Issue:
The War on Drugs has been called a war on people
of color, the new Jim Crow, and according
to retired Chief of the Seattle Police Department Norm
Stamper, “the most dysfunctional policy since slavery.”
Although the increased rate of incarceration in the United
States, and particularly of nonviolent drug offenders,
has caused concern among various factions, the idea of
changing the emphasis of drug policy from law enforcement
to public health is controversial.
Background: Drug addiction, drug selling, and
the direct effects of incarceration are tearing apart
communities of color. However, the answers offered by
the government — increased arrests and more police
— beg the question: “Will more of
the same enforcement bring a change?” We
know that once a person is brought into the criminal court
system, a number of significant barriers arise. The disruption
of incarceration, the driver’s license suspensions,
the fines associated with courts, the exclusion from loans
and subsidized housing, and the difficulty of obtaining
employment are just some of them. Thus, changing the way
we deal with the underlying issues to a public health
model should be considered more seriously.
Looking at drug addiction from a public health model
is not so difficult to imagine. Treatment on demand,
both inpatient and outpatient, would be the defining
quality of this model. The current practice of shuttling
people through the court system, where access to treatment
is guarded by the state, should cause us concern. “Accountability”
is the word generally used by the state to justify the
court’s overseeing of treatment courts. “Accountability,”
however, is often a euphemism for incarceration.
Until we begin to question the effectiveness of placing
people in custody for this disease of drug addiction,
we will continue to spend an inordinate amount of our
budget, over 70 percent in King County, on an ineffective
public safety model.
Allowing for a public health model
would also begin to address many of the issues facing
our communities of color. If people are selling narcotics
in our communities, we have to ask why. The financial
incentive to sell drugs is so great that people are
willing to subject themselves to the likelihood that
they will be incarcerated. What if there were no money
to be made in selling drugs? Are we willing to start
that discussion in an honest manner, or will we decry
the effects of the War on Drugs without questioning
the financial incentives for law enforcement and those
who sell drugs?
Action: There are few public
forums where the ineffectiveness of the War
on Drugs is discussed openly. However, on Thurs.,
May 17, at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center from 6:30-8:30
p.m., such a discussion will occur. The community
panel will feature Stamper and King County Councilmember
Larry Gossett. It’s free of charge, with dinner
and childcare provided. Please join us on the evening
of May 17 to address the failed War on Drugs.
Call to Action courtesy of the Racial Disparity
Project of the Defender Association.
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