Last year over 50 SSDP chapters participated in our national day of action on Cinco de Mayo by drawing attention to the drug war violence occurring in Mexico. We protested the fact that in just over one year, more than 7,500 people had been killed in Mexico. Needless to say, prohibition hasn't gone away and today, more than 18,000 people have been murdered in Mexico.
So SSDP will be organizing a 2010 Day of Action and we hope that even more SSDP chapters will participate and our voices will be louder than last year. Go to http://www.ssdp.org/cincodemayo for more information.
SSDP chapters will be drawing attention to this issue by doing things like:
Demonstrating on campus with Mexican flags or balloons
Hosting a speaker from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Check Out the Resources
Here's a page of resources that you can download and use:http://www.ssdp.org/cincodemayo/resources
The page includes an editable press release that you can send to local news outlets, Mexican flags you can print out, an action plan, and more to come soon.
Sign the Petition During your demonstration you can set up a laptop and get people to sign the petition. http://www.EndDrugProhibition.com
While my last post made light of the situation in El Paso, this event proved to be an important day for drug policy. Even though mayor Cook's veto was not overridden by the city council, councilman O'Rourke's goal to stimulate dialogue about ending prohibition was achieved. Over 40 people testified their support or disagreement with the veto's override. It seemed like most supported keeping all options on the table and not limiting discussion - whether or not they personally supported legalization.
Nubia Legarda, a University of Texas at El Paso student, testified on behalf of SSDP in support of the amendment that would include the discussion of ending prohibition as an option to curb the escalating violence in Juarez. Nubia has family in Juarez and provided a touching and articulate testimony that made SSDP proud!
Immediately after the city council meeting, Nubia made a $10 donatation to SSDP! Thank her by matching her donation today!
Somehow, El Paso Mayor John Cook's recent comments stereotyping those who support the resolution he vetoed last week, remind me of the Big Lebowski scene where Mr. Lebowski and The Dude argue about jobs, why he is "the Dude", and the 60's hippie revolution; filled with pot smoking - free loving, bums.
“I can tell you that all the potheads have sent their e-mails and they are encouraging the reps to stand by their decision" wrote Cook in a recent email to a supporter.
Ahhh yes. All the potheads, the bums Lebowski. It's quite ironic that he uses "potheads" to describe those in opposition to his veto and have taken the initiative to contact their representatives, write letters to the editor, post comments, blogs and send in their opinion pieces. Isn't "pothead" a term used to describe someone who is lazy, lethargic, and sits around all day smoking pot? The Mayor must feel pretty silly that the people he considers potheads are doing a better job of using the political process than those who support his veto.
By now you are probably aware of the recent resolution, written and passed by the El Paso city council, that included an amendment encouraging that ending drug prohibition be discussed. The resolution was aimed at addressing and drawing attention to the rising violence occurring in the city of Juárez, Mexico which borders El Paso, Texas.
After passing unanimously, the resolution was quickly vetoed by El Paso mayor John Cook, who reasoned that "It is not realistic to believe that the U.S. Congress will seriously consider any broad-based debate on the legalization of narcotics," Cook added. "That position is not consistent with the community standards both locally and nationally."
Cook goes on to say "The whole purpose of the resolution was to get national attention to the violence in Juárez," he said. "After it was amended, the focus was placed instead on legalizing drugs in the United States."
I disagree and think that had the amendment not been added, no one would have heard of this resolution and little more attention would have been drawn to the prohibition related violence in Juárez. Beto O'Rourke, the city councilman that added the amendment, speaks quite eloquently about the purpose of bringing legalization into the discussion. He makes it very clear that the council did not vote in support of legalization, but in support of evaluating the relationship between the rise of violence in Juárez and U.S. drug policy.
More than 20 people have already been killed in Juárez since the new year started. The details of these murders are so grotesque and frightening, it's hard to believe the Mayor wouldn't even support the discussion of drug decriminalization. The council is set to vote on an override of the veto this Tuesday.
The El Paso Times has an article on the vote and a follow up opinion in support of the council's vote. Be sure to weigh in on the comments section and also to vote YES on the poll located near the end of this article. LEAP's Terry Nelson had an excellent op-ed printed in the El Paso times. Again, please leave comments of support for the resolution, Terry Nelson's op-ed, and while your at it, throw in a mention of your favorite student drug policy reform organization.
In an unrelated story, El Paso's "most wanted fugitive" is:
EL PASO -- A 23-year-old man who was arrested for shoplifting at Wal-Mart while eating potato wedges and popcorn chicken he didn't pay for, is the most-wanted fugitive this week, an El Paso County Sheriff's Office spokesman said.
