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"If you can't control drug use in a maximum security prison, how could you control drugs in a free society?" That question, posed by former New York prisoner Tony Papa in Breaking the Taboo, a new film about the global drug war, hit me like a ton of bricks. His simple question captured what I believe is the terminal stupidity of our government's 40-year War on Drugs.
Papa was sentenced to a 15-to-life sentence for simply passing an envelope containing four ounces of cocaine in exchange for $500 -- his first and only offense. Were his case an anomaly, perhaps only his family would care. But there are roughly 500,000 people locked up in cages today because of the drug war. Many are nonviolent, first offenders and suffer from addiction, but our government's sledgehammer approach does not consider such distinctions relevant. Everyone goes to jail -- and we pay billions to keep them there.....
The failure of the Drug War is both clear and tragic. The United States is home to just five percent of the world's population but fully 25 percent of the world's prison population. As former U.S. Senator Jim Webb told me a couple of years ago, "What these numbers would seem to indicate is that either we have the most evil people in the world or else we are doing something very wrong." Clearly we are doing something wrong. We lock up our citizens at five times the rate of the rest of the world even though our crime rates are similar. This mass incarceration epidemic has torn apart countless families, and its impact has been disproportionately severe on minorities, a reality that should offend anyone who cares about civil rights.
We know that the War on Drugs has failed.
Papa was sentenced to a 15-to-life sentence for simply passing an envelope containing four ounces of cocaine in exchange for $500 -- his first and only offense. Were his case an anomaly, perhaps only his family would care. But there are roughly 500,000 people locked up in cages today because of the drug war. Many are nonviolent, first offenders and suffer from addiction, but our government's sledgehammer approach does not consider such distinctions relevant. Everyone goes to jail -- and we pay billions to keep them there.....
The failure of the Drug War is both clear and tragic. The United States is home to just five percent of the world's population but fully 25 percent of the world's prison population. As former U.S. Senator Jim Webb told me a couple of years ago, "What these numbers would seem to indicate is that either we have the most evil people in the world or else we are doing something very wrong." Clearly we are doing something wrong. We lock up our citizens at five times the rate of the rest of the world even though our crime rates are similar. This mass incarceration epidemic has torn apart countless families, and its impact has been disproportionately severe on minorities, a reality that should offend anyone who cares about civil rights.
We know that the War on Drugs has failed.
Ready to get involved? Contact Families Against Mandatory Minimums or The Drug Policy Alliancetoday. The time is now. Let's get to work.
In addition to being President of Lava Records, Jason Flom is an outspoken advocate for overall reform of our criminal-justice system. He serves on the boards of several organizations fighting for the cause, including Families Against Mandatory Minimums, The Drug Policy Alliance, The Legal Action Center, and The Innocence Project.
Although I don't agree with everything Jason Flom writes, I do think we need to re-think some of legislature that we as a society have put into place. Drug addicts do not belong in prison. They belong in Rehab, maybe even locked up rehabs. Most Prisons don't provide adequate counselling and treatment. Many have mental illness's that could benefit from legal medications, and monitored by physicians specializing in mental health. Some drug addicts will remain drug addicts until the day they die, but they don't belong in our prisons.
We must stand up for the down trodden, the sick, the ones that have no voice, for injustice. Be merciful. Be helpful. Listen to the cries of voices behind walls. God is the God of second chances, is merciful and forgiving. Speak up for those that can't.
How? Write to congressman in support of prison reform. Ask for new legislation to evaluate Sentencing with Mandatory Minimums. Let the punishment fit the crime.
I know this issue is more complicated than this. Just something to think about. I also know how our 'personal experiences' play into these kind of issues. One small voice can turn into many.
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1 comment:
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