Pubdate: Fri, 05 Apr 2013
Source: Herald Democrat (Sherman,TX)
Copyright: 2013 Herald Democrat
Contact:  http://www.herald-democrat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2710
Author: David Gonier

DRUG POLICY FORUM OF TEXAS SPEAKER HOSTS DISCUSSION

"If Social Security checks had increased at the same rate as spending on
the War on Drugs (since its inception), each Social Security check would
now be over $40,000," said Suzanne Wills, director of the Drug Policy 
Forum of Texas. That statistic drew the biggest laugh of disbelief from 
the small crowd of mostly seniors at the organization's lecture and 
discussion session at the United Way of Grayson County in Sherman 
Thursday night.

Discussion of the presentation after Wills' lecture was lively and
positive. Locals expressed concern about the issues presented. "I see a 
lot of this happening right here in our community . what affects one 
affects all of us," said attendee Joann Perkins. "We can make a 
difference, but our voices have to be out there."

"I've never heard this stuff before and now I'm hearing it twice," said 
one local woman in response to the speech. Audible gasps from the 
audience were common in Wills' 45-minute talk, which mostly delivered 
hard statistics from the United States government's almost four-decades 
long "War on Drugs." Wills presented slides breaking down the statistics.

Wills focused on the high rates of incarceration in the U.S. as the most
problematic result of state and federal drug policy. The United States 
has the most incarcerated population in the world. With only five 
percent of the world's population, the U.S. houses nearly 25 percent of 
the world's prisoners, Wills said. Wills' presentation also highlighted
the many vested corporate interests which may influence drug policy, 
including for-profit prison companies.

The Drug Policy Forum of Texas is a nonpartisan nonprofit corporation
dedicated to informing people about the harmful effects of the "War on
Drugs" and possible alternatives to address drug use in society. They 
are partners with Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, an organization
of criminal justice professionals who are also concerned with the
harmful effects of current drug policy. More information may be
obtained through either website: www.dpft.org and www.leap.cc.
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MAP posted-by: Matt