Latest

A BBC World Service poll released Monday found Mexicans evenly divided on the question of whether drug legalization should be considered as a solution to the nation’s problem with drug war violence. 44% of respondents agreed that legalization of drugs should be considered, while 46% disagreed. Additionally, a full 80% believed that "the government should consider seeking other alternatives to end the problem."

These results reflect widespread frustration with the increased drug trade violence triggered by President Calderon’s efforts at cracking down on traffickers. Police are being killed at alarming rates, with some even fleeing to the U.S. in search of asylum. Civilians are being massacred in shootings by police and grenade attacks by drug traffickers. Bloody botched police raids and gratuitous human rights violations by the Mexican army have terrorized the population. Affluent Mexicans are having microchips implanted in their flesh in case of kidnappings and the traffickers are driving modified James Bond-style getaway vehicles.

These are the inevitable consequences of a brutal civil war that continues to enrich powerful drug lords at the perpetual expense of peace and social order. Anyone living on the front lines of Mexico’s expansive drug war battlefield can plainly observe the contributions of Calderon’s crackdown towards increasing the bloodshed. Things didn’t get better, they got worse. That’s how this works, always.

Calderon’s drug war troop surge has now elevated the lessons of prohibition within the public consciousness. He has created an interactive national exhibit of the drug war’s horrific futility. And each passing day brings more news of destruction and death, more opportunities for the drug war faithful to finally reject the great hoax that has infected their democracy and now consumes their environment.

The drug war is not going to start working one day, so it’s no surprise that Mexicans are ready to begin discussing alternatives. Their numbers will only continue to grow. And you can bet that this conversation scares the great drug lords far more than Calderon’s corrupted drug war army ever will.

At long last, we’re seeing some accountability for the officers who got Rachel Hoffman killed after coercing her into working as an informant in the mindbending botched drug sting disaster of the century:

Police Chief Dennis Jones requested that investigator Ryan Pender's employment be terminated.

Jones also wanted this disciplinary action taken: Deputy Chief John Proctor, reprimand; Capt. Chris Connell, two-week suspension without pay; Lt. Taltha White, two week suspension without pay; Sgt. David Odom, two week suspension without pay; Sgt. Rod Looney, two week suspension without pay.

Jones is reassigning White, Odom and Connell within the department.

"We have taken the necessary time to conduct a thorough and honest review and asked others to examine our operations," Jones says in the statement from the city. He said he has contacted Hoffman's family and provided a report.

"While we cannot change the events of May 7, we can make the type of changes within the department to help ensure our future actions are consistent with policy," Jones said.

[City Manager] Thompson also issued a reprimand to Jones to require a stronger level of supervision from top to bottom in the department. [Tampa Bay Online]

Anything resembling police accountability in the war on drugs is so rare that we should really take a moment to just reflect on this. Miraculously, we’ve reached a point where all you have to do to get the cops in trouble is be a pretty white girl with a loving family and hundreds of friends, get sucked into a steaming cauldron of first-rate drug enforcement incompetence, and perish dramatically on 20/20’s tear-jerker TV special of the season.

That’s what it takes, because despite the all-encompassing aversion of police officials towards acknowledging even mild misconduct, it’s still easier than conceding that the entire drug informant system is fundamentally corrupt and perverted to its core. This isn’t about Officer Pender, it isn’t about Tallahassee, and it isn’t going to get any better just because a couple incompetent cops got called out. The Burn Em’ & Bail Drug Informant Circus of Horror is a national tour sponsored by the war on drugs and it won’t go away until every last one of us makes it abundantly clear that we want no part of this. Not with our money, not in our community, and not in our name.

[Courtesy of the Crack the Disparity Coalition] Secure Fairness in Crack Cocaine Sentencing -- Join Lobby Day this Spring Plans are underway for the second national lobby day for crack cocaine sentencing reform in Washington, DC, hosted by the Crack the Disparity Coalition. An exact date has not yet been set but we invite advocates from around the country to attend the Capitol Hill event this spring. As a participant, you will speak with Members of Congress and their staff about the unjust sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine and the need to eliminate it. Training and materials will be provided to you. Look for more details in the December issue of the Crack the Disparity Newsletter. Home for the Holidays By Karen Garrison Karen Garrison is the mother of twin sons sentenced to nearly two decades for a first-time nonviolent crack cocaine offense. Her son Lawrence will soon be released due to the U.S. Sentencing Commission's recent changes to the sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine offenses. The dream will be a reality for one of my sons who will be home this December. It has been 10 years and Lawrence and Lamont's room has hardly been touched. I covered the beds with heavy plastic. Long ago I gave away their clothes and shoes to shelters and halfway houses, not only because of their weight loss, but clothing goes out of style in a period of ten years. I must now begin to prepare a place for one of my twins, never forgetting that one will remain behind unjust bars. I am buying sheets, towels, and gathering healthy recipes he will enjoy preparing. I will try to purchase new furniture and have already bought the paint for his room. Coming home to those same bunk beds would just make it harder on both of us. Those are the beds he shared with his twin brother Lamont. Commute Crack Cocaine Sentences in Time for the Holidays By Jasmine Tyler This month the Crack the Disparity Coalition launched the "Home for the Holidays" campaign to rally support for individuals serving excessive penalties for crack cocaine offenses who have filed commutation requests with President George W. Bush. The President expressed concern for the crack cocaine sentencing disparity in the early days of his administration. The sentencing disparity "ought to be addressed by making sure the powder-cocaine and the crack-cocaine penalties are the same," he said in 2001. "I don't believe we ought to be discriminatory." Advocates are hoping to capitalize on these sympathies to expedite applications for crack cocaine cases and increase recommendations for clemency. The campaign is promoting support for clemency applicants seeking relief from the uniquely severe penalties for low-level crack cocaine offenses that subject defendants possessing as little as 5 grams of crack cocaine to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years. A powder cocaine defendant must be convicted of selling 100 times that amount to trigger the same sentence. Since Congress has yet to act to alleviate this disparity, advocates' focus this fall is to ensure that those who are seeking clemency do not go unheard. Teen Profiles Crack Cocaine Reformer: Pamela Alexander - A Profile in Courage By Laura S., Cincinatti, OH This article was reprinted courtesy of TeenInk.com, a nonprofit, national teen magazine, book series, and website devoted entirely to teenage writing and art. On December 11, 2007, members of the United States Sentencing Commission voted unanimously to make a groundbreaking change in one of their policies. They decided that the disparity between sentences for crack cocaine crimes and those involving powder cocaine was exceedingly unjust and prejudiced. With crack users being predominantly black and powder cocaine users predominantly white, the Sentencing Commission judged the much harsher sentences for crack users to be racially biased at their core. The Commission therefore has allowed thousands currently imprisoned for crack cocaine violations to appeal their sentences before federal judges, in an effort to shorten these sentences where feasible. While this represents a major step toward racial equality and justice, one uncelebrated, independent woman put her career on the line for this same issue - seventeen years ago. Petition President Bush Join citizens concerned about the harsh mandatory minimum sentences for low-level crack cocaine offenses by telling President George Bush and Pardon Attorney Ronald Rodgers to expedite and give special consideration to commutation applicants serving excessive sentences for crack cocaine. Sign a petition by clicking here. Save the Date September 24-27, 2008: Congressional Black Caucus Foundation 38th Annual Legislative Conference, Washington, D.C. September 26-September 28, 2008: Critical Resistance 10th Anniversary Celebration and International Conference and Strategy Session, Oakland, CA October 19-22, 2008: International Community Corrections Association 16th Annual International Research Conference, "Risk, Resilience and Reentry," St. Louis, MO Spring 2009: Crack the Disparity Lobby Day, Washington, D.C. Media Attention Daily Press Editorial on Equalization of Crack and Powder Cocaine Sun-Sentinel Coverage on Prison Term Reductions for Cocaine Cases Kansas City Star Coverage on Former Kansas City Royal Baseball Player Willie Mays Aikens The Crack the Disparity Coalition includes the American Bar Association, American Civil Liberties Union, Break the Chains, Drug Policy Alliance, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Open Society Policy Center, Restoring Dignity, Inc., Students for Sensible Drug Policy, The Sentencing Project, and United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society.