The beast that will not die: trying to stop America's seemingly unstoppable "war on drugs"

Reason, May, 2006 by P. Bagge

SEATTLE, 12/3/05: THE KING COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION'S "EXIT STRATEGY FOR THE WAR ON DRUGS" CONFERENCE IS IN FULL SWING ...

PROHIBITIONISTS SAY THAT LEGALIZING DRUGS WOULD BE AN UNWORKABLE PROSPECT, BUT WE ALREADY HAVE A WORKING MODEL THAT PROVES THEM WRONG: NAMELY OUR CURRENT LIQUOR LAWS!

AN IMPRESSIVE LINEUP OF GUEST SPEAKERS ARE ALL MAKING WELL-REASONED ARGUMENTS AGAINST DRUG PROHIBITION FROM THEIR VARIOUS LEGAL, MEDICAL, ECONOMIC AND MORAL POINTS OF VIEW ...

IN FACT, EVERYONE HERE IS IN SUCH FULL AGREEMENT THAT THE DRUG WAR IS FUCKED THAT THE PLACE IS STARTING TO SOUND LIKE AN ECHO CHAMBER ...

ONE NOTE OF DISCORD COMES FROM THE TWO BLACK SPEAKERS, CURIOUSLY, BOTH OF WHOM EXPRESS DISDAIN FOR THE MANY "LIBERTARIAN" SOLUTIONS BEING PROPOSED ...

ONE OF THEM, CLIFF THORNTON OF EFFICACY, MAKES THIS STARTLING STATEMENTS, FOLLOWED BY AN EQUALLY STARTLING SOLUTION ...

THE ECONOMY OF MANY INNER CITIES IS LARGELY BASED ON THE ILLEGAL DRUG TRADE ...

SO WE'D BETTER BE READY TO OFFER MASSIVE ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE IF WE EVER LEGALIZE DRUGS!

NOT SURPRISINGLY, NO ONE REPRESENTING THE FEDS ARE TAKE-ING PART IN THIS EVENT (THEY NEVER DO), OTHER THAN A PARTISAN FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, WHO WAXED NOSTALGIC FOR "THE GOOD OLD DAYS" WHEN JANET RENO WAS IN CHARGE ...

OUR BEST HOPE IS TO VOTE THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION OUT OF OFFICE ...

ONLY THEN WILL WE EVER SEE REAL CHANGE!

OH, BROTHER ...

JUDGING FROM ALL THE EYE ROLLING HER COMMENTS ELICITS, I DOUBT MANY OF THE PEOPLE PRESENT SHARE HER FAITH IN THE DEMOCRATS ENDING THE DRUG WAR.

KING COUNTY A.D.A. DAN SATTERBERG IS THE ONLY ACTIVE MEMBER OF "THE DARK SIDE" TO SPEAK. HE TALKS UP THE COUNTY'S DRUG DIVERSION PROGRAM, PARTLY TO SHOW THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT ISN'T TOTALLY HEARTLESS ...

WE'VE HAD HUGE SUCCESS IN BOTH KEEPING PEOPLE OUT OF JAIL AND OFF OF DRUGS ...

BUT WE STILL NEED THE THREAT OF JAIL TO GET THEM OFF OF DRUGS!

LATER, SATTERBERG EXPLAINS HOW OUR "DRUG COURT" WORKS:

IT'S MAIN PURPOSE IS TO KEEP NONVIOLENT DRUG OFFENDERS OUT OF PRISON ...

EVEN THIRD--AND FOURTH-TIME OFFENDERS ARE GIVEN THE OPTION OF TAKING PART IN OUR TWO YEAR REHAB PROGRAM ...

YET SOME OF THEM STILL CHOOSE TO DO THE TIME?

IF IT'S A SHORT SENTENCE, YES, AND IF THEY HAVE NO DESIRE TO GET CLEAN ...

PLUS THE PROGRAM ITSELF IS HARDLY A CAKEWALK.

NO KIDDING! WHILE IT MAY BEAT GOING TO JAIL, OPTING FOR THIS PROGRAM BASICALLY MEANS INVITING THE STATE TO CRAWL UP YOUR ASS AND LIVE THERE FOR TWO WHOLE YEARS. IT'S HUMILIATING!

YOU ARE HEREBY ORDERED TO WEAR AN ANKLE BRACELET AT ALL TIMES ...

YOU MUST ALSO ATTEND REGULAR N.A. MEETINGS, ANGER MANAGEMENT AND PARENTING CLASSES, AND SEXUAL DEVIATION AVOIDANCE SEMINARS.

("SEXUAL DEVIATION"?)

AND DON'T FORGET TO GIVE US YOUR PISS BEFORE YOU LEAVE.

YES, YOUR HONOR.

(HE MUST'VE REALLY BEEN ON A BENDER WHEN HE GOT BUSTED!)

DRUG COURTS ARE SOLD AS A POSITIVE, FEEL-GOOD STORY, WHAT WITH THEIR "GRADUATION" CEREMONIES AND TEARFUL TESTIMONIALS. PERSONALLY, I FIND THE WHOLE THING NAUSEATINGLY PATERNALISTIC. OUR COURTS NOW RESEMBLE DAYTIME TALK SHOWS!

... I KNEW I HIT ROCK BOTTOM WHEN I AWOKE TO FIND MY DOG EATING MY FOOT ...

STILL, I NEEDED TO SCORE SOME CRACK JUST TO DULL THE PAIN ...

I'M ALL BETTER NOW, THOUGH ...

HOORAY!

SNIFF ... SNIFF ... I SMELL POT * ...

HOORAY FOR TOUGH LOVE! SOB!

* I ALWAYS SMELL POT IN THE KING COUNTY COURTHOUSE!

I ASK DAN HOW MANY DRUG COURT PARTICIPANTS ARE POTHEADS ...

VERY FEW. POT IS BARELY ON OUR RADAR SCREEN, * SINCE IT'S RARELY ASSOCIATED WITH ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR ...

WE'VE ALSO NEVER FULLY PROSECUTED ANY MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS, I MIGHT ADD.

ARE YOU IN FAVOR OF DECRIMINALIZING POT, THEN?

(* EVERY D.A. I SPOKE TO FOR THIS STORY TOLD ME THAT POT WAS A "LOW PRIORITY" FOR HIS OR HER OFFICE, YET 25-50% OF ALL DRUG ARRESTS ARE STILL POT-RELATED. GO FIGURE!)

WELL, THAT'S A SLIPPERY SLOPE, SINCE I'M VERY AGAINST LEGALIZING MORE DANGEROUS DRUGS.

BUT ALCOHOL OFTEN LEADS TO VIOLENCE AND--

SO WE SHOULD SELL CYRSTAL METH IN LIQOUR STORES AS WELL? NO WAY!

THAT WOULD BE A DISASTER.

PEOPLE DO REALLY CRAZY THINGS ON METH!

ANOTHER CONFERENCE ATTENDEE, FORMER SEATTLE POLICE CHIEF NORM STAMPER, HAS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT OPINION ...

WE DEFINITELY SHOULD LEGALIZE DRUGS, ALL DRUGS ...

AND WE SHOULD SELL THEM UNDER THE SAME RULES AND RESTRICTIONS WE APPLY TO ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO.

EVEN "HARD" DRUGS, LIKE HEROIN?

YOU KNOW, OPIATES LIKE HEROIN DO NEXT TO NO DAMAGE TO THE HUMAN BODY ...

IT'S THE CRAP THEY CUT IT WITH, ALONG WITH THE INCONSISTENT PURITY AND DIRTY NEEDLES THAT CAUSE HEALTH PROBLEMS.

AND THIS WOULD BE SOLVED BY HAVING IT MADE BY PROFESSIONALS IN LAB COATS?

AS OPPOSED TO A DISTRACTED USER IN A FILTHY FLOPHOUSE? OF COURSE!

"AFTER A FEW YEARS ON THE BEAT I CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT DRUG PROHIBITION WAS A HUGE WASTE OF THE FORCE'S TIME AND RESOURCES ..."

OH, WOW, MAN! I'M IN A PO-LICE CARE!

FAR OUT!

TURN ON THE SIREN, MAN! PFAW!

"I WAS ALREADY SICK OF DRAGGING OTHERWISE HARMLESS PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR HOMES AND OFF TO JAIL--AND THIS WAS BEFORE PRESIDENT NIXON DECLARED A 'WAR ON DRUGS'!"

"OUR DRUG LAWS ALSO GIVE COPS WAY TOO MUCH DISCRETION AS TO WHO TO BUST OR NOT TO BUST, SINCE MOST PEOPLE CAUGHT HOLDING ARE NOT ARRESTED ..."