I experienced the effects of the drug war up close and personal when I was 7 years old. In 1985, I was living in West Oakland, CA with my Mother and her boyfriend. Both were heavy drug users. Late one night, the police executed a no-knock warrant related to a drug and firearm investigation. The warrant had the wrong address. The boyfriend had me locked in the bedroom so he could abuse my Mother without interference from me. When the police encountered the door, they kicked it in. A few seconds later one of the officers discharged his weapon. I wasn't injured.
This event and my Mother later contracting Hepatitis C are what have formed my personal mission to see these horrid laws repealed. Since that time I have been educating as many as I can about the real effects of these flawed policies.
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