Law Enforcement Against Prohibition: The LEAP Report July 2008

This issue… Make the LEAP Volunteer of the Month Did you Know? LEAP on Capitol Hill State by State Campus Communities/ What People are Saying About LEAP Making Media International Overtures Make the LEAP Following the announcement that Damage Done: The Drug War Odyssey had become available on DVD in the LEAP Store, many of our members rushed to order their copies. The DVDs are on their way… and a great, simple way to take action is to recommend the film to others. If you haven’t yet ordered a DVD and would like to, you can do so by visiting the LEAP Store. Volunteer of the Month Don’t Mess with Texas – Jim Kilpatrick has made a decision to bring change to his state. He began booking speaker Russ Jones around Austin, Texas and didn’t stop there. Jim managed to book gigs for Mike Gilbert and Dean Becker as well. This month he isn’t thinking only of Texas; he is also working to book Mike Gilbert in Alaska. Since coming on board as a LEAP volunteer, Jim has put speakers in front of an average of five audiences a month. Did you know? June 17, 2008 marked the 37th anniversary of the day former President Richard Nixon declared illegal drugs “public enemy number one” and announced his “War on Drugs”. Today, the War on Drugs metaphor continues to haunt us. As Laura Carlsen writes in her article “Militarizing Mexico: The New War on Drugs”, published July 12, 2007 in Foreign Policy in Focus, “with the metaphor of “war”, the president transferred responsibility from state and local governments, where the emphasis was on treatment of illegal drug use within the framework of a community or health problem, to federal coordination that addressed treatment but also established special enforcement agencies directly under the presidential mandate. The U.S. model not only served to bolster the presidency, it has also proven useful as a tool for geopolitical control abroad. By elevating drug trafficking to a matter of national security, the war on drugs model has led to U.S. intervention in the politics of both drug-producing and transit nations. It has been used to justify the militarization of whole regions of foreign nations (Colombia), invasions to oust inconvenient foreign leaders (Panama), and now the extension of the U.S. security agenda into a neighboring country (Mexico). LEAP on Capitol Hill Contributed by DC Education Specialist, Howard Wooldridge Washington, DC hosts many national and international conferences. Recently I attended three: GOAL (Gay Officers Action League), Break the Chains and the ACLU membership conference. Six years after LEAP’s foundation, I was gratified to see how many people already knew of our organization and its mission to end the Modern Prohibition. At the GOAL conference I was struck by the stories of gays who ‘came out’ and the similarities that LEAP members have ‘coming out’ against the War on Drugs. LEAP, of course, still allows for ‘stealth’ membership, since being openly against prohibition could hurt or perhaps even destroy a law enforcement career. As the French say, “Plus ca change, plus reste la même chose” (the more that changes, the more that stays the same). Perhaps a slight majority who heard my presentation agreed with the LEAP mission, many did not. Privacy issues are important to all adults, but many, too many, still cling to allowing the government to enter our homes and arrest us for putting something in our mouth the government does not approve of. Break the Chains conference featured two of our speakers, Matthew Fogg and Judge Billy Murphy. They spoke simply and forcefully for legalization. Few openly agreed with them, but all attendees agreed that the War on Drugs causes many problems. The pastor of a large Baltimore church and I had a long discussion. After 30 minutes of talking, he is not sure if he supports the War on Drugs anymore. One at a time. I proudly wore my LEAP t-shirt at the ACLU Conference which resulted in dozens of little chats of why and how to end modern prohibition. Naturally, the listeners agreed and enthusiastically supported the LEAP message. Wearing the shirt and cowboy hat helped me stick out like a sore thumb which meant the vast majority of the two thousand attendees at least read the message. Although our issue has not yet caught fire at the national level, we are all laying the foundation to turn it into a bonfire when it does. State by State When the director of the Hammer Museum, located in Los Angeles on the UCLA campus and founded by the famous Armand Hammer family, called to ask for speakers for a forum on the lost war on drugs, LEAP jumped at the chance to send two of its best, California Judge Jim Gray, author of “Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It: A Judicial Indictment of the War on Drugs” and retired Seattle Chief of Police Norm Stamper, author of “Breaking Rank: A Top Cop’s Expose of the Dark Side of American Policing”. The addition of Marc Mauer of the “The Sentencing Project” morphed the forum into a discussion of America’s Prison State and its roots in Prohibition. While in California, Norm made a number of appearances including an interview with the Reason Foundation TV outlet. Even if the presidential candidates aren’t talking about the War on Drugs, the people who comprise political parties have made it a priority. Terry Nelson spoke to a partisan group in Ft Worth, Texas about the tactics we are using to end prohibition; while Jack Cole spoke to a partisan group in Boston, Massachusetts and Tony Ryan addressed a local club in Sioux Falls, North Dakota. LEAP staff member Barb Humphrey was honored as Party Member of the Year for her home community of Syracuse, New York; she used the opportunity to introduce influential community members to LEAP. Mike Gilbert is making the rounds in the San Antonio, Texas area as he prepares for his big trip to Alaska in July. The Alaskan Drug Policy Forum is hosting a two week tour of the state that will include time in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Watch the LEAP events page online for details on all the LEAP events. Campus Communities Prior to colleges and universities dismissing for the summer, LEAP speakers were keeping busy on campus: One of LEAP's rising stars, Richard Van Wickler, made a presentation to nearly 30 students at the University of Connecticut this past April 15, 2008. The presentation was sponsored by UConn's chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Daniel Cornelius, the SSDP chapter president at UConn, said "Van Wickler gave an exciting, provocative, and interactive presentation. He was informed, knowledgeable, and prudent about the necessity of drug legalization to alleviate the problems related to the illegal black market, poverty, and urban decay." On April 9, Matthew Fogg spoke to a large audience at Virginia Tech in Blackstone, VA hosted by the school’s chapter of SSDP. Fogg's presentation emphasized the racial discrimination that drives the drug war and students were highly receptive, many staying after the presentation to speak with Fogg. "I think that when law enforcement is speaking out against the War on Drugs, it's a clear sign that the issue should be discussed more seriously," said Kris Reinertson, SSDP President. LEAP’s Executive Director Jack Cole presented to students at Boston College and Harvard Law School on April 3rd. Both presentations were well attended and received. Jason Langberg who helped organized the event at Boston College said "Cole's presentation brought over 50 students, an excellent turnout given the small size of our school. Mr. Cole was very informative and inspiring." Making Media Jim Doherty and Matt McCally flooded the airways in Portland, Oregon in June. Jim did a live interview for CATV Channel Freedom TV Show and spoke on KUIK 1360 AM Jeff Kropf Show. Matt McCally gave some time to the KBOO More Talk Radio Show, broadcast throughout the region. You can catch LEAP speaker Terry Nelson on Cultural Baggage each week. Cultural Baggage is part of the Drug Truth Network, a media production organization based at KPFT Radio Houston and operated by LEAP speaker Dean Becker. Dean’s shows boast 21 affiliates around North America. From Powell River, British Columbia to Pomona, New Jersey, Dean regularly astounds audiences with his frank approach to the nation’s drug policy and his balanced guest list. The show archives include most of the LEAP speakers and an incredible list of guests. What do the Vancouver Sun (British Columbia), The Province (British Columbia), the Omaha World Herald (Nebraska), the Denver Post (Colorado) and the Arizona Republic (Arizona) have in common? They’ve all printed Opinion pieces from LEAP speakers recently. LEAP staffer Mike Smithson also started a dialogue in print by doing an impromptu interview with the Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus, Georgia. The article got the attention of several locals who generated printed Letters to the Editor. The Ledger-Enquirer then allowed Mike to write a rebuttal piece, where he encouraged Columbus to hold a community forum. This exchange kept drug policy front and center for over a week. Our special thanks to the Media Awareness Project, Inc for archiving our media efforts. International Overtures In May, Hans van Duijn joined LEAP. Van Duijn recently retired as the chairman of the large Netherlands Police Union NPB. He recently received quite a bit of media attention when he stated that Dutch cops should be allowed to smoke cannabis. Later in May, the supporters of Vancouver’s InSite, the only safe injection site for IV-drug users in North America, asked us to take the stage in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada for a national press conference. Speakers came from three countries to show support for harm reduction measures. The event was a media success and LEAP benefited from one of its biggest media days ever. At least 5 national stories appeared and numerous other regional efforts occurred. Website hits went thru the roof—more than 130K in one day. That’s an increase of 160%. A week later, John Tommasi had his bags packed for Budapest, Hungary. The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union has fostered an aggressive effort to end drug prohibition, and understands the value of involving LEAP. The HCLU hosted a seminar called “Connections”; achieving great attendance with participants from 7 countries discussing drug prohibition policies. Specifically, they wanted to hear LEAP's position on legalization and explore ways law enforcement officials deal with harm reduction programs in the current drug prohibition regime. In 1998, Kofi Annan gave a toast at the United Nations 20th General Assembly Special Session on drugs, basically stating that a UN 10-year goal would be the eradication of drug crops by 2008. Ten years later, this July 7th in Vienna, Austria, the United Nations will host “Beyond 2008”, another special conference to discuss the measurable results at reaching the aforementioned goal. Jack Cole will be attending as the representative of our NGO. Officially recognized by the UN, non governmental organizations, or NGO’s, have special access to UN delegates. We need YOUR help to continue doing all that we do. If you aren’t already, please consider volunteering your time or donating to LEAP. Together we can End Prohibition Now!