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Changing Minds 2009
Changing Minds 2010
Director's Blog

Press Release: For a True European Action on Drugs

PRESS RELEASE Antwerpen, 26 June 2009 Today, the European Commission will announce the European Action on Drugs, asking citizens to join efforts to fight drugs. So far only the Foundation for a Drug Free Europe linked with the Scientology Church has reacted positively. The European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policy calls upon the European Union to take genuine action on drugs, namely to end drug prohibition. A "European Action on Drugs" Announcing its "European Action on Drugs", the European Commission is inviting European citizens to take "practical and creative initiatives that positively influence drug-related behaviour in European society". Before taking this invitation seriously, there is something that European citizens should know. Since 1991, when negotiations developed a common European Union policy comcerning drugs, the role that "civil society" should play in this policy has always been stressed - on paper. In practice, Member States Governments and the European Commission have never taken this commitment seriously. 1. A sincere involvement of citizens in the development and implementation of drug policy has been sabotaged even before it ever could come into place. Since 1993 civil society organisations have proposed the European Union to set up mechanisms to enable the involvement and participation of users of illicit substances, NGOs, the voluntary sector and the general public in discussing drug-related issues. Nothing has ever happened with those proposals. In July 2007, the European Commission issued a call for proposals for NGOs to be included in a "Civil Society Forum on Drugs". In this forum 26 organizations were selected by the European Commission and invited to an annual meeting (of 1,5 days) to analyse and recommend on the impact of drug policy in the European Union. Sadly, the reports of this meeting are filtered by the European Commission, so no critical comments are being published. During the 2009 session of this Forum in March, the European Commission presented the idea of creating a European Alliance on Drugs, with the aim of obtaining "a large number of commitments of organisations, companies and individual citizens who would support a common effort to raise concern on the risks related to drugs”, and formulate their own initiative that the Commission would then endorse by publishing it on a website or giving resources. The proposal was almost unanimously rejected at this Forum. Of all participants to the CSF only one, the Foundation For a Drug Free Europe, reacted positively on the idea. This organisation is linked to the Scientology Church, which is currently being prosecuted in France and Belgium, and which is known for having radical moral positions concerning drugs. 2. The data on drug use in the European Union indicate that drug prohibition is a failure According to the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction, cannabis consumption in the Netherlands, where this substance is legally available to adults, is lower than in several EU countries (like France and the United Kingdom among others), where cannabis is totally prohibited. This indication proves that the theory that prohibition helps to reduce the level of use is wrong. In March 2009, the European Union published an evaluation report on the results of global drug policy for the period 1998 to 2007. The evaluation did not find any evidence that the global drug problem had been reduced. On the contrary, in the past ten years, prices have fallen, and drugs have become easier to obtain, also for young people. 3. The EMCDDA estimates the drug-related public expenditure in Europe to be around 40 billion euro a year (that is 60 euro for every EU citizen, children included). Those funds are being spent in order to stop people in the EU from using illegal drugs. However, since drugs were declared illegal, production and consumption have increased, and an enormous black market has been created for goods that could be produced legal- and safely. The United Nations has estimated the value of this market at more than 400 billion USD, or 6 percent of global trade. Most problems related to drug use are not caused by the drugs themselves, but by the fact that they are produced and distributed in an unlawful and uncontrolled environment. What does this mean? It means that the European Commission is asking citizens to cooperate with a policy that in reality promotes crime and increases health risks. Drug prohibition increases the profitability of the product. It has an adverse effect on public health, as it makes any real control of production, distribution and consumption of these products impossible. It undermines serious efforts to reduce harm related to drug use or to prevent misuse. In the current repressive climate, it is impossible to communicate openly about the issue. In short, drug prohibition is a failed policy. Instead, under a regime of legal but controlled drug production and distribution to adults the health and safety conditions surrounding the use of these substances could be improved considerably. Encod calls upon the European Union to take genuine action on drugs that would effectively be supported by the greater proportion of civil society organisations that are involved in the drug issue. At the next UN meeting on drug policies in Vienna in March 2010, European Union Member States should propose to remove the obstacles in the UN conventions to starting experiments with the legal regulation of the drug market that are not based on total prohibition. Thus several European countries could set in motion a process that will replace a costly, failed and counter-productive policy with a rational and human approach. Thank you very much for your attention. Sincerely yours, on behalf of Encod Marisa Felicissimo, Belgium Antonio Escobar, Spain Joep Oomen, Belgium Frederick Polak, The Netherlands Jorge Roque, Portugal -- EUROPEAN COALITION FOR JUST AND EFFECTIVE DRUG POLICIES Lange Lozanastraat 14 – 2018 Antwerpen - Belgium Tel. + 32 (0)3 293 0886 / Mob. + 32 (0)495 122644 E-mail: [email protected] / www.encod.org

Help Us Reform Marijuana Laws in Breckenridge

Help Legalize Marijuana in Breckenridge! Sensible Breckenridge, a local reform group working with Sensible Colorado, recently began gathering signatures to remove criminal penalties for adult marijuana possession under the Breckenridge City Code. This prestigious group, led by Breckenridge Town Councilman Jeffrey Bergeron and local attorney Sean McAllister, needs YOUR help gathering signatures to qualify the measure for the November 2009 ballot. Signature gathering started last week, and the group must turn in 1000 signatures by July 13 to make the ballot. In addition to removing criminal penalties for the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by adults 21 and older, the ordinance would also remove adult paraphernalia penalties. If you wish to volunteer, please call 970-453-6594 or email [email protected]. To learn more about Sensible Colorado's work, or to donate to this important cause, check out our website at www.sensiblecolorado.org.

Disenfranchisement News: Sotomayor on Disenfranchisement

National: Sotomayor on Disenfranchisement Based on many decisions by U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, a New York Times op-ed column states that the judge's decisions have ultimately been "color blind." Making mention of her ruling in Hayden v. Pataki, where Sotomayor concluded that felon disenfranchisement laws are discriminatory and violate the Voting Rights Act, Tom Goldstein, a founder of the Scotusblog Web site, states that her decisions in cases like these "hardly make her an extremist." The United State's varied practice of disenfranchising individuals with felony offenses is the wrong way to dole out punishment, according to an Atlantic blog. "Crime costs this country an estimated $1.4 trillion annually," the article states. "Unless disenfranchisement helps reduce that number - and the evidence suggests that it does the opposite - then denying prisoners the vote in order to minutely heighten the virtue of the voting pool is a bad trade." - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information -- e-mail: [email protected], web: http://www.sentencingproject.org

Americans for Safe Access: June 2009 Activist Newsletter

U.S. Supreme Court Affirms California Medical Marijuana Program

High Court Refuses to Hear County Challenge to State Law


In another landmark victory for the ASA legal team, the U.S. Supreme Court has said no to an attempt by a California county to overturn the state's medical marijuana law.

The case, brought by San Diego County and joined by two others, alleged that the federal prohibition of marijuana preempts the state law that allows legal access for qualified patients. County officials were resisting the legislature's mandate to implement a identification card program for medical marijuana patients.

"No longer will local officials be able to hide behind federal law and resist upholding California's medical marijuana law," said ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford, who helped argue the case. "The courts have made clear that federal law does not preempt California's medical marijuana law and that local officials must comply with that law."

The San Diego Superior Court and the Fourth District Court of Appeals both rejected the argument, which was followed by the California Supreme Court's refusal to review the case in 2008. ASA filed a lawsuit in January against Solano County for its refusal to implement the state ID card program.

"This decision and our lawsuit against Solano will undoubtedly have an impact on the other 10 counties that have failed to implement the ID card program," said Elford.

Colusa, Madera, Mariposa, Modoc, Mono, San Bernardino, San Diego, Solano, Stanislaus, and Sutter counties have each been notified about their obligation to implement the ID card program.

ASA worked with the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project to litigate the San Diego case, with both organizations on the side of the California Attorney General defending the state's medical marijuana law. The County of San Bernardino joined San Diego County in its original lawsuit and the subsequent appeals.

The ID card program was established in 2004 with the legislature's passage of SB 420, the Medical Marijuana Program Act. The ID cards are intended to assist law enforcement identify qualified patients and protect those patients from wrongful arrest.

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ASA Defends Marijuana Seizure Ruling on Appeal

California Court Considers Law Enforcement Limits

The right of California patients to both organize collectives to grow medical marijuana and be protected from unreasonable search and seizure was defended by ASA last month before a state appeals court. Butte county officials are trying to overturn a lower court's decision that had removed restrictions the county had imposed on patient collectives.

"We're cautiously optimistic about the outcome," said ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford, who argued the case. "The panel asked tough questions of the county and clearly understands that this is an important and interesting case for defining the limits and obligations of state medical marijuana law."

The case, Williams v. Butte County, involves a collective of seven patients who had pooled their labor and resources to maintain a 41-plant garden. But county policy required every member of the collective to live on the property or physically till the soil, a restriction not found in California law. So when the sheriff's department entered the property without a warrant and ordered the owner to tear down all but six plants for himself and six plants for his wife -- which he did under threat of arrest - ASA sued the county and won.

Butte officials are appealing the trial court's ruling that the Butte County policy is preempted by state law and that a patient may file a claim for unreasonable search and seizure in such a circumstance. The county is being supported before the Court of Appeal for the Third District by the California Peace Officers' Association, California Police Chiefs' Association, and California Sheriffs' Association, organizations that have filed amicus briefs arguing against patient rights in several ASA cases.

In addition to the question of whether county's can impose onerous restrictions on how collectives may operate, the court was concerned with when and how law enforcement may seize medicine.

The county argued that there is no restriction on seizures of marijuana by state officials, since it remains illegal under federal law. One of the justices commented that this would seemed to violate the spirit of Proposition 215 and asked whether the electorate would be "mystified" by a decision that would allow law enforcement to seize marijuana from patients without any restriction.

ASA argued that the California Supreme Court's opinion in People v. Mower that "probable cause depends on all of the circumstances, including one's status as a qualified medical marijuana patient" means that law enforcement must have probable cause to seize medicine from qualified patients.

Elford told the court that in this case there was neither probable cause nor a search warrant, and without any exigent circumstance to justify a warrantless seizure - the officer knew that Williams wanted to keep the marijuana and was not going to destroy it on his own -- there is no excuse for failing to get a warrant.

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ASA Chapter Profile: Honolulu, Hawaii

Since it was formed last September, ASA's Honolulu, Hawaii chapter has been growing steadily and gaining ground in the fight for medical cannabis patients rights. Honolulu ASA is the only advocacy group on the island which works exclusively for medical cannabis issues. In the past few months, Honolulu ASA has formed alliances with other advocacy groups on Oahu such as the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii and the West Oahu Hope For A Cure.

Last month, the chapter gained a seat on Hawaii's statewide Medical Cannabis Task Force, which was established by the legislature on April 29th to look into the Hawaii program and make recommendations early next year. The director of the Honolulu chapter of ASA will represent ASA members throughout the state in the upcoming deliberations to make Hawaii's program a viable system, including the possible creation of a distribution system.

This is the first time that an ASA local chapter will have a seat on a statewide task force. This bill is now being sent over to the governor for her approval.

The Honolulu chapter has been growing rapidly, with membership recently reaching 100 members, thanks in part to a new partnership with a local physician. ASA Honolulu's goal is to eventually have every medical cannabis patient on the island of Oahu as an ASA member.

ASA Honolulu has established a relationship with Dr. Jimenez to have a presence in his Hawaii office as he is seeing new and re-certifying patients during his monthly visits to the island. This allows ASA an opportunity to introduce the organization to qualified patients and get them signed up as new members.

Dr Jimenez is also an ASA member and a member of the local chapter and has been added as the Medical Advisor to the chapter to assist in work on the Medical Cannabis Task Force. Dr. Jimenez is one of the primary medical cannabis recommendation physicians in Hawaii and California with approximately 11,000 current recommendations written.

This month, the Honolulu chapter will begin holding approximately 20 different "Cannabis Classes" to teach patients valuable tips and techniques for choosing, growing, cloning, harvesting, curing, and using their medication. They are also working out the details for weekend "Cannabis Camps" to be held at various beach parks on Oahu each year. These Cannabis Camps will offer ASA members additional opportunities for classes, fellowship with other patients, and entertainment while camping at a beautiful Hawaii beach. Members from other chapters are invited to attend these Cannabis Camps as an opportunity to further relationships between the chapters.

For more information about the Honolulu ASA chapter and the work that we have been doing in Hawaii, visit our chapter website at www.HonoluluASA.org or contact us by email at [email protected] or by phone at (808) 840-0229 or (808) 352-5815.

Safe Streets Arts Foundation: International Publicity for Our Prison Art Show

Canadian Radio Station Interview about our Upcoming Pano Prison Art Show

(Listen to It at Your Leisure)

Gallery logo

 

Listen to our interview

 live on Monday, June 8, 10:30 pm Eastern time on a prominent Vancouver, Canada radio station at www.coopradio.org or, if you miss it, listen to the podcast at www.rabble.ca.

 

The subject of the radio interview is

 our upcoming free art show featuring "Pano" art created in prisons across America. This is a special show called "Pano in American Tradition" at Takoma Park Community Center (Gallery 3), 7500 Maple Ave, Takoma Park, Maryland from June 12 to July 25, 2009. The art is part of the collection of the Safe Streets Arts Foundation, which operates the Prison Art Gallery in Washington DC. The opening reception will take place on June 12 from 6 to 9 pm, and will feature live music by ex-prisoner guitarist Dennis Sobin, who has performed at the Kennedy Center.
 
Paño art draws on the deepest emotions of prisoners whose artistic expression is limited only by the materials at hand. The word paño (Spanish for cloth or handkerchief) has come to mean the art form itself -- a ball point pen or colored pencil drawing on a handkerchief.
 
Scholars have yet to determine the origin of paño art but some believe that it emerged in the 1940s among Chicano prisoners in the Southwestern United States who drew on the handkerchiefs or torn bed sheets. They do this because finding materials for artistic expression is difficult.
 
The portable and economical aspects of the Paño (handkerchief) allow prisoners to share their work with family and friends, use in bartering, and to mentally escape prison life. Today paño art is associated with Chicano inmates around the country, both male and female, who neatly fold paños into envelopes and mail them to loved ones.
 
Paños typically depict prison life, loved ones, dreams, memories, or personal experiences. Paño artists take much of their imagery and inspiration from the larger visual arts vocabulary of Chicano art conspicuous in murals, posters, low rider cars, graffiti, and tattoos. 
 
Most prisons offer handkerchiefs for sale in the commissary and tacitly sanction the art. Panos are collected in great numbers by convict patrons. The Smithsonian Museum has a pano collection, recognizing the uniqueness of this art form.
 
The Safe Streets Arts Foundation, incorporating both the Prisons Foundation and the Victims Foundation, is the sponsor of the annual From-Prison-to-The-Stage Show at the Kennedy Center and the Prison Art Gallery in Washington, DC. It is supported through the generosity Lloyd S. Rubin, ex-prisoner and international arts consultant.


For more information about the free Pano art show sponsored by the City of Takoma Park and taking place at the Takoma Park Community Center (Gallery 3) from June 12 to July 25, 2009, contact Stéphan Janin at:  [email protected]

witherspoon

"The Safe Streets Arts Foundation, incorporating both the Prisons Foundation and the Victims Foundation, is proud to sponsor the annual From-Prison-to-The-Stage Show at the Kennedy Center and the Prison Art Gallery at 1600 K Street. NW, Suite 501, Washington, DC, three blocks from the White House."

Press Release: New Anti-Drug Plan Doomed to Failure, Reformers Charge

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
JUNE 5, 2005

New Anti-Drug Plan Doomed to Failure, Reformers Charge
Failure to Consider Fundamental Reforms Guarantees Cartels Will Continue to Dominate Marijuana Trade

 

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 202-215-4205 or 415-585-6404

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The new anti-drug initiative for the Southwestern border announced today by the Obama administration is doomed to failure because it simply dresses up failed policies in new clothing, the Marijuana Policy Project charged today.

     "The new plan simply calls for rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic," said MPP director of government relations Aaron Houston. "The plan ignores the central problem, which is that our policy of marijuana prohibition has handed the Mexican cartels a massive market that keeps them rolling in cash, not just in Mexico, but according to the Department of Justice, in 230 American cities."

     Houston noted that federal officials have stated that 60 to 70 percent of the cartels' profits come from the marijuana trade, and that the Mexican government seems to be signaling its unhappiness with the United States' current policy. "The Mexican Congress strategically scheduled consideration of legislation to remove criminal penalties for marijuana possession to coincide with President Obama's trip there," Houston said. He also noted that Mexican ambassador to the U.S. Arturo Sarukhán called for the debate on regulating and taxing marijuana to be "taken seriously on both sides of the border" on national television.

     "Rather than trying to make America's 15 million monthly marijuana consumers go away, we need to gain control of this market by regulating marijuana like we do beer, wine and liquor," Houston said. "Any anti-drug effort that leaves the marijuana trade in the hands of the cartels is nothing but a full-employment plan for professional drug warriors and cartel bosses alike, not a serious proposal to address the problem."

     With more than 27,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

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European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies -- June Bulletin

ENCOD BULLETIN ON DRUG POLICIES IN EUROPE

NR. 52 JUNE 2009

WINDS OF CHANGE


Many people think and hope that the Obama era may indeed lead to change in the drug policies of the United States. This would surely have repercussions at the international level. Not only in the consumer countries, but also and above all in those countries defined as producers. Not only the hundreds of million persons who would like to smoke their joint in peace think this way. Many more are starting to understand that drug prohibition has failed.

The goal that was announced in 1998 during the UNGASS session in New York, and then repeated ten years later, i.e. a drugs free world, will never be realized. It has become obvious that this goal cannot be maintained, as appeared from the discussions in the last CND meeting in March in Vienna.

In recent months, several events that occurred on the other side of the ocean have been received with moderate optimism by the associations and organizations that are promoting a different policy on drugs in the USA, such as NORML and DPA. Of these signals, we remind the following:

- the announcement to end the DEA raids against the medical cannabis dispensaries for patients by Eric Holder, Attorney-General and head of the Justice Department, in those states where the law allows this. Rhode Island, California and New Mexico have installed a regulation on dispensaries, while the number of states where the therapeutic use of cannabis is allowed equals 13;

- the declarations of Gil Kerlikowske, the new head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, who has spoken about a radical change of perspective in the efforts of the nation to fight drugs, beginning with the elimination of the term “War on Drugs”;

- the proposal to legalize cannabis for recreational use in California and the open minded declarations of governor Schwarzenegger on this possibility. Economic calculations as the subsequent taxation would bring several millions of dollars to the treasury of the State start to appear; but it would also halt the advancing violence in the southern states of the U.S. as a result of the wars between the Mexican drug trafficking cartels, and above all, it would empty the crowded American jails.

The appeal to legalization was reiterated by the hundreds of thousands of persons who participated in the Worldwide Marijuana Marches that took place in more than 250 cities all over the world in the first weeks of May. Also in the international press and on TV, voices were heard of those who explained that the end of prohibition will enable better approaches for dealing with the drug phenomenon worldwide.

From South America, the Presidents of some of the states that are most involved in coca production and cocaine traffic — such as Morales from Bolivia, Chavez from Venezuela, Correa from Ecuador and Lugo from Paraguay — have appropriated the coca leaf as the symbol of their campaign to save the planet and the “mother earth” through a radical change of the current models for production and development.

International Conventions must be revised, that the dialogue must be opened to look into fundamental issues such as the respect of human rights and cultural diversity, and in this process of change the citizens of all countries must be permitted to play a fundamental role — citizens both of those countries that are involved in drug production as well as those where mostly consumption takes place.

Today Europe, far distant from the high ideals that inspired those who started to build the Union in remote times, is reduced to a gigantic bureaucratic apparatus that exists to the advantage of the rich and powerful.

On 26 June, the European Commission will present its next initiative on the issue, a "European Action on Drugs". When this initiative was presented at the last session of the "Civil Society Forum on Drug Policies in the EU" , a meeting of 35 so-called drug experts from several civil society organisations, it was rejected by all except the Foundation for a Drug Free Europe.

This European Union that only protects financial interests but does not have a heart, where decisions are taken by a narrow elite, is about to renew its Parliament, a perfect symbol of its false democracy. Giusto Catania, a young Italian Member of the European Parliament, at least was successful in the five year period that is about to finish, in obtaining a majority of the MEPs regarding a set of clearly antiprohibitionist proposals. Nevertheless, these recommendations were completely ignored by the governors of the Member States and by the European Commission.

And rather precisely from Italy itself, perhaps due to the vicinity of the European and administrative elections, alarming news on real censorship arrives. The "New World" Fair, that also hosts the Cannabis Tipo Forte stands (a hemp fair that reached its 5th edition in 2009), did not receive authorisation to take place during the planned dates in the end of May. The veto against the Fair by the municipality of Faenza was raised by the Democratic Party (in theory, left-wing), after pressure by exponents of the U.D.C (Catholic Party) and with the support of the central government in the person of undersecretary in charge of drug issues, Giovanardi. Satisfied with the ban, Giovanardi thanked the local Prefect and Mayor for "demonstrated sensibility in face of the issue".

Some months before, the municipality of Bologna had denied the organisers the access to the "Palanord-center", where the Fair was carried out since 3 years. Here security reasons were invoked. By "mere coincidence", the start of the renovation activities had been established 4 days before the planned dates of the fair. Still the organisers remain confident, that there still exists a freedom of expression in Italy and the Fair will be held in September.

We hope that this summer, which coincides with the beginning of a new cycle for Encod that will renew its Steering Committee, will contribute its light and heat to produce an autumn full of good fruits and new perspectives. We also hope that the winds of change that come from across the ocean can be felt in the old continent. That the European Union begins a new phase in which not only economic interests and strong powers will determine its policies. Where citizens and civil society organisations will achieve a central role in decision making. We hope that the rulers of various countries start as soon as possible to come to terms with a new international reality.

Also therefore, Encod must continue its work, trying to unite the realities that work in Europe for just and effective policies on drugs. Concrete proposals should be developed that sooner or later will have a role in the change that is about to happen. During the forthcoming General Assembly in Barcelona, we will plan a continuation of campaigns and actions that were promoted in recent years, such as the Cannabis Social Clubs. And in the near future Encod hopes to carry out a first experiment of fair trade coca tea that will be ecologically produced in Bolivia and commercialised in Europe, based on a direct contact between producers and consumers, through completely legal channels.

By Alessandra Viazzi

P.S.

ENCOD NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT:

Account: 001- 3470861-83 Att. ENCOD vzw - Belgium

Bank: FORTIS, Warandeberg 3, 1000 Brussels

IBAN: BE 14 0013 4708 6183

SWIFT: GEBABEBB

Press Release -- NYCLU to School District: Mass Student Search Illegal, Humiliating & Invasive

CONTACT: Jennifer Carnig, 212.607.3363 / [email protected]

 

NYCLU to School District: Mass Student Search Illegal, Humiliating & Invasive

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 28, 2009 – The New York Civil Liberties Union has called on the Red Creek Central School District in upstate New York to publicly apologize to high school students subjected to illegal, humiliating and invasive searches by state police and school officials.

In a letter to Superintendent David Sholes, the NYCLU also urged the district to take steps to prevent invasive searches and protect students’ rights. Students subjected to the April 9 searches were passengers on a school bus parked outside of Red Creek High School. Every student was pulled off the bus and searched.

“This was one of the most humiliating moments of my life,” said 18-year-old graduating senior Stephanie Schultz, who is attending college in the fall. “My school taught me about the Constitution and about my rights, and then pushed them both aside and made me feel like my rights didn’t matter.”

Schultz and at least 17 other students on a Williamson BOCES school bus were removed from the bus in mixed gender pairs and ordered to the Red Creek High School principal’s office by a uniformed state trooper.  In the principal’s office, the students, male and female, were subjected to invasive searches in full view of each other.

Schultz was searched by a female librarian in front of three males – her principal, a police officer and a classmate. Though she asked that she be searched in a room without men, her request was denied. She cried as she was forced to roll down her waistband and expose part of her underwear and buttocks.

“The principal walked out because I was crying so much,” Schultz said. “I knew it wasn’t right what was happening, but there was nothing I could to. I felt helpless and humiliated.”

Nothing was found on the culinary arts student. In fact, the school district did not have suspicion that any of the students searched were engaged in any illegal activity at that time.

“Students must not be stripped of their rights and their dignity at the schoolhouse door,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said. “While drug abuse is a serious matter, it can be addressed without public humiliation. These students are now afraid of their teachers, they are afraid of the police, and they are afraid of what their classmates think of them. They deserve a public apology to ease these fears and restore their reputations.”

The male students were searched by Principal Noel Patterson as a state trooper watched. Female students were searched just a few feet away by a female school employee. Each student was ordered to remove their jacket, shoes and socks, and empty their pockets. Some students were “patted down,” others were asked to lift shirts and undershirts, and one student was asked to remove an outer pair of pants.

“This was humiliating, embarrassing, frustrating and a waste of my time,” said 18-year-old graduating senior and honor roll student Stephanie Forsythe. “Everyone saw me escorted by the police and thought I was arrested. I shouldn’t have had to go through that and I don’t want this to happen to my little siblings.”

According to the district, each student was subjected to a “waistband search,” which in some cases entailed turning down the waistband to reveal parts of their underwear, buttocks and pelvic area, in view of male and female school staff and the male state trooper. Backpacks, purses and other containers were also searched. At least one student was charged criminally and suspended for a year.

The NYCLU maintains that the searches violated the students’ rights under both the U.S. and New York State constitutions. The April 9 searches of the BOCES students were not based on individualized suspicion that any particular student was engaged in illegal behavior at the time of the search. Moreover, even if the school district had adequate ground for a search, the search that was conducted was far more intrusive and humiliating than is constitutionally permissible.

“Educators should know better than to do this to kids,” said Tim Cosser, whose 17-year-old son was searched. “I know they have to keep schools safe, but I don’t understand this. It’s not right. The district needs new guidelines that protect students’ rights.”

In light of the constitutional violations that occurred on April 9, the NYCLU urges the district to take the following steps:

·         Issue a public apology making clear to the community that the vast majority of the students on the bus were guilty of no wrongdoing and acknowledging the illegality of the searches.

·         Revise its policy on student searches to state that no reasonable search may be conducted without individualized suspicion of wrongdoing.  Individualized suspicion must be based on facts known to the official about the particular student that support a belief that a search will uncover evidence of a crime or violation.

·         Clarify and enhance its memorandum of understanding with the New York State Police with the goal of with the goal of creating clear guidelines for police and school officials that protects student rights.

·         Provide all school district employees who may be involved in student searches and interrogations annual training on students’ rights.

The district covers the towns of Butler and Wolcott in Wayne County and the village of Fair Haven and parts of Victory, Sterling and Conquest in Cayuga County.

To read the NYCLU’s full letter, visit http://www.nyclu.org/node/2411.

-xxx-

The Sentencing Project: Disenfranchisement News 5/29/09

National: U.S. Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor May Spark Voting Rights Debate With President Obama's U.S. Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, various news outlets have recalled her dissent in the case of Hayden v Pataki, in which she argued that the federal Voting Rights Act protected ethnic minorities in the area of felon disenfranchisement, Ballot Access reported. An op-ed column in the Los Angeles Times asserts that if the Supreme Court strikes down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, it might actually open up a new dialogue on voting rights. Law professors Guy-Uriel E. Charles and Luis Fuentes-Rohwerargue that "[i]f the high court now votes to invalidate the Voting Rights Act, Congress and the civil rights community would have an opportunity to engage in a much-needed debate on voting rights policy for a new century." They contend that revamping the Voting Rights Act could, in fact, make room for disenfranchisement reforms such as the Democracy Restoration Act, which would lift the ban nationally for non-incarcerated people to vote in federal elections. Iowa: Voter Fraud or Miscommunication? David Borgman was sentenced to four days of home confinement and a $500 fine for fourth-degree election misconduct - registering and voting during the November election while on parole, the Quad-City Times reported. November's election was the first in the state that allowed individuals to register on Election Day. Borgman, 42, said he didn't know he wasn't eligible to vote but the Iowa Department of Corrections stated that individuals released on parole are required to sign a statement that they understand certain rights have been taken away. The statement, however, does not specifically mention the right to vote. As a result of the case, the Iowa Department of Corrections now requires individuals released on parole to sign a statement which says they understand they are not eligible to vote until they have their rights restored by the governor. Ohio: Department of Corrections Helps Offenders "Reclaim Their Vote" A new brochure that explains voting rights for those with felony records is now being disseminated throughout the state by government officials, agencies and nonprofit organizations in an effort to better communicate the voter restoration process. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction is distributing "Find a New Direction: Reclaim Your Vote," to wardens and adult parole offices. The Voting Rights Institute of the Ohio Secretary of State's office is also distributing the brochures to non-profits groups, and at events throughout the state. - - - - - - Help The Sentencing Project continue to bring you news and updates on disenfranchisement! Make a contribution today. Contact Information -- E-mail: [email protected], web: http://www.sentencingproject.org.

Watch Me on the Colbert Report

You Can Make a Difference

 

Dear Friends,

I recently appeared on the Colbert Report, Comedy Central’s popular political satire news show. You can watch the interview here.

This appearance is part of our ongoing campaign to open the debate about drug policy in this country -- you might have also seen me recently on CNN and Fox.

You know as well as I do that real change won't come until there's an open and honest public debate about drug policy in the United States.You also know that real lives in real communities are on the line. I hope you'll join me in making sure this debate is opened now.

Will you donate $50.00 or more to help expand the public debate on drug policy?

Your efforts to change the conversation about drugs are making a difference. Congressional leaders and the president are close to eliminating the unfair sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine.

Now is the time to push our issues to the forefront. We are well positioned to capitalize on this new energy and cannot miss this major opportunity to dismantle the drug war!

Give today to keep us moving forward in this fight.

Very truly yours,


Ethan Nadelmann
Executive Director
Drug Policy Alliance Network

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