Fighting the War on Drugs
Ethan Nadelmann, drug policy reform activist and former Princeton professor,
spoke to students yesterday about building a political movement to end the war
on drugs while also discussing his role as an activist within the movement.
Nadelmann said that the government's current drug war is "doing more harm than
good," arguing that non-violent drug use should be treated "primarily as a
health issue, not a criminal justice issue." He addressed the need for
harm-reduction intervention that would treat drug offenders instead of
incarcerating them.
Nadelmann's movement has called upon ballot initiative legislation to reform
drug policy at the state level. In Arizona and California, two such initiatives
were passed to make treatment available to non-violent drug offenders rather
than sending them to jail.
In the case of the California initiative, proposition 36, 61 percent of the
voting population supported treatment and was willing to double state funding
for that treatment, according to Nadelmann. Even though funding was doubled,
taxpayers saved a total of 1.5 billion dollars over five years for not having to
expand the prison system.
"We can't be a drug-free society. The real challenge is learning to live with
drugs while at the same time minimizing their harmful effects," he said.
Whereas the United States continues to spend money on making our society
"drug-free," Nadelmann argued that the issue needs to be viewed more
realistically. Regarding drugs, he said, "it's gonna be produced legally or
illegally -- one way or another." Because, as he said, "you can't change
people's desires," the goal of the government should be to minimize harm to drug
users.
According to Nadelmann, in the United States, "250,000-300,00 people are
infected or dead because of dirty needle use." He explained that In Australia
and Great Britain, the HIV rate is between 5 and 10 percent, whereas in the
United States, nearly half of intravenous drug users in the 1980's and 90's had
contracted HIV. Nadelmann proposes that the government should, at the very
least, make drug use safer for those who are determined to do them, supporting
harm reduction programs such as safe needle exchanges.
He also stressed that many diverse groups of activists must work together to
make an impact on drug policy reform: "The growing movement has its own internal
divisions," he said, continuing, "Some people see the issue as one of racial
justice and don't care about the other stuff. Some come from a medical
marijuana standpoint, some from a libertarian standpoint ... and for some
people, it's about hallucinogens. We're all part of the same puzzle." Nadelmann
addressed the need to attack the issue from all sides since many organizations,
from HIV advocacy groups to women's groups, have a stake in the matter.
Nadelmann's interest in drug policy reform was piqued as a grad student at
Harvard. He worked in the state department's narcotics unit, interviewed drug
enforcement agents and saw how those incarcerated for drug possession were
treated. "It was an interesting form of graduate research," he said.
To date, Nadelmann has attracted national interest in drug policy reform through
articles in journals like International Organization, Daedalus and Foreign
Policy. He has also appeared on many news shows, including Nightline and Larry
King Live, and has written a book, Cops Across Borders. Additionally, he is the
founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a nonprofit
organization. The Alliance's stated mission is "to end the war on drugs and
promote new drug policies based on science, compassion, health and human
rights," according to the organization's website.
Students reacted positively to the lecture. "I didn't realize the amount of
issues involved," said Max Bushell '06.
"It's nice to see someone recognizing that there are two sides to an issue. All
those people in one way or another are affected by this," said Seth Palmer '06.
"He definitely grabbed me -- I was pulled in."
"I thought he was a genius to tell you the truth," said Daniel Truini '06.
Prof. Mary Katzenstein, government, said that the decision to invite Nadelmann
to campus had a lot of support. "He's one of those rare individuals who has
been able to bridge academia and activism." Nadelmann's visit was sponsored by
the University Lectures committee, the Peace Studies Program, the American
Studies Program, the Department of Government and the Cornell Program for the
Study of Contentious Politics.
Newshawk:
http://www.cannabisnews.com/
Pubdate: Wed, 08 Oct 2003
Source: Cornell Daily Sun, The (NY Edu)
Copyright: 2003 The Cornell Daily Sun, Inc.
Contact:
letters@cornelldailysun.com
Website:
http://www.cornelldailysun.com/
Details:
http://www.mapinc.org/media/1758
Author: Irena Djuric
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