The Greens on Drugs (or how the Democrats will lose some votes)

[High Plains]

I reproduce below a national Green Party press release calling for an end to the war on drugs. This is NOT an attempt to get people to vote Green. Rather, I post this to call attention to the Democratic Party's abject failure to do something about ending this scandalous drug war. With the Democrats and the Republicans sharing a bipartisan consensus on continuing the drug war, people who are motivated by this issue can be peeled off by the Greens, the Libertarians, or other formations.

As the press release notes, there is a Green drug reformer running for governor of Connecticut, and there is a Green/Libertarian running for the US Senate in Maryland. In both cases, these candidacies are largely motivated by the drug war issue.

Should the Democrats be trying to coopt this issue? Does anyone believe in our drug war anymore? Or do we continue to ignore the issue because it's not politically convenient--and cede ground to the Greens and Libertarians?


For Immediate Release:
Monday, September 25, 2006

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624,
[e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]>
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805,
[e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]>

Greens call for an end to the War on Drugs and enactment of sane drug laws that treat addiction
as a medical problem

Greens cite disproportionate targeting of people of color: "The real crime is the war on
drugs"

Funding for the War on Drugs should be shifted to treatment

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green candidates and leaders called for an end to the 'war on drugs,' calling
national and state drug policy a 'war on American citizens' and a waste of national resources.

"Draconian drug laws, mandatory sentencing, zero tolerance, and 'three strikes' statutes have been
used to lock away hundreds of thousands of young people, poor people, African Americans and other
people of color in prisons and prevent them from living productive lives," said Clifford Thornton,
Green candidate for Governor of Connecticut <http://www.votethornton.com<http://www.votethornton.com/>>. "The Green Party recognizes drug addiction as a medical problem. Addicts should be treated as patients, not as
criminals."

""If one does not understand racism, classism, white privilege, terrorism, and the war on drugs
-- what these terms mean, how these concepts work -- then everything else you do understand will
only confuse you," added Mr. Thornton, who is also co-founder of Efficacy, Inc.
<http://www.efficacy-online.org<http://www.efficacy-online.org/>>, which advocates major reforms in drug policy.

Greens especially called for immediate decriminalization of marijuana, citing an FBI annual Uniform Crime Report that police arrested an estimated 786,545 persons for marijuana violations in 2005, the highest number ever recorded, and that 88% of these were charged with mere possession.

"Marijuana prohibition needs to be repealed immediately -- death from marijuana use is nearly
zero, while hundreds of thousands die every year from using alcohol and nicotine," said Matt Abel,
Green candidate for Congress in Michigan's 9th District
http://www.voteabel.org<http://www.voteabel.org/>>, member of NORML <http://www.norml.org<http://www.norml.org/>>, and a criminal defense attorney and who has handled numerous marijuana cases. "Locking up Americans for such offenses is a waste of lives, and a waste of about $69 billion per year in taxpayer dollars. Furthermore, the prohibition against medical
marijuana has denied relief for people who suffer various symptoms of AIDS and other serious
diseases, just as prohibition in many states against needle exchange has allowed HIV to spread
faster."

"Politicians who are afraid of being labeled 'soft on crime' have enacted laws that have only
aggravated public health problems related to drug use," added Nelson Eisman, Green candidate for
Governor of Wisconsin <http://www.voteEisman.org<http://www.voteeisman.org/>>. "They drove addicts
underground when they needed medical help. They increased the spread of drug-related violence,
which is a result of drug prohibition, not a result of the drugs themselves. They turned
young people into hardened criminals, and placed a third of young African American men behind bars
at some point in their lives. The real crime is the war on drugs." U.S. Dept. of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Prevalence of Imprisonment in the US
Population, 1974-2001," NCJ197976, August 2003]

"The use of drugs by wealthy, powerful people like Bill Clinton or George W. Bush is considered
a youthful indiscretion to be overlooked, while for middle class and especially poor Americans,
it's something that deserves years of jail time," Mr. Eisman added.

Green Party leaders noted that the war on drugs, supported by both Democratic and Republican
parties, has been used as an excuse for massive rights violations, especially denial of Fourth
Amendment guarantees against warrantless search and seizure and Fifth Amendment guarantees of due
process, and for military attacks against Colombia, Panama, and other Latin American
countries.

"There is almost no difference between Democratic and Republican administrations or majorities in
Congress when it comes to drug policy," said Kevin Zeese, Maryland Green candidate for the
U.S. Senate <http://www.kevinzeese.com<http://www.kevinzeese.com/>>,
President of Common Sense for Drug Policy <http://www.csdp.org<http://www.csdp.org/>>, and co-founder of the Drug Policy Alliance (formerly Drug Policy Foundation)
<http://www.drugpolicy.org<http://www.drugpolicy.org/>>. "The war on drugs has been an obvious model for President Bush's so-called war on terror. Both programs attempt to induce fear in the American public and target certain populations for vilification and incarceration. Both programs benefit corporate lobbies with enormous political influence -- the defense and security industries, and the growing private prison business that makes its profits by filling up cells."

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org<http://www.gp.org/>
1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax [phone]

Green campaign listings, news, photos, and web
sites http://www.gp.org/2006elections<http://www.gp.org/2006elections>
Database of 2006 Green candidates
http://www.greens.org/elections<http://www.greens.org/elections>
Video clips of Green candidates
http://www.gp.org/2006elections/media.shtml<http://www.gp.org/2006elections/media.shtml>
Green Party News Center
http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml<http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml>

Drug War Facts:
Drug Offenders In The Corrections System -
Prisons, Jails and Probation
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/prison.htm<http://www.drugwarfacts.org/prisonhtm>
Race, Prison and the Drug Laws (with information
on the disproportionate incarceration of African
Americans and other people of color)
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/racepris.htm<http://www.drugwarfacts.org/racepris.htm>
Crime (with information on the correlation
between drug prohibition and violence)
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/crime.htm<http://www.drugwarfacts.org/crime.htm>

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition: Criminal
justice professionals speaking out against the
"War on Drugs" http://www.leap.cc<http://www.leap.cc/>

~ END ~

Thornton for Governor
PO Box 1971
Manchester, CT 06045
[e-mail]<mailto:[e-mail]>
www.votethornton.com<http://www.votethornton.com/>
860 657 8438-H
860 268 1294-C
860 778 1304-Tim Mckee-Campaign Manager
860 293 0222-Ken Krayeske-field Manager
Paid for by Thornton For Governor
Max H. Wentworth, Treasurer
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Attachment: http://drugsense.org/temp/part2674.html

[High Plains]

1. Well, you have to like their position on the drug war.

I wish the Democrats were as progressive on this issue.

[wuushew]

2. The sad fact is most Amerikans are closet authoritarians

ruled by fear of the "other" and an unconscious tendency to massively curtail the freedom of others in the supposed cause of the innocent.

While there are many who are enlightened, they do not exist in numbers great enough to affect majority political entities.

[sandnsea]

3. You've got a link to a Green candidate

As far as I'm concerned that is working against Democrats and against the stated purpose of this forum. No two ways about it. I don't think your post belongs here during an election season.

[High Plains]

4. Well, I guess that's up to the administrators.

As I said, I reproduced the press release because I wanted to open a discussion about where the Democratic Party should be on this issue.

If the admins want to delete any links, that's fine with me.

[High Plains]

8. I alerted the admins on myself about Sandnsea's objection.

Told 'em to remove the links if they want to. The object of the OP is NOT to promote Green candidates but to promote discussion of the Democrats' horrible drug policy positions.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[High Plains]

16. The Greens are in the post because they sent out a press release

on the topic. I reproduced it so DUers can compare it with what the Democrats are doing on drug policy.

If you think ignoring the Greens or pretending they don't exist is helpful, that's up to you. I don't think it is wise to ignore the opposition, especially when it has the potential to lose you elections on the margins.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. Who said we are ignoring them?

Here's the deal - this is a DEMOCRATIC party discussion board. If we want to discuss another party, there are plenty of other websites.

[sandnsea]

24. With candidate links

People occasionally post portions of right wing press releases for discussion puposes too - but we don't link to Republican candidate sites. This is campaigning against Democrats - pure and simple. What bullshit to pretend it's concern about "ignoring" the Greens.

[135th]

32. Because Greens take votes away from the Dems,

and this is the biggest issue they do it with. Consider this High Plains attempt at some Karl Rove style scare tactics to get Dems to actually look at this issue.:eyes:

[DemInDistress]

5. republicans are drug users too!! i.e. rush windbag. still I'd like to

see HEMP removed from the Class 1 category and not just decriminalized but commercialized.. Hell, some great Americans smoked and grew HEMP G.Washington, Hamilton,Jefferson, Lincoln, Bubba, and Dimson (although he's not great)..

I can't support legal cocaine, heroin, crystal meth, those powders are killers.

[ComerPerro]

6. When the Greens become a credible political party, I might care

Right now, they are just willing RW enablers

[High Plains]

7. How about addressing the issue? Or are you joining in with the

Democratic establishment in ignoring it while the drug war continues unabated? By the way, we arrested 1.8 million people for drug offenses last year, 786,000 for marijuana alone, and about 90% of those arrests were for simple possession.

[ComerPerro]

13. Yeah. Great idea. Its not like we don't have enough conflicts already

lets expand that by saying we want to completely end the war on drugs.

So lets just drop every important issue like separation of chruch and state, torture, voting rights, and pro-choice issues, and make legalizing pot our central campaign issue.

that won't alienate anyone, will it?

[High Plains]

19. Did anyone say anything about ignoring other issues?

Dude, get a grip.

And yes, if a party actually has the fortitude to take a stand on any given issue, it will undoubtedly alienate somebody. Hmmm, a recent Pew poll found that three-quarters of those polled think the war on drugs is a failure...

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. You are the one who needs to get a grip

How many hours are in your day? Mine only has 24 and by the time I deal with losing my constitutional rights, protesting against the war in Iraq, trying to get by on less income due to the rising cost of health insurance, wondering who is listening in on my phone conversations today, and who is reading my email, as well as a million other crappy things caused by the evil bush administration, I just don't have time for a war on the drug war.

Sorry, dude, gotta keep my priorities straight.

[High Plains]

10. Or you might care when a Green candidate shaves off enough votes

to cost a Democrat an election.

[ComerPerro]

15. Spoiled little children

"I want what I want right now, and if I don't get it right away, I'm gonna help the GOP ruin the country. "

-official Green Party motto

[Bridget Burke]

17. That already happened.

I like muchof the Green platform. But I will NEVER vote for a Green.

By the way--I thought you wanted to discuss Drug Policy. Not "How Greens Can Hurt Democrats."

[rrasile]

21. Green alright

Look at the perfect example in Pennsylvania. Backed by the number one carpetbagger and they couldn't get enough valid signatures. The race is down to two candidates now and old cute face Ricky is as good as packing up and leaving his mommies house and going home to Virginia permanently.
Don't feel sorry for him, Bush owes him big time because he's the only one that dared stand on a stage with him.

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. Amen to that

There are a bunch of Greens in our peace groups here in KC. They are mostly great people. And quite a few vote for Dems. They understand why that is so important in 2006.

[William Bloode]

9. I have always wondered how.....

I could ever be proud to be American, when my country declared war on me. And yes sadly there is little sanity on this issue among the current dems in office. Sad fact is most Americans would like to see reform of the drug laws, but we just get more of the same.

[mitchtv]

12. Well I guess they won't be siphoning off votes in PA

Bwahahahahaha
Ps: Links to Greens (totally owned subsdiary of GOP) don't belong here in a challenged seat election season

[sweetheart]

14. Yes, The dems just can't say 'no' to war

Its why the party is a 'hold your nose' for me, as i'm voting for assholes who like
clinton, stepped up the war that screws over more people than any other policy they
deliberate.

But hey, why should a bankrupt government not keep up with a load of unwinnable wars,
its about as fitting as all the stupid people running said government.

[MindPilot]

18. This thread is a perfect illustration of why we will lose

It's more important to toe the party line than to address the issues. All other things being equal, if I had to pick between a Dem candidate who is addicted to drug war funding or a Green candidate who has a more sensible position, I'm voting for the Green. Hell, my vote is probably not getting counted anyway.

Message to the Democrats: Get on board and quit trying to pander to a squishy non-existent center!

[sandnsea]

29. All other things will never be equal

And anybody who puts their drug of choice over the environment, health care, education, homelessness, and war is so shallow and selfish as to not be taken seriously about anything.

And if we had a national health care plan, we'd automatically have national drug treatment, which would go a LONG way to ending the drug war in the first place.

[MindPilot]

33. Whatever.

:eyes:

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. I object

This is promoting another party.

Maybe you should post this on GreenUnderground.

[sandnsea]

23. error

[Name removed]

28. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sandnsea]

30. It's the rules of the forum

When they aren't afraid to scare away the lefties and decide to enforce them.

[Name removed]

34. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sandnsea]

37. Yeah they do

If you want to go to a free for all forum - go to one, they're out there. DU is supposed to be a forum to promote Democrats for election when it's election season without having a bunch of outside chatter diverting people from that goal.

[Mythsaje]

26. The continuing drug war is just evidence

that the Repukes have controlled the dialogue a LOT longer than we have given them credit for. The Dems have almost universally supported the drug war, despite its obvious failures, to prevent the Pubs from declaring them "soft on crime."

If anything, the Dems have been laying down and taking it for far too long. Most of the opposition up until this point has come from the Far Right...the Libertarians and certain gutsy Republicans. It's ironic, considering that the implimentation of the whole thing is blatantly racist.

[MindPilot]

31. Ever hear of a group called LEAP?

It's Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and I attended a presentation given by one of their members last night. Jim Gray is an Orange County judge who has written a book about the failure of the WoD.

There are roughly the same percentage of the population addicted to hard drugs now--about 1.3%--as there were in 1914 when the government first decided to make drugs illegal. Now almost a hundred years later, we are trillions poorer, we have more people in jail than any other place in the world and the Constitution is in tatters. Why do they keep waging this so-called war? Money. It comes down to money. Is there ANY Democratic candidate out there with the nads to stand up and say "NO" to this particular hunk of special-interest cash?

[135th]

35. I've seen them speak a few times.

LEAP should replace the joke that is DARE in schools. Every time they make a four star case for legalization. They also destroy anyone who tries to debate them. Leap speakers converted me, and I hope the convert every single person who sees them speak.

Sadly, that is not the case. I have several friends who saw them with me and remained unconvinced. When I asked them why, they had no answer. They conceeded the speaker was right about everything, but just couldn't accept the idea of drugs being legal. People make my head hurt sometimes all the time.

[MindPilot]

40. But LEAP's position is not legalization--it's regulation.

The speaker made that point very clear last night. He cited aspirin as a legalized drug, no controls on who can buy it, no restrictions on who can sell it, more of a food than a drug. Alcohol on the other hand is controlled and regulated in that there are restrictions on who can buy it, who can make it and there are classes of people who are not allowed to posses it. That is the model for stuff like MJ and E. Harder drugs would be medically administered in a system modeled after the Swiss program.

[Mythsaje]

36. Oh, yeah...

I've definitely heard of LEAP. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, right?

The drug war has accomplished nothing but to allow the gradual erosion of civil liberties and to justify attacks on the civil rights of minority citizens. It's a scam, and one that any smart progressive politican should be decrying at every opportunity.

[BlooInBloo]

39. Who cares about the green party (wholly owned subsidiary of the GOP)?

sheesh.

[unhappycamper]

41. Locking.

Green press releases should not be posted on this discussion board.