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This week, a $5 million settlement is awarded to the 46 black residents of Tulia, TX, who were arrested and jailed on fabricated drug charges by a crooked, racist cop; and drug "czar" John Walters speaks out against marijuana chewers in Nevada, where a pending initiative may legalize adult possession and use of the plant. More »
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For the past 15 years, lawmakers have pursued tough-on-drugs policies in an effort to create a "drug free America," plowing billions of dollars into prosecuting and imprisoning drug offenders. Is it working? Not according to many drug policy observers of each political stripe. Indeed, some claim the war on drugs has been a complete - and extremely costly - failure. More »
Random Testing, Disappointing Results
Marsha Rosenbaum, AlterNet
Bush credits recent declines in illegal drug use among teenagers to random drug testing, but research tells a different story.
Posted
on March 18, 2004.
Meth Infiltrates Gay Community
Eric Snider, Weekly Planet (Tampa)
Crystal meth, a drug popular in gay subcultures, levies a grim toll on the community.
Posted
on March 3, 2004.
Istook's Illegal Amendment
Steve Fox, AlterNet
A new law denies federal funding to any transit agency that allows the display of advertisements supporting 'the legalization or medical use' of marijuana.
Posted
on February 25, 2004.
Red Dirt Justice
DRCNet
In a Kafkaesque trial in Alabama, a marijuana legalization advocate is convicted on pot charges.
Posted
on February 13, 2004.
Drug Wars' Super Sunday
Bill Berkowitz, AlterNet
Despite evidence that they don't work, Team Bush's latest anti-drug advertising campaign kicks off during the Super Bowl -- and this time, the drug is booze.
Posted
on January 28, 2004.
No 'Silver Bullet'
Marsha Rosenbaum, AlterNet
Random drug testing in schools does not deter drug use, it alienates students, deters them from participating in extracurricular programs, and erodes the trust between a parent and a child.
Posted
on January 28, 2004.
Acid Evangelist
Tim Appelo, Seattle Weekly
Two years after Ken Kesey's death, the books are still coming. Are they evidence of genius, or a literary career wasted?
Posted
on January 26, 2004.
Istook On Drugs
Bill Berkowitz, WorkingForChange.com
Rep. Ernest Istook's anti-marijuana reform amendment is the newest in a line of cockamamie "Istook Amendments" that always seem to be circulating in Congress.
Posted
on January 21, 2004.
Free Tommy Chong!
Adam Bulger, New York Press
On April 20, 2004, I call upon all Americans to stop smoking pot. Everyone. For one year. For Tommy.
Posted
on January 20, 2004.
Feds Bust Medical Pot Patients In Courtroom
Ann Harrison, AlterNet
Two medical marijuana patients face life in prison after local prosecutors lured away their defense attorneys to permit federal agents to arrest the couple in court.
Posted
on January 17, 2004.
The International Terror-and-Drug Cop Is On the Beat
Jacob G. Hornberger, The Future of Freedom Foundation
U.S. forces are using the 'war on terror' to search and seize ships in the Persian Gulf and North Arabian Sea alleged to be carrying illicit drugs.
Posted
on January 14, 2004.
Top Ten Drug War Stories of 2003
Kevin Nelson, AlterNet
The drug war continues to exact crippling costs to taxpayers, minority groups, the environment, civil liberties and struggling democracies around the world.
Posted
on January 7, 2004.
Two Wars As One
Ron Jacobs, AlterNet
The 'war on drugs' provides a convenient excuse to lock up potentially unruly elements of society.
Posted
on January 14, 2004.
Life, Death, and Art
Suzy Khimm, WireTap
For 10 years the Grupo Cultural Afro-Reggae has been providing an alternative to drugs in Rio de Janeiro's most infamous ghetto.
Posted
in WireTap on December 8, 2003.
A Victory for Medical Pot Patients
Ann Harrison, AlterNet
Prompted by a lawsuit filed by medical marijuana patients and growers, a Ninth Circuit ruling affirms the medical pot reform laws of seven states.
Posted
on December 18, 2003.
Stop Pointing Guns at Our Kids
Marsha Rosenbaum, AlterNet
While government agencies continue to devise increasingly harsh anti-drug policies to no avail, real parents living with real teenagers are looking at pragmatic alternatives to zero tolerance.
Posted
on December 8, 2003.
The Drug War Consensus
Geov Parrish, WorkingForChange.com
The War On Drugs is a failure, irrational and has served as a pretext for a vast expansion of intrusive state powers.
Posted
on November 24, 2003.
Abandoning the 'Drug-Free America' Myth
Glenn Backes, Drug Policy Alliance
Rush Limbaugh is addicted to OxyContin. Arnold Schwarzenegger smoked pot. Billions of dollars have been spent and hundreds of thousands of people are locked up, yet drugs are as prevalent as ever.
Posted
on November 19, 2003.
Industrial Crops: Let's Revisit Hemp
Thomas Jefferson Hoban IV, AlterNet
Hemp has the potential to serve as a cost-effective, safe, and versatile solution to the impasse facing the biotechnology enterprise.
Posted
on October 30, 2003.
The Hypocrisy Smokescreen
Kimberle Williams Crenshaw, AlterNet
If political elites like Limbaugh had to suffer the devastating penalties for drug use that hundreds of thousands of nameless others face, this drug war would come to a halt in short order.
Posted
on October 21, 2003.
Using Your Brain on Drugs
Mike Newirth, In These Times
According to Jason Sullum's new book 'Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use,' the demonization of illicit drugs has resulted in a cultural naiveté that promotes irresponsible use and the black market.
Posted
on October 13, 2003.
Hero or Big Fat Idiot, Rush Limbaugh Should Not Face Prison
Matthew Briggs, Drug Policy Alliance
Rush Limbaugh should not face incarceration or otherwise be punished for what he chose to put into his own body. Neither should any other American, regardless of class, age or race.
Posted
on October 8, 2003.
Bolivia, the Drug War and a Leaf
Gary Payne, Americas.org
Everyday use of the coca leaf in Bolivia is a tradition as old as the roots of its civilization.
Posted
on October 3, 2003.
Is the Drug Czar Afraid to Debate?
Robert Kampia, AlterNet
U.S. drug czar John Walters says it's time for 'a national debate' on pot. Sounds good but does he really mean it?
Posted
on October 1, 2003.
The Ecstasy Debacle
Marsha Rosenbaum, AlterNet
If young Americans are ever to believe what our government tells them about drugs and other policy issues, we must be sure that our messages are based on sound science rather than political ideology.
Posted
on October 3, 2003.
« Home
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Background
Commonsense for Drug Policy
Europe, Australia and some corners of North America treat drug abuse like a disease rather than a crime. U.S. drug policy makers could learn a lot from them.
Drug War Fact
More than one in three Americans say the use of marijuana should be legal, according to the results of the annual USA Today/Gallup poll. The 34 percent support, up from just 25 percent in 1995, is the highest level ever recorded by Gallup.
Drug Law Timeline: 1600-1992
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were hemp farmers, which, during colonial times, made them good citizens. Read more in this drug war timeline.
Recommended Sites
Drug Policy Alliance
A think tank dedicated to broadening and informing the public about drug policy and related issues.
DPA 2003 Biennial Conference
Attend the Biennial Conference Nov. 6-8 in New Jersey!
The Marijuana Policy Project
A nonprofit working to minimize the harm associated with the use and prohibition of marijuana.
Drug Reform Coordination Network
A national network of nearly 20,000 activists and concerned citizens working for drug policy reform.
Racism and the Administration of Justice
Human Rights Watch presents the wording on racism in the justice system and the drug war for the World Conference Against Racism.
ReconsiDer: Forum on Drug Policy
ReconsiDer is a grassroots not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to finding alternatives to one of America's greatest public policy failures...the war on drugs.
Multimedia
Quick Fixes: U.S. Drug Policy
Do stiff prison sentences and international drug interdiction efforts reduce illegal drug use?
Requires Real Player
Race and the Drug War
The Lindesmith Center
Proceedings from a special session of the Drug Policies For the New Millennium Conference.
28 DAZE
WAMI Miami
A news program exposes the abusive practices of the SAFE drug treatment program in southern Florida.
Herbicide Problems
CBS
The spraying of a combination of herbicide and a powerful enhancing agent on Colombian coca plants not only fails to curb cocaine production, but is also creates a frightening health hazard to the thousands of people living near the fields.
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