UI College of Law Drug Policy Forum

[G M <herecomestheflood@yahoo.com>]

I couldn't find any coverage of Monday night's forum
in Tuesday's Tribune and I've yet to see Tuesday's
Daily News so am unaware if they were in attendance.

Thank you Tim Lohrman, Ken Nagy and others for putting
on this well-attended, thought provoking evening
featuring drug policy reform activist Nora Callahan,
founder of the November Coalition.

Nora's intelligent, rational, down-to-earth
presentation was refreshing, alarming and rare in our
current climate of fear and reactionary politics. 
Information made available Monday night is almost
overwhelming when reviewed.  

The facts, the devastating effects of current policy,
prison guards who literally are stockholders in the
private incarceration industry, the lobbying of state
and national legislatures to pass tougher sentencing
laws thereby ensuring corporate prison profits, how
science and common sense are sacrificed in the name of
creating that mythical "Drug"-Free America (or,
according to Senate Bill 5, a "Drug-Free Century") -
all combine to paint a dark landscape littered with
destroyed families, drug-prohibition related crime, an
assault on civil liberties and billions upon billions
of tax dollars wasted on policy that fails miserably
in its attempt to curb substance abuse.  

Treating substance abuse as a crime rather than a
public health problem has brought us here.  And,
despite the consequences that may follow publically
criticizing current policy, only we as citizens will
be able to dig ourselves out of the abyss.

Greg Meyer



=====

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com