is considered a health issue rather than a 
criminal issue. The use of all other drugs, even prescription drugs 
under certain circumstances, is considered a crime to be addressed by 
the criminal justice system rather than healthcare providers.

Recently Britain's Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, 
Manufactures, and Commerce [RSA] released a two-year study calling 
for an end to drug prohibition.

Recommendations from the RSA Commission's report on illegal drugs, 
Drugs ­ Facing Facts" (partial list):

Drug use should be seen in the context of our use of alcohol and 
tobacco, which is often far more harmful. Drug policy should, like 
our policy on alcohol and tobacco, seek to regulate use and prevent 
harm rather than to prohibit use altogether. Illegal drugs should be 
regulated alongside alcohol, tobacco, prescribed medicines and other 
legal drugs in a single regulatory framework. The remit of the 
Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, or any similarly constituted 
body, should be extended to include alcohol and tobacco.

The aim of drug policy should be to reduce harm. The widest possible 
promotion of harm reduction measures should be an integral component 
of a pragmatic drugs policy. For example, drug consumption rooms 
should be made available where it is in the public interest to do so.

Drug treatment should be viewed primarily as a health and social 
issue and should be less heavily influenced by the demands of the 
criminal justice system.

To reinforce the view that drugs are primarily a social issue, and 
one to be handled at the local level through multi-agency 
partnerships. . .working at the local level and for overseeing local 
authorities.

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is no longer fit for purpose. It should 
be scrapped and replaced with a new Misuse of Substances Act that: 
Sets drugs in the wider context of substance misuse alongside 
alcohol, tobacco and other psychoactive substances; Is linked to an 
evidence-based index (reviewed on a regular basis) that makes clear 
the relative risks of harm from individual substances; Seeks to focus 
punishment mainly on harmful behaviors stemming from drug use rather 
than the simple possession of drugs.

Sure, we do things differently here in "the Colonies." But surely the 
wisdom of an objective study and recommendations should not, and 
really cannot, be ignored.

Our War on Drugs is the new prohibition, with all the same results 
and chances of success as the last one. The WOD is doing more harm 
than good to our society and citizenry: we have more people in prison 
on drug related charges, over 2 million, than all of Europe has for 
all crimes; the WOD has disproportionately impacted minorities and 
lower socio-economic groups. Since convicted felons are either 
partially or completely denied the right to vote, they cannot 
participate in society. How then can they be expected to be 
rehabilitated or to reintegrate?

It is time to take the control of drugs out of the hands of 
criminals. Legalized regulation will (and has elsewhere) result in 
less crime, less disease, better treatment and prevention, will save 
taxpayer dollars currently misspent on enforcement and generate tax revenue.

Remember, the drug war is a policy, not a war; policies can be 
changed. Get involved, get educated, take action, contact your 
elected and appointed officials and tell them that it is time to end 
the War On Drugs.

Michael Jones is a veteran of USMC combat in Viet Nam and spent 20 
years with the Gainesville Police Department in Florida. Three 
assignments in narcotics; Special Operations Unit, SWAT & Bomb Squad 
Cmdr., Patrol Division Cmdr., last 3-4 years Deputy Chief of Police. 
He and his wife moved to Taos/Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico in 1996.
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