My Thoughts: How Things Move Forward

Dear Drug Policy Reformer:

One of the world's top criminals was elected President of the United States last week. As numerous former Trump staffers and more than 1,000 national security leaders have warned, grave dangers lie ahead.

In the meanwhile, the policy process continues. Congress will pass budgets. Staffers will work on their issue assignments. Executive branch officials will make decisions on the administrative processes in their portfolios. Judges – who don't always bow to the Trump signet ring, even now – will rule on cases. And there's the states.

During our 30+ year history, our organization has had to navigate painful and troubled waters. During wars, the aftermath of terrorist attacks, the COVID-19 pandemic, the first Trump presidency, and other crises – during times when the political environment was less friendly vs. more – we identified ways to do our work that were appropriate for the moment and advanced reform.

Sometimes that meant spending more of our time building the support needed for the changes we want, to be leveraged at times of opportunity later. Often it meant having to beat back bad new legislation or mitigate its worst aspects. But even at the best of times, long-term advocacy and organizing is part of what organizations like ours do.

We have also worked extensively, during the first Trump term and since, on international human rights problems that connect closely to the big-picture challenges facing global democracy. These include the rise of authoritarian demagogues; the attacks on free media; the normalization of government violence; and the supercharging by social media of polarization and disinformation, a problem with deep impact on elections and policymaking. We've learned something about democracy-challenged societies, and how advocates in them work. We're actively engaged in international efforts to strengthen rule of law.

Back in the US, the indications for Trump and drug policy don't point uniformly in one direction. But they're mainly bad:

• In December 2016 and again in May 2017, Trump praised the now former Philippines' president Rodrigo Duterte, specifically for his murderous anti-drug program.
• Trump's response to the fentanyl crisis includes calls to carry out death penalty executions for some drug offenses; and to fight drug cartels by invading, sending "kill squads," firing missiles into or dropping bombs on Mexico.
• The Trump administration's opioid task force, headed by Kellyanne Conway, took a political approach that rendered it not very consequential.
• Trump not only opposed calls for policing reform; he actively encouraged acts of violence against reform advocates.

On cannabis (marijuana) policy, the incoming president has made some positive statements. Part two of our Harris-Walz endorsement discusses why we think there may be less to that than meets the eye. As president, Trump granted clemencies to a handful of federal drug war prisoners who were serving lengthy undeserved sentences. But that had a lot to do with advocacy by a celebrity couple who are no longer together. He also signed the First Step Act, a criminal justice reform bill championed by his son-in-law Jared Kushner, which has been helpful in getting some low-risk prisoners out, though more so during the pre-vaccine part of the pandemic. Trump is reported, however, to have expressed regret for his son-in-law's advice on supporting criminal justice reform.

Also on our minds are disappointing results for drug reform ballot initiatives in this election. But as our overview notes, there were glimmers of hope. Nebraska voters passed medical marijuana. In Florida, where a marijuana legalization initiative failed to reach the needed 60%, it did at least garner 56% of the vote – a majority. That was after the governor diverted $4 million of opioid settlement funds to run anti-marijuana ads in the midst of the campaign season.

The other two legalization initiatives that failed were in North and South Dakota, obviously not the easiest places for us. We're disappointed that Massachusetts' psychedelics initiative didn't pass. But psychedelics reform despite a lot of excitement is still politically young.

Despite all the challenges, there are members of Congress who often agree with us, in both parties. And for Democrats, who support us by far greater numbers than Republicans, and whose congressional leadership are far more likely to allow good votes to happen, structural factors favor their returning to power in both chambers of Congress in two years. That is admittedly based on historical voting patterns continuing, which is never a certainty. It also depends on just how far unscrupulous allies of the incoming president have advanced their vote suppression activities by then.

Additionally, some of the incoming president's campaign promises, if carried out, will wreak economic havoc. And changes plotted by monarchist networks such as Project 2025, risk breaking the government's ability to respond effectively at times when Americans expect it, such as in the aftermath of natural disasters. Government failure at critical times would turn some of Trump's supporters against him. If there is a noticeable deterioration in the aged new president's mental state, as many observers believe is already occurring, that may do so as well.

After Donald Trump's 2016 election, we decided we would observe the incoming president's job performance with an open mind, be prepared to give credit if he did anything good, but also speak plainly about how we view his presidency and the state of affairs in our country. In 2024 and forward, we will continue to report honestly about the politics of drug policy, including that of opponents and allies from both parties, and of the White House.

And we'll continue to work, as we're able, with responsible individuals from both major parties. If any good initiatives come from the White House or its allies, we'll engage with them constructively. What we won't do, however, is contribute in any way to the normalization of Trump or Trumpism, nor to the downplaying by his enablers of the crimes and abuses he's now poised to continue.

Our 30+ years of work in US policy, including during crises, and our work in the international sphere on issues tied closely to democracy, mean we have a role to play during the uncertain days ahead. We're figuring out right now what that means. With continued support in all the ways that are needed, we'll be ready. Thank you for reading this far in my email, and for the part that you play.

Sincerely,

David Borden
StoptheDrugWar.org
Washington, DC
"US and UN Drug Policy Reform"
https://stopthedrugwar.org

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