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NEW POLL: Americans Oppose Mandatory Minimums, Will Vote for Candidates Who Feel the Same

Press Release

EMBARGOED UNTIL:                                                                 

Sept. 24, 2008, 11:00 AM                                                                   

Contact:  Monica Pratt Raffanel, (678) 261-8118 or (202) 822-6700                                                                               

Press teleconference today! Wednesday, September 24 at 11 a.m. ET

Dial In Number: (800) 593-9034

Passcode:  FAMM (3266)

 

NEW POLL: Americans Oppose Mandatory Minimums,

Will Vote for Candidates Who Feel the Same

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new poll released today by Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) shows widespread support for ending mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenses and that Americans will vote for candidates who feel the same way. 

 

·         Fully 78 percent of Americans (nearly eight in 10) agree that courts – not Congress – should determine an individual’s prison sentence. 

·         Six in 10 (59 percent) oppose mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenders.

·         A majority of Americans (57 percent) polled said they would likely vote for a candidate for Congress who would eliminate all mandatory minimums for nonviolent crimes.

 

“Politicians have voted for mandatory minimum sentences so they could appear ‘tough on crime’ to their constituents. They insist that their voters support these laws, but it’s just not true,” says Julie Stewart, president and founder of FAMM.  “Republicans and Democrats support change and that should encourage members of Congress to reach across the aisle next year and work together to reform mandatory minimums.  Mandatory sentencing reform is not a partisan issue, but an issue about fairness and justice that transcends party lines.” 

 

During a time of financial crisis and uncertainty in the United States, reviewing current criminal justice policies and reforming mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenders is an option that Democratic and Republican lawmakers are considering.  Although neither is endorsing FAMM’s poll or report, Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.) are both concerned about America’s prison and sentencing system.

 

“America is locking up people at astonishing rates. In the name of ‘getting tough on crime,’ there are now 2.2 million Americans in federal, state, and local prisons and jails and over 7 million under some form of correction supervision, including probation and parole. We have the largest prison population in the world,” says Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.), who is chairing a symposium on criminal justice and prison issues in October.  “This growth is not a response to increasing crime rates, but a reliance on prisons and long mandatory sentences as the common response to crime. It is time for America’s leadership to realize what the public understands – our approach is costly, unfair and impractical.”

 

“Mandatory minimums wreak havoc on a logical system of sentencing guidelines,” says Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.). “Mandatory minimums turn today’s hot political rhetoric into the nightmares of many tomorrows for judges and families.”

 

"This poll suggests that a majority of Americans are open to re-examining this issue and moving to a court-driven sentencing model,” said Sparky Zivin, Research Director at StrategyOne.

 

The poll bolsters the findings of FAMM’s comprehensive new report, Correcting Course: Lessons from the 1970 Repeal of Mandatory Minimums, which describes how Congress repealed mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses in 1970 – and had no trouble getting reelected. 

 

“Our report and poll show that lawmakers can vote to reform mandatory minimums for nonviolent offenses and live to tell the story.  Republicans and Democrats alike don’t want these laws.  They don’t work, they cost taxpayers a fortune, and people believe Courts can sentence better than Congress can.  Another repeal of mandatory drug sentences isn’t just doable, it’s doable right now,” says Molly Gill, author of Correcting Course. 

 

The report details how Congress created mandatory minimum prison sentences for drug offenders in 1951 and repealed them in 1970 because the laws failed to stop drug abuse, addiction and trafficking. It also finds that after 20 years of experience, current mandatory minimums have failed as badly as those enacted in the 1950s.  Correcting Course concludes that mandatory minimum sentences:

 

• Have not discouraged drug use in the United States.

• Have not reduced drug trafficking.

• Have created soaring state and federal corrections costs.

• Impose substantial indirect costs on families by imprisoning spouses, parents, and breadwinners for lengthy periods.

• Are not applied evenly, disproportionately impacting minorities and resulting in vastly different sentences for equally blameworthy offenders.

• Undermine federalism by turning state-level offenses into federal crimes.

• Undermine separation of powers by usurping judicial discretion.

 

Eric Sterling, counsel to the House Judiciary Committee when mandatory sentences were enacted, says, “In 1986, we got stuck with some of the most punitive, least effective criminal sentencing laws ever created. Mandatory minimums haven’t stopped the drug trade.  They haven’t locked up the big dealers and importers.  They’re applied to small fries, not kingpins.  It’s a waste of taxpayer dollars to lock up a street-level dealer for 10 years when that money could be spent on treatment, drug courts, or going after the people bringing in boatloads of drugs every year.  Getting rid of mandatory minimums is about getting our priorities straight.”

 

Correcting Course includes comprehensive strategies for how Congress can repeal these ineffective laws today and better reflect the popular attitude among Americans, as brought out in the findings of the poll. 

 

“Mandatory minimums are among the worst criminal justice policies ever adopted in this country.  They treat all offenders the same, when the most sacred principle of American sentencing law is that punishment should fit the individual and the crime. Repealing these laws isn’t impossible – it’s been done before.  The next Congress should do it again,” says FAMM founder and president Julie Stewart.

 

FAMM’s poll was conducted by the independent public opinion research firm StrategyOne.  The survey was conducted by telephone between July 31 and August 3, 2008 with 1,000 adults randomly selected across the United States.  The margin of sampling error for the poll is plus or minus 3.1 percent for 95 out of 100 cases.

 

Families Against Mandatory Minimums is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that supports fair and proportionate sentencing laws that allow judicial discretion while maintaining public safety. For more information on FAMM, visit www.famm.org or call Monica Pratt Raffanel at 678-261-8118.

 

 

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Be part of MPP's experiment

Dear friends:

Want to take part in a groundbreaking experiment?  The background ...

Last year, the New Hampshire House of Representatives defeated — by an incredibly close 186-177 vote — a bill that would have legalized medical marijuana in the state. Just nine votes out of 400 members prevented this bill from passing.

Then, earlier this year, the New Hampshire House actually passed a bill — with a 191-143 vote — to decriminalize the personal possession of marijuana (and not just for medical use), before the state Senate snuffed the bill out.

New Hampshire is on the verge of passing medical marijuana legislation and marijuana decriminalization legislation.  With the November elections coming up in just six weeks, we need to ensure that good state legislators get reelected ... and some bad ones get unelected ... to increase our level of support in the New Hampshire Legislature.

THE EXPERIMENT

Is the marijuana policy reform community ready to become a serious player in state legislative races?

Because New Hampshire legislative districts are so small, it doesn't cost much to become a major player in these races and help good candidates win. This is a state where we could really make a difference by generating just a few dozen donations to each good candidate.

Intrigued? On this site, we've listed the supportive candidates who are in the tightest races — and whose campaigns are therefore the most crucial to passing our legislation early next year.  Our Web site also makes it easy for people to donate to their campaigns.

Other interest groups do this sort of thing all the time, in order to ensure that candidates who support their issues get elected. We're wondering if the marijuana policy reform community is interested in playing at this level, as well. (By the way, this is nonpartisan project that includes Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian candidates.)

Most candidates for the New Hampshire House raise and spend only a few thousand dollars on their entire campaign. So just a few dozen donations to each candidate from around the country will make a huge impression on the candidate — and a huge difference in the candidate's campaign.

If this experiment works and raises money to help these good candidates win their races, then MPP will likely roll this out in two or three states in the next election cycle. 

I want to thank you in advance if you choose to participate in this experiment!

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 any donation you make to MPP today will be doubled.

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.

DrugSense FOCUS Alert: #384 Presidential Leadership Needed

PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP NEEDED ********************PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE************************ DrugSense FOCUS Alert #384 - Sunday, 7 September 2008 "What if major party nominees Barack Obama and John McCain were pressed to state their positions on drugs and incarceration?" writes syndicated columnist Neal Peirce. Please raise the issue with those running for public office and by sending letters to the editor. Please ask your local newspapers to print the column below. As MAP's volunteer activists find this column printed in other newspapers they will be listed at the top of this webpage http://www.mapinc.org/author/Neal+Peirce ********************************************************************** Contact: [email protected] Pubdate: Sun, 7 Sep 2008 Source: Seattle Times (WA) Copyright: 2008 Washington Post Writers Group Author: Neal Peirce, Syndicated Columnist REAL COMMANDER NEEDED FOR THE WAR ON DRUGS Will America's ill-starred "war on drugs" and its expanding prison culture make it into the presidential campaign? Standard wisdom says "no way." We may have the world's highest rate of incarceration -- with only 5 percent of global population, 25 percent of prisoners worldwide. We may be throwing hundreds of thousands of nonviolent drug offenders, many barely of age, behind bars -- one reason a stunning one out of every 100 Americans is now imprisoned. We may have created a huge "prison-industrial complex" of prison builders, contractors and swollen criminal justice bureaucracies. Federal, state and local outlays for law enforcement and incarceration are costing, according to a Senate committee estimate, a stunning $200 billion annually, siphoning off funds from enterprises that actually build our future: universities, schools, health, infrastructure. We are reaping the whirlwind of "get tough" on crime statutes ranging from "three strikes you're in" to mandatory sentences to reincarcerating recent prisoners for minor parole violations. And every year we're seeing hundreds of thousands of convicts leave prison with scant chances of being employed, no right to vote, no access to public housing, high levels of addiction, illiteracy and mental illness. Overwhelmed by the odds against them, at least 50 percent are rearrested within two years. A serious set of problems, a shadow over our national future? No doubt. But do our politicians talk much about alternatives? No way -- they typically find it too risky to be attacked as "soft on crime." But let's imagine -- what if major party nominees Barack Obama and John McCain were pressed to state their positions on drugs and incarceration? I've combed through statements by both men. My early reading is that with McCain, there'd be a thin chance of reform, but under Obama, much brighter prospects. It is true that both men favored -- Obama actually co-sponsored -- the federal Second Chance Act, passed this year, which provides up to $360 million to support job training, mentors and counseling for inmates released from custody. But McCain has been routinely "hawkish" on drug policy, endorsing higher penalties for drug-selling, supporting the death penalty for drug kingpins, and opposing any softening of laws forbidding marijuana use, which he characterizes as a dangerous "gateway drug." Obama, by contrast, expresses serious concern that at 2 million-plus inmates, "we have by far the largest prison population, per capita, of any place on earth." He endorses full justice and imprisonment for dangerous criminals but a far more nuanced approach to drug cases in particular. "Anybody who sees the devastating impact of the drug trade in the inner cities, or the methamphetamine trade in rural communities, knows that this is a huge problem," he recently told a Rolling Stone interviewer. "I believe in shifting the paradigm, shifting the model, so that we can focus on a more public-health approach." During the primary season Obama spoke with special concern about nonviolent drug offenders, many as young as 18 to 20: "The worst thing we can do is to lock them up for a long period of time, without any education if they're functionally illiterate, without any skills or training. They're now convicted felons" -- perhaps 25 or 26 years old -- "out on the streets and can't be hired by anybody." His conclusion: The more focus put on diversion programs, drug courts, treatment of substance abusers, and "encourage training and skills and literacy ... the more effective we are in reducing recidivism rates." Obama is clearly not yet willing to discuss lifting prohibitions on marijuana or other drugs. But he would seem open to lead the country in a serious debate about our drug and incarceration policies -- a dramatic break from recent presidencies, both Republican and Democratic. Arguably, that's precisely the discussion the nation needs. America's prisoner total has tripled over the last two decades, with systems bursting at the seams -- California, for example, at 175 percent of capacity, Alabama at 200 percent. Yet North Carolina anticipates 1,000 more prisoners a year; Pennsylvania, 1,500; Arizona, 2,200; Florida 3,000. Small wonder major prisoner re-entry and diversion facilities for less serious offenders are being set up in Kansas, Michigan, Georgia and other states. California this November votes on a landmark "nonviolent offender rehabilitation" initiative designed to divert thousands from the state's bloated $10-billion-a-year prison system. It's high time, says Georgia Corrections Commissioner Jim Donald, "to differentiate between those offenders we are 'afraid of' and those we are just 'mad at.' " Talk about a serious national issue on which we could use some presidential leadership -- not dictating precise answers, but moving us to debate alternatives. It's been 20 years since drugs and prisons have even been mentioned in the televised presidential debates. Maybe not just Obama but McCain too could surprise us with some fresh ideas and promise of leadership as president. But we probably won't hear this unless reporters press the issue. ********************************************************************** Additional suggestions for writing LTEs are at our Media Activism Center: http://www.mapinc.org/resource/#guides ********************************************************************** PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER Please post a copy of your letter or report your action to the sent letter list ([email protected]) if you are subscribed, or by emailing a copy to [email protected] if you are not subscribed. Your letter will then be forwarded to the list so others may learn from your efforts. Subscribing to the Sent LTE list ( [email protected] ) will help you to review other sent LTEs and perhaps come up with new ideas or approaches as well as keeping others aware of your important writing efforts. To subscribe to the Sent LTE mailing list see: http://www.mapinc.org/lists/index.htm#form

McCain, Palin & Pot

 

Election 2008

Dear friends,

Last week I wrote to you from the Democratic National Convention. This week I’d like to share some insights regarding the Republican National Convention.
 
It's hard to know what to make of Senator McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. She's admitted to smoking marijuana -- but then again that's also true of every Democratic nominee for president since 1992, as well as Newt Gingrich, Clarence Thomas and lots of other prominent Republicans.  As for the current president, he never admitted it but others did so on his behalf.  We've practically reached the stage where smoking a joint at some point in one's life seems a prerequisite for anyone under the age of 65 aspiring to national office.

Alaska has legalized marijuana for medical use. So have 11 other states. Yet, the federal government continues to persecute patients and caregivers in those states.  I don't think Governor Palin has made clear what she thinks of this, notwithstanding the fact that she represents a state and a political party that believe strongly in the rights of states to regulate their own affairs.  It would be nice if some journalist posed this question to her.

I've yet to find much information about Governor Palin's views and record on drug policy. She  has said that marijuana should be illegal -- although presumably she's glad she never was arrested for her own use.  But she's also made clear that marijuana should not be a top law enforcement priority. That's good -- and probably politically wise given that close to 50 percent of Alaskans think marijuana should be legal.

As for Senator McCain, it's hard to be optimistic that he'll do much good on drug policy.  He has publicly mocked medical marijuana patients.  Back in 1999, he introduced a bill that would have banned methadone maintenance as an approved treatment for heroin addiction, notwithstanding the scientific consensus that it is by far the most effective treatment available. The only good news was his recent speech at the Urban League where he spoke in favor of diverting more nonviolent drug law offenders to treatment instead of prison.

What I find most interesting this week -- from a drug policy perspective -- has nothing to do with what's on the main stage.  Just down the road in Minneapolis, Republican Congressman Ron Paul is holding a shadow convention with 10,000 of his supporters.   No one ever stirred up the libertarian wing of the Republican Party the way he did during the primaries.  It was good to have him holding forth on ending drug prohibition the way that William Buckley, Milton Friedman, former Secretary of State George Shultz and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson have in years and decades past.   

And then there's the campaign of Libertarian Presidential Candidate Bob Barr, a former Republican Congressman.  He used to be one of the Republican Party’s biggest cheerleaders for the war on drugs but he’s now embraced drug policy reform in a big way.  He and I were invited to debate one another at Fordham Law School last year but Bob Barr couldn't find enough ways to agree with me.    

There's no question the Republican Party is evolving as its libertarian wing gains strength.  And it's our job at the Drug Policy Alliance to meld the libertarian sentiments on the right with the social justice passions on the left into an ever more powerful movement for ending the nation's longest and most costly war -- the war on drugs.   

Sincerely,

Ethan Nadelmann

 

 

Ethan Nadelmann
Executive Director
Drug Policy Alliance Network

(This message was reprinted by StoptheDrugWar.org's lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also shares the cost of maintaining this web site. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)

Obama speaks out on medical marijuana

[Courtesy of Marijuana Policy Project] 

Dear friends:

On the verge of becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) has renewed his commitment to protecting medical marijuana patients from arrest and jail.

Here is a quote from Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt from an article in today's San Francisco Chronicle:

"Voters and legislators in the states — from California to Nevada to Maine — have decided to provide their residents suffering from chronic diseases and serious illnesses like AIDS and cancer with medical marijuana to relieve their pain and suffering. Obama supports the rights of states and local governments to make this choice — though he believes medical marijuana should be subject to (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) regulation like other drugs.”

With Sen. Obama now widely expected to win the Democratic nomination and in a year when Democrats are favored to win the White House, this means we might be only eight months away from having a White House that stands with us on medical marijuana access.

You can also watch a video of Sen. Obama talking about medical marijuana here.

In the months leading up to the New Hampshire Democratic primary election, MPP helped persuade all of the Democratic presidential candidates and three of the Republican candidates to pledge to end the arrest of patients in states with medical marijuana laws.

In response to questions from MPP on the campaign trail, Sen. Obama stated that arresting medical marijuana patients is not a good use of resources and promised to end the federal raids on state medical marijuana patients and their caregivers.

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) has also promised MPP that she would end the raids.

Unfortunately, the Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), earned a grade of “F” from MPP for his inhumane stance on medical marijuana. In response to repeated questions from MPP on the campaign trail, Sen. McCain incorrectly stated that a majority of medical experts oppose medical marijuana, and he also gave a patient who was politely questioning him a glimpse of McCain's famous temper.

Congressman Ron Paul (R-Tex.), who also remains in the Republican race, has been an outspoken opponent of marijuana prohibition and has consistently voted in favor of legislation to end the DEA's raids on patients.

Please visit MPP's campaign site, www.GraniteStaters.com/candidates, for statements from each of the candidates.

MPP is the only drug policy reform 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.

3 of 8 Democratic candidates would end criminal penalties for marijuana

[Courtesy of MPP]

Marijuana policy reform made a brief appearance during last week's televised debate among the Democratic presidential candidates. When moderator Tim Russert asked for a show of hands to indicate which candidates disagreed with Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd's support for marijuana decriminalization, all the candidates except Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich raised their hands. (Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel — who supports legalizing marijuana — was excluded from the debate.)

When asked why he wouldn’t support decriminalization, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards pulled out an old saw: “Because I think it sends the wrong signal to young people. And I think the president of the United States has a responsibility to ensure that we're sending the right signals to young people.”

You can watch the short exchange here.

While the candidates are behind the curve on that aspect of marijuana policy, the good news is that they're with us (and the majority of Americans) on medical marijuana.

MPP has secured promises from all eight Democratic candidates — as well as two of the eight Republican candidates — to end the federal raids on medical marijuana patients in the 12 states where medical marijuana is legal.

Please check out our report card on the presidential candidates here.

Reps. Kucinich, Ron Paul (R-Texas), and Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), as well as former U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel (D-Alaska) and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), have all garnered “A+” grades for their excellent positions on medical marijuana.

For more information on these candidates, visit their campaign sites:

• Mike Gravel for President 2008
• Kucinich for President 2008
• Ron Paul 2008 — Hope for America
• Richardson for President
• Tancredo for a Secure America

Thank you for your support of MPP’s efforts to make medical marijuana a major campaign issue in 2008. Together we will end the federal government’s war on the seriously ill.

Sincerely,

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

All 8 Democratic presidential candidates support medical marijuana!

[Courtesy of MPP]

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) just became the last of the eight Democratic presidential candidates to pledge to end the DEA’s raids on medical marijuana patients and providers who act legally under state law.

This means that all eight Democratic presidential candidates — including U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) — have now taken public positions in support of protecting patients in the 12 states with medical marijuana laws.

In regard to Sen. Obama, it took MPP’s campaign in New Hampshire, Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana (GSMM), five separate encounters over the last few months — and two back-to-back encounters earlier this week — but on Tuesday in Nashua, Sen. Obama told a GSMM volunteer, “I would not have the Justice Department prosecuting and raiding medical marijuana users. It's not a good use of our resources." You can watch the encounter here and read some news coverage of this coup here.

MPP/GSMM has had one full-time staffer — Stuart Cooper — working in New Hampshire since March, and I’m thrilled that our persistence has paid off. Stuart and his cadre of volunteers and patients have been dogging the Democratic and Republican candidates at almost every appearance in the state, urging them to take strong, public, positive positions on medical marijuana in advance of the New Hampshire primary — currently the first in the nation — on January 22.

In addition to the eight Democratic candidates, two Republican candidates — U.S. Reps. Ron Paul (Texas) and Tom Tancredo (Colo.) — have also vowed to end the medical marijuana raids as well. In fact, these two members of Congress recently voted for the Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment on the House floor ... for the fifth year in a row.

You can see or hear the good guys in their own words here.

Can you imagine if all the presidential candidates publicly supported protecting patients? Please make a donation so we can keep up the pressure on the six Republicans who still haven’t taken positive positions.

The 10 good candidates are to be commended for their common sense and compassion, especially as federal intrusion into medical marijuana states has been on the rise this summer, with DEA raids taking place in several counties in California and Oregon. Recently, the DEA also began threatening landlords who lease space to medical marijuana dispensaries — activity that’s legal under state law — with forfeiture of their property, a move condemned in a Los Angeles Times editorial as "a deplorable new bullying tactic."

And last week, presidential candidate and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), who signed legislation in April making his the 12th medical marijuana state, wrote to President Bush asking him to end the federal raids in medical marijuana states: "Respected physicians and government officials should not fear going to jail for acting compassionately and caring for our most vulnerable citizens. Nor should those most vulnerable of citizens fear their government because they take the medicine they need."

We still have work to do in New Hampshire: Will you consider making a donation today to ensure that in January 2009 we inaugurate a president who is committed to ending federal interference in the states that have medical marijuana laws? Thank you for your support.

DPA Press Release: Drug Czar Campaigned for GOP While Bush Increased Budget for Failed Programs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 17, 2007 CONTACT: Tony Newman (646) 335-5384 or Bill Piper (202) 669-6430 House Government Reform Chairman Finds Evidence White House Used Taxpayer Money to Boost Votes for Republicans in November 2006 U.S. Drug Czar Campaigned on Behalf of Vulnerable Republicans, While Bush Increased Funding for the Agency’s Controversial Anti-Marijuana Ad Campaign and Ineffective Student Drug Testing Program Leading Drug Policy Organization Calls for Prohibition on Using Taxpayer Money to Influence Voters The Chair of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has found evidence that the nation’s drug czar and his deputies traveled to almost two dozen events with vulnerable Republican members of Congress in the months prior to the 2006 elections. The taxpayer-financed trips were orchestrated by President George W. Bush’s political advisors and often combined with the announcement of federal grants or actions that benefited the districts of the Republican members. A November 20, 2006 memo from Sara Taylor, the former White House Director of Political Affairs, summarizes the travel Drug Czar John Walters took at her request. Of the 26 events, all were with Republicans in close races. An agency e-mail sent the following day describes how Karl Rove commended his agency (and three cabinet departments – Commerce, Transportation, and Agriculture) for “going above and beyond the call of duty” in making “surrogate appearances” at locations the e-mail described as “the god awful places we sent them.” That e-mail, as well as e-mails that followed, show that ONDCP officials were proud of the commendation they received from Mr. Rove and the political travel they took using taxpayer dollars. According to ONDCP’s liaison to the White House, Douglas Simon, “…our hard work…in preparing the Director and Deputies for their trips and events” allowed them to travel “thousands of miles to attend numerous events all across the country.” The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is expected to have hearings on the matter later this month. “This is shocking evidence that the Drug Czar, John Walters, and President Bush were scratching each other’s backs,” said Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, the nation’s leading organization working for alternatives to the war on drugs. “Walters used taxpayer money to campaign for Republicans, while President Bush ignored the agency’s failures and increased funding for programs his own analysts determined were ineffective.” Numerous government-funded studies found that the government’s anti-marijuana ad campaign and student drug testing program are ineffective, yet the Bush Administration continues to request funding increases for those programs. The recently released memos and e-mails are only the latest evidence that the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) uses taxpayer money to influence voters. During a 2000 federal lawsuit evidence surfaced showing that ONDCP created its billion dollar anti-marijuana TV ad campaign to influence voters to reject state medical marijuana ballot measures. The drug czar and his staff are also routinely accused of using taxpayer money to travel to states in order to convince voters and legislators to reject drug policy reform. During the 2002 election, for instance, ONDCP’s campaigning on a Nevada ballot initiative was so intense that the state’s Attorney General complained in a letter to the Nevada Secretary of State that, “it is unfortunate that a representative of the federal government substantially intervened in a matter that was clearly a State of Nevada issue. The excessive federal intervention that was exhibited in this instance is particularly disturbing because it sought to influence the outcome of a Nevada election.” “How long will the drug czar use taxpayer money to influence voters before Congress takes action,” asked Piper.
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