Budgets/Taxes/Economics

For Immediate Release: April 13, 2010 Contact: Tony Newman, tel: 646-335-5384 or Bill Piper, tel: 202-669-6430 Wednesday: Congressional Hearing Looks at Obama Administration's Drug War Policies Both Nation's Drug Czar, Gil Kerkikowske, and Nation's Leading Critic of Drug War, Ethan Nadelmann, to Testify Despite Significant Reforms, Administration's 2011 Budget Criticized for Mirroring Bush's Emphasis on Arrests and Incarceration over Treatment The U.S. House Domestic Policy Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), will hold a hearing Wednesday morning on the White House's drug war budget and forthcoming 2010 National Drug Control Strategy. The Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (also known as the drug czar), Gil Kerlikowske, and the executive director of the anti-drug-war Drug Policy Alliance, Ethan Nadelmann, will both be testifying. Mr. Nadelmann testimony will focus on: * The drug war's flawed performance measures; * The lop-sided ratio between supply and demand spending in the national drug budget; * The lack of innovation in the drug czar's proposed strategies; * The Administration's failure to adequately evaluate drug policies. The hearing comes in the wake of significant drug policy reforms under the Obama Administration, including a directive urging federal law enforcement agencies to stop arresting medical marijuana patients and caregivers in compliance with their state's medical marijuana law, and the repeal of the two decade old federal syringe funding ban, which prohibited states from funding syringe exchange programs with federal money to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. Additionally, a few weeks ago a White House backed bi-partisan bill reforming the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity passed the U.S. Senate unanimously. The Administration's drug war budget, however, is still focused overwhelmingly on failed supply side policies and ignores important harm reduction measures. Director Kerlikowske told the Wall Street Journal last year that he doesn't like to use the term "war on drugs" because "[w]e're not at war with people in this country." Yet 64% of their budget - virtually the same as under the Bush Administration - focuses on largely futile interdiction efforts as well as arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating extraordinary numbers of people. Only 36% is earmarked for demand reduction. The budget also ignores life-saving harm reduction measures such as naloxone-distribution and heroin assisted treatment, widely viewed around the world as a necessary part of any balanced, evidenced based drug strategy. "Congress and the Obama administration have broken with the costly and failed drug war strategies of the past in some important ways," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. "But the continuing emphasis on interdiction and law enforcement in the federal drug war budget suggest that ONDCP is far more wedded to the failures of the past than to any new vision for the future. I urge this committee to hold ONDCP and federal drug policy accountable to new criteria that focus on reductions in the death, disease, crime and suffering associated with both drugs and drug prohibition." What: Congressional hearing titled, "ONDCP's Fiscal Year 2011 National Drug Control Budget: Are We Still Funding a War on Drugs?" When: 10:00AM, Wednesday, April 14th. Where: 2154 Rayburn HOB ###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 18, 2009 CONTACT: Margaret Dooley-Sammuli at (213) 291-4190 or Stephen Gutwillig at (323) 542-6510 California Budget Deficit Balloons, While Prisons on Schedule to Overspend by $1.4 Billion Advocates Condemn Sacramento’s Priorities: “California’s Incarceration Spending Locks Up Our Tax Dollars” SACRAMENTO – The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office announced today that it expects the California state budget deficit to exceed $20 billion by the end of the 2010-11 fiscal year, and that the state will spend $1.4 billion more on prisons than was budgeted in 2009-10. Advocates criticize the state for failing to make real cuts to prison spending, while enacting brutal cuts to important social services. “California’s prison spending is totally out of whack and it’s locking up tax dollars that now aren’t available for education and other community services like fire protection and elder care,” said Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, deputy state director for the Drug Policy Alliance in Southern California. “Other states, like New York, have reduced their crime rates and their prison populations at the same time. California should follow their lead.” The Legislature and governor approved $1.2 billion in unallocated cuts to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) in late July. On September 11, the Legislature sent a bill to the governor that would realize just $200-300 million in cuts. According to the LAO’s report, prison spending will exceed its 2009-10 budgeted level by $1.4 billion. “Sacramento said that it would cut prison spending by $1.2 billion – but that was a lie. That should come as no surprise; the prisons have overspent their budget by hundreds of millions of dollars in each of the past several years,” Dooley-Sammuli continued. “With the state near fiscal collapse, this just won’t do any longer. Prisons, like other resources, should be used wisely. They simply aren’t the right place for people convicted of petty offenses, particularly low-level, non-violent drug law violations.” According to the CDCR, over 30,000 people are locked up in California state prisons for a non-violent drug offense – at a total cost of $1.5 billion per year. Instead of reducing costs by addressing the number of people incarcerated for petty drug offenses, however, the state recently announced that it would cut by 70% the amount of drug treatment offered behind bars and by 40% the amount of drug treatment offered on parole. The LAO report is online at: http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/PubDetails.aspx?id=2143 # # #

NEWS ADVISORY: November 24, 2008 CONTACT: Tom Angell, LEAP - (202) 557-4979 or [email protected] Cops Say Legalizing Drugs Can Boost Economy by Billions 75th Anniversary of Alcohol Prohibition's End Inspires Modern Effort WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Tuesday, December 2, a group of law enforcers who fought on the front lines of the "war on drugs" and witnessed its failures will commemorate the 75th anniversary of alcohol prohibition's repeal by calling for drug legalization. The cops, judges and prosecutors will release a report detailing how many billions of dollars can be used to boost the ailing economy when drug prohibition is ended. "America's leaders had the good sense to realize that we couldn't afford to keep enforcing the ineffective prohibition of alcohol during the Great Depression," said Terry Nelson, a 30-year veteran federal agent and member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). "Now, cops fighting on the front lines of today's 'war on drugs' are working to make our streets safer and help solve our economic crisis by teaching lawmakers a lesson from history about the failure of prohibition. We can do it again." WHO: Federal agents, street cops, detectives, corrections officials and a Harvard economist WHAT: Release of "We Can Do It Again" report on benefits of repealing drug prohibition WHEN: Tuesday, December 2, 2008 @ 10:00 AM WHERE: National Press Club; Zenger Room; 529 14th Street, NW; 13th Fl.; Washington, DC ***phone press conference also available*** "We Can Do It Again: Repealing Today's Failed Prohibition," highlights how the "war on drugs" - just like alcohol prohibition - subsidizes violent gangsters, endangers public health and diminishes public respect for the rule of law. The report also details how the newer prohibition comes with the much graver threat of international cartels and terrorists who profit from illegal drug sales. Yet, it leaves readers on a hopeful note. "We're starting to see an emerging consensus that drug prohibition just doesn't make sense," said Seattle's retired Police Chief Norm Stamper, a LEAP member. "Three out of four Americans now say the 'war on drugs' has failed, and so do the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators and the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators. Now, it's up to the new administration and Congress to follow through." More information about LEAP and a copy of the report will be uploaded at http://www.WeCanDoItAgain.com/ # # #

For Immediate Release: October 28, 2008 Contact: Margaret Dooley-Sammuli at (213) 291-4190 or Tommy McDonald at (510) 229-5215 Yes on 5 TV Spot Focuses on Treatment Success, Fiscal Savings Supporters Say Prop. 5 Means More of Both SACRAMENTO – With the budget deficit worsening and prison overcrowding reaching crisis levels, voters are looking for an affordable and effective alternative. Proposition 5 builds on California’s proven treatment-instead-of-incarceration programs for nonviolent drug offenders. According to the nonpartisan legislative analyst, Prop. 5 will expand access to proven treatment programs and cut state costs. The savings – in lives and taxpayer dollars – of California’s existing treatment programs is the theme of “Success Story”, a new TV spot released today by the Yes on 5 campaign and now airing statewide. The ad focuses on Proposition 36, the treatment-instead-of-incarceration program approved by voters in 2000, which has graduated 84,000 nonviolent drug offenders and cut state spending on incarceration by $2 billion. The ad comes just days after the release of a new study on Proposition 36. Al Senella, president of the California Association of Alcohol and Drug Program Executives, said “The proof is in the research: treatment works and it cuts costs. But Prop. 36 hasn’t been adequately funded. That means some people aren’t getting all the help they need and taxpayers aren’t seeing all the savings they should. Inadequate investment in treatment means higher costs later.” Conducted by independent researchers at UCLA, the October 14 report found that Prop. 36 consistently serves 35,000 nonviolent drug offenders each year, saves $2 for every $1 spent, and that program completers have lower recidivism rates. Tom Renfree, executive director of the County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators Association of California, said “UCLA showed that the program needs individualized treatment, increased supervision and improved accountability. Prop. 5 delivers on all these recommendations. For those not satisfied with Prop. 36, Prop. 5 is the answer. It will improve outcomes and further cut costs.” Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, deputy campaign manager of Yes on 5, said, “Prop. 36 has been a huge success. What all the research tells us is that treatment can be even more successful at cutting recidivism and prison spending. That’s why Prop. 5 is on the ballot.” The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office found that Prop. 5 will lower incarceration costs by $1 billion each year and reduce prison-construction costs by $2.5 billion. This doesn’t include savings related to reduced crime, fewer social services costs (e.g. emergency room visits, welfare), and increased individual productivity. For the ad: http://www.prop5yes.com/campaign-ads-videos For the report:http://www.uclaisap.org/prop36/documents/2008%20Final%20Report.pdf