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Mexico's President is Half Right
Mexican President Felipe Calderon told Deutsche Press-Agentur this weekend that America's drug habit is the cause of Mexico's drug prohibition-related violence.
In Mexican President Blames US for Drugs War, Calderon said:
"Our problem is the demand for narcotics in the US market, which significantly affects Mexico," the Mexican president said. Calderon stressed that no strategy from the Mexican government against drug cartels will be sufficient unless demand is reduced. "It is evident that as long as there is a market, as long as there is drug consumption in the United States, this problem will persist in Mexico," he said.Calderon is, of course, absolutely correct on that score. I've often noted that the prohibition-related violence plaguing our southern neighbor--there have been 1,046 killed in Mexico's drug wars so far this year--is Mexico paying the price for our war on the drugs we love to consume. Where he is wrong is his implicit assumption that the US government can meaningfully reduce demand and that the war on drugs could somehow succeed if--gosh darnit!--we Americans only tried harder. We spend about $40 billion and arrest nearly 2 million people a year in the drug war, and the drug use numbers fluctuate at the margins. The US drug market will never go away. If Calderon wants to see an end to the prohibition-related violence in Mexico, he would be much better off calling for the regulation and normalization of the illicit drug business than waiting for Americans to quit using drugs. The only thing less likely than the US government ending drug prohibition is that Americans are going to change their ways.
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In The Trenches
Job Opportunity: Executive Director, Project SAFE, Philadelphia
Project SAFE is an all-volunteer grassroots organization providing advocacy and support for women working in street prostitution. SAFE's mission is to promote human rights-based public health among women working in prostitution on the street in Philadelphia. SAFE is an organization dedicated to ensuring the health, safety and survival of women on the street by providing advocacy, education and support using a harm reduction model. SAFE seeks to reduce the spread of HIV, hepatitis C and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among working women, promote health and safety by arming women with relevant information and resources, and connect women to programs and services which are appropriate to their needs and interests.
Sought after is a brave and energetic person who is dedicated to harm reduction philosophy and social justice to take on the position of Executive Director in this new and exciting grassroots organization. The ED will be responsible for the management, direction, and coordination of all activities and will maintain primary responsibility for fundraising, program development and evaluation, program oversight and management, staff supervision and implementation of SAFE's strategic plan. The ED will report to the Board of Directors, and will supervise a staff of three volunteers. The ED's salary is guaranteed for the first three months. The successful candidate will be expected to begin fundraising immediately in order to raise her/his own salary as well as to maintain the program's basic operating expenses.
Primary responsibilities in the area of financial management include working with the staff and the board in preparing a budget, and seeing that the organization operates within budget guidelines; ensuring that adequate funds are available to permit the organization to carry out its work; serving as the primary contact for financial management for the government, foundation, corporate and individual donors; and providing regular financial reports to the Board of Directors.
Primary responsibilities in the area of fundraising and development include working with the Board of Directors to develop/revise the annual fundraising and development plan, identifying new funding opportunities, and developing and maintaining relationships with existing financial supporters.
Primary responsibilities in the area of community and public relations include working with the community to identify local client issues in order to improve programming and build community connections to improve service delivery; working with staff and board to promote the programs and efforts of the organization; and building and managing collaborations and relationships with other community based organizations and government agencies.
Primary responsibilities in the area of governance and organizational development include assisting with the development and implementation of an organizational strategic planning process; maintaining a dialogue with the board of directors to ensure board members have adequate information to address and deliver organizational needs; and ensuring SAFE's policies are kept up to date.
Primary responsibilities in the area of program development and oversight include working with staff to ensure programs are culturally and linguistically competent and relevant to the target population, and working with staff and board of directors to evaluate programs.
Primary responsibilities in the area of relations with staff include recruiting, hiring, and releasing staff and volunteers; encouraging staff and volunteer development and education, and assisting program staff in relating their specialized work to the total program of the organization; and maintaining a climate which attracts, keeps, and motivates a diverse staff and volunteers.
The position requires knowledge of nonprofit management, harm reduction and sex work issues. Experience working with sex workers, harm-reduction philosophy, social justice, anti-discrimination strategies, and community organizing is preferred. Individuals with industry experience are encouraged to apply.
To apply, please forward your resume and cover letter by June 15, 2007 to: [email protected]
Project SAFE is an equal opportunity employer.
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Job Opportunity: Executive Director, Project SAFE, Philadelphia
Project SAFE, a harm reduction organization promoting human rights-based public health among women working in prostitution on the street in Philadelphia, is hiring an executive director.
In The Trenches
The Sentencing Project: Disenfranchisement News & Updates - 6/01/07
Texas: Bill Notifying Formerly Incarcerated Individuals of Restored Voting Status Vetoed
Republican Governor Rick Perry this week vetoed bipartisan legislation notifying individuals when they become eligible to vote and sending them a voter registration card, according to a Pegasus News editorial. Perry's reasoning behind the veto was that high school students are not notified of their eligibility; he added that it wasn't the mission of the state's Department of Criminal Justice to send voter registration applications. Debating that stance, the publication responded that high school students do, in fact, receive voter registration applications in government classes, in addition to receiving them when applying for driver's licenses. "The state took away the right to vote for felons, so it's not unreasonable to expect the state to give notice when the right is restored."
International: Request for Hearing before Inter-American Commission
The Sentencing Project and the International Human Rights Law Clinic at American University's Washington College of Law have issued a report, Barriers to Democracy, that requests a hearing on the issue of felony disenfranchisement before the Inter- American Commission on Human Rights. The report examines the practice of felony disenfranchisement in the United States and the nations of the Americas, and finds that the U.S. is far out of line with evolving international norms in this regard. The report concludes that "the time is long overdue for the United States to follow the lead of its hemispheric neighbors and the broader international community, uphold treaties to which the United States is obligated, and take steps toward universal suffrage by reforming its criminal disenfranchisement policies."
The request for a hearing has been endorsed by a broad range of civil rights and human rights organizations and individual leaders. These include NAACP Chair Julian Bond, American Bar Association, ACLU, Brennan Center for Justice, and many others.
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Announcement: New Format for the Reformer's Calendar
Visit our new web site each day to see a running countdown to the events coming up the soonest, and more.
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Announcement: DRCNet Content Syndication Feeds Now Available for YOUR Web Site!
Support the cause by featuring automatically-updating Drug War Chronicle and other DRCNet content links on your web site!
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Appeal and Book Offer: "Beat the Heat" Know Your Rights and Legal System Guidebook
"Beat the Heat: How to Handle Encounters with Law Enforcement" is the best legal self defense book we've seen in some time.
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David in the Liar's Den
Ever wonder what it's like to watch a drug warrior squirm? I've had the pleasure a few times now, but the discussion I witnessed this afternoon at the Cato Institute was particularly intense.
Today, Matthew B. Robinson and Renee G. Sherlen presented the findings of their new book Lies, Damned Lies, and Drug War Statistics: A Critical Analysis of Claims Made by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Impressively, ONDCP's brave "Chief Scientist" David Murray was on hand to address this particularly comprehensive attack on the credibility of his office.
The authors delivered a tight synopsis of their findings, bashing ONDCP propaganda with charts, graphs, and effects. Dr. Murray made a show of feigned surprise and eye-rolling, but the breadth and substance of the criticism leveled against his work was too substantial to shrug off. It almost felt like a set-up; the dignified Cato equivalent of strapping a mob snitch to a chair and beating him with a blackjack.
In turn, Dr. Murray spat blood on his tormentors, dismissing their analysis as biased and incompetent. Unlike his disciplined performance at last year's medical marijuana debate, Murray was irreverent and visibly angry. From my second row seat I could see his face turn crimson, but his voice never shook. Murray's composure and efficiency is the reason he makes these appearances instead of his boss.
The question of the day among my colleagues was why ONDCP would even respond to such a categorical refutation of its right to exist. As a young reformer, I learned from Eric Sterling that drug warriors typically avoid debate because doing so inherently legitimizes opposing viewpoints. Moreover, the discussion of statistics paints ONDCP into a particularly dark corner by rendering irrelevant the emotional appeals and factually-vacant soundbites that generally dominate their rhetoric.
This level of engagement between ONDCP and its critics is rare if not unprecedented. Hostile as it may have been, today's conversation demonstrates that the federal government no longer perceives itself as impervious to criticism. Murray praised the Cato Institute's work in other areas and was clearly exasperated to find himself in its crosshairs. ONDCP's crumbling monopoly on serious drug policy discussion becomes increasingly vivid when calls for accountability emerge from prestigious think-tanks, Congress, and the GAO.
As the old cliche goes, "First they laugh at you. Then they ignore you. Then they fight you. Then you win." They're fighting back now.
Today, Matthew B. Robinson and Renee G. Sherlen presented the findings of their new book Lies, Damned Lies, and Drug War Statistics: A Critical Analysis of Claims Made by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Impressively, ONDCP's brave "Chief Scientist" David Murray was on hand to address this particularly comprehensive attack on the credibility of his office.
The authors delivered a tight synopsis of their findings, bashing ONDCP propaganda with charts, graphs, and effects. Dr. Murray made a show of feigned surprise and eye-rolling, but the breadth and substance of the criticism leveled against his work was too substantial to shrug off. It almost felt like a set-up; the dignified Cato equivalent of strapping a mob snitch to a chair and beating him with a blackjack.
In turn, Dr. Murray spat blood on his tormentors, dismissing their analysis as biased and incompetent. Unlike his disciplined performance at last year's medical marijuana debate, Murray was irreverent and visibly angry. From my second row seat I could see his face turn crimson, but his voice never shook. Murray's composure and efficiency is the reason he makes these appearances instead of his boss.
The question of the day among my colleagues was why ONDCP would even respond to such a categorical refutation of its right to exist. As a young reformer, I learned from Eric Sterling that drug warriors typically avoid debate because doing so inherently legitimizes opposing viewpoints. Moreover, the discussion of statistics paints ONDCP into a particularly dark corner by rendering irrelevant the emotional appeals and factually-vacant soundbites that generally dominate their rhetoric.
This level of engagement between ONDCP and its critics is rare if not unprecedented. Hostile as it may have been, today's conversation demonstrates that the federal government no longer perceives itself as impervious to criticism. Murray praised the Cato Institute's work in other areas and was clearly exasperated to find himself in its crosshairs. ONDCP's crumbling monopoly on serious drug policy discussion becomes increasingly vivid when calls for accountability emerge from prestigious think-tanks, Congress, and the GAO.
As the old cliche goes, "First they laugh at you. Then they ignore you. Then they fight you. Then you win." They're fighting back now.
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Feature: Battle Royal Looms as Canadian Government Set to Unveil Tough Anti-Drug Strategy
The Harper government in Canada is about to unveil its new national drug strategy -- it's bad -- and opponents are gathering forces.
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