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Feature: Drug Policy and the Reform Vote in the Presidential Race

Drug reform hasn't been much of an issue in the presidential campaign, but there are differences between the major party candidates -- and much larger differences between them and a trio of minor party candidates with solidly radical drug reform proposals. For whom to vote?
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If Terrorists and Drug Traffickers Collaborate, It’s the Drug War’s Fault

Has drug war destabilization in South America become a threat to our national security?

MIAMI (AP) — There is real danger that Islamic extremist groups such as al-Qaida and Hezbollah could form alliances with wealthy and powerful Latin American drug lords to launch new terrorist attacks, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

Extremist group operatives have already been identified in several Latin American countries, mostly involved in fundraising and finding logistical support. But Charles Allen, chief of intelligence analysis at the Homeland Security Department, said they could use well-established smuggling routes and drug profits to bring people or even weapons of mass destruction to the U.S.

Well that just sucks. Realistically, however, I think we’re relying on a rather twisted interpretation of the drug traffickers’ agenda here. These guys are making huge profits and they don’t want to rock the boat. Terrorists might pay for cover upfront, but they’re bad for business in the long term. I doubt high-level traffickers would deliberately abate straight-up terrorists whose goal is basically to kill their customers. They bring a different kind of attention that you seriously don’t want if you’re just moving a product.

Still, it’s certainly true that the massive blackmarket infrastructure has led to the development of invisible networks and services that terrorists could take advantage of. If you’re selling underground transit, you don’t ask too many questions of your customers. It’s not willful collaboration we should be worried about, so much as the reality that there’s an industry built around bringing anyone and anything into our country.

After decades of drug war demolition tactics throughout South and Central America, the situation is worse than ever. As new threats emerge, the drug war continues to literally puncture every mechanism that might protect us.
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Heroin Trafficking in Afghanistan is a Really Big Deal, Unless the President’s Brother Does It

Rumors that the brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai may be involved in drug trafficking have not been investigated. Why?

The assertions about the involvement of the president’s brother in the incidents were never investigated, according to American and Afghan officials, even though allegations that he has benefited from narcotics trafficking have circulated widely in Afghanistan.
…
Several American investigators said senior officials at the D.E.A. and the office of the Director of National Intelligence complained to them that the White House favored a hands-off approach toward Ahmed Wali Karzai because of the political delicacy of the matter. But White House officials dispute that, instead citing limited D.E.A. resources in Kandahar and southern Afghanistan and the absence of political will in the Afghan government to go after major drug suspects as the reasons for the lack of an inquiry. [NYT]

The whole thing reeks and this "limited resources" excuse sounds dubious at best. Ahmed Wali Karzai is chief of the Kandahar Provincial Council. If he’s a drug trafficker, that’s kind of a big deal, isn’t it? Our inability/unwillingness to even explore such a possibility just shows once again that our supply reduction efforts in Afghanistan are a total joke.
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Canadian Police Hire Researchers to Attack Harm Reduction

The battle over harm reduction in Vancouver just gets uglier all the time:

VANCOUVER -  The Pivot Legal Society has asked federal Auditor-General Sheila Fraser to examine whether the RCMP exceeded its law-enforcement mandate by commissioning studies into Vancouver's supervised injection site.

Pivot lawyer and spokesman Doug King on Wednesday revealed RCMP e-mails indicating the national police force commissioned reports researching Insite.

"The RCMP Act gave the RCMP a mandate to act as peace officers for the citizens of Canada. Using public funds entrusted to them to fund a cynical critique of health-based research clearly does not fall within this mandate," King said. [Vancouver Sun]

Indeed, police are responsible for enforcing the law, not shaping social policy. Law enforcement’s backhanded attempt at inserting itself into the academic debate over harm reduction is completely inappropriate and disturbing. Does anyone believe that police-sponsored research will ever reach conclusions other than the need for more police power?

RCMP now claims that it conducts research all the time, which may be true, but misses the point. Police research should focus on measuring the effectiveness of their own programs, not producing political ammunition against non-police programs that police don’t like.
In The Trenches

MPP's Video Voter Guide

Dear friends:

I get a lot of questions about what the presidential candidates have said or done on marijuana policy.

There are a lot of rumors about what Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. John McCain, and the other candidates may or may not have said about marijuana — and MPP specializes in that.

In fact, during the presidential primary campaign, MPP helped persuade all of the Democratic candidates and three of the Republican candidates to pledge to end the arrest of patients in states with medical marijuana laws.

If you're interested in knowing what the candidates have said and done, please watch our new video:

voter guide video

MPP is the only organization that's systematically influencing the presidential candidates to take positive positions on medical marijuana — and punishing those who don't. Would you please consider making a donation to support our work today?

Sincerely,
Kampia signature (e-mail sized)

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $3.0 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2008. This means that your donation today will be doubled.

In The Trenches

Press Release: Illinois Commission to Study Racial Impact of Drug Laws

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 8, 2008 Contact: Monica Hubert at 312-573-8214 Blagojevich signs law requiring new commission to study racial impact of IL drug laws Illinois incarcerates African-Americans at a rate 9 times greater than that of whites (Springfield)--On Friday, Gov. Rod Blagojevich approved legislation to create a new state commission that will study the impact of Illinois drug laws on minority communities. This measure addresses the findings of a 2007 study that showed African-Americans in Illinois were 9 times more likely to be incarcerated than whites, ranking Illinois 14th worst in the nation. "No legislature sets out to make a law that disproportionately imprisons a particular racial community, but I believe our laws here in Illinois do just that," said State Senator Mattie Hunter, chief sponsor of the bill creating the commission, Senate Bill 2476. "Now that there's a commission dedicated to examining the problem, legislators will have the opportunity to examine and right the wrong." The new commission--composed of legislators, members of the criminal justice system, social service agencies, and representatives from minority communities--is charged with examining the nature and extent of the harm caused to minority communities by disproportionate incarceration rates, and offering recommendations for legislation and policy changes to address the impact. "We now have the opportunity to render an informed judgment based on an empirical data analysis and not just intuition," said Pamela Rodriguez of the Center on Criminal Justice at TASC, who will assist the commission's study. "This study will thoroughly examine drug laws from the ground up and open doors for the creation of effective, fair drug policies." Creasie Finney Hairston, dean and professor at the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who will also assist the commission's study, agrees with Rodriguez. "Illinois' policies have to change. Our legislators need a different, informed perspective. This study will provide the perspective needed to help establish laws that not only positively affect the well-being of minority families but address community safety as well." The Commission's report must be submitted to the Illinois General Assembly on or before December 31, 2009. The initial appointments to the commission included: - Judge Timothy Evans, chief judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County - Ed Burnett, Cook County Public Defender - Lori Levin, executive director of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority - Terry Solomon, executive director of the Illinois African-American Family Commission SB2476 was co-sponsored in the Illinois House by State Representative Art Turner. The commission's operations will be managed by the Center on Criminal Justice at TASC and the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago.