Articles

Recent Articles on Drug Law Reform

Supreme Court debates constitutionality of Oregon police using heat sensing devices to detect Marijuana grows.
Reforming New York's Rockefeller-Era Drug Laws

‘A New Day’ (Village Voice, 8 Nov. 2000) (New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver plans to support legislation in the next session that would return discretion to judges, alleviate the mandatory minimums that now send possessors of small amounts of drugs to jail for 15 years or more, and offer a rehab alternative for the higher-level offenders who are now sent straight to jail).
State Legislative Candidates Strongly Support Reform of Court System, Survey Finds (New York Times, 31 Oct. 2000) (announcing the results of a survey of candidates for New York State Senate and Assembly, finding that 80 percent support changing the Rockefeller drug laws).
Plan to Seal Some Criminal Records Debated (New York Times, 20 Oct. 2000) (discussing an enlightened New York proposal to seal, after five years, the conviction record of certain non-violent offenders; former mayor of New York City, Ed Koch, heartily endorses the plan, in part because it would "counter what he termed the unfairness of the state's drug laws").

Voters Take A New Tack In War On Drugs (San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Nov. 2000) (reporting on the outcome of the vote on Prop. 36).
Drug-Offender Treatment Measure Wins (Sacramento Bee, 8 Nov. 2000) (reporting on the outcome of the vote on Prop. 36).
A Better Approach to Drug Offenders (New York Times, 26 Oct. 2000) (endorsing Prop. 36 because "[i]t is time to try treatment for low-level offenders").

Letter to the Editor (New York Times, 30 Oct. 2000) (agreeing that "treatment is more effective and cheaper than incarceration" for drug users, but arguing that "[d]ecriminalization of drug possession," rather than drug courts, is the answer).

SJC Allows Ballot Item on Drug Funds (Boston Globe, 3 Oct. 2000) (over the protest of all eleven state attorneys general, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled that the initiative, which would "use money seized from drug dealers to fund treatment programs rather than drug-related investigations" will be decided by the voters on Nov. 7).
Panel Backs Ballot Question 8 to Boost Drug Treatment Option (Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 28 Sept. 2000) (reporting on a sympathetic response to Question 8 at a forum in Worcester, Mass.).

Latest Battleground in Latin Drug War: Brazilian Amazon (New York Times, 30 Oct. 2000) (discussing the impact on the Brazilian Amazon of the support of the Colombian army by the U.S.).
Bolivia Wiping Out Coca, at a Price (New York Times, 23 Oct. 2000) (noting that despite the costs of the U.S.-endorsed and financed eradication policy of coca cultivation in Bolivia, "the effect on the overall supply of cocaine reaching street corners in the United States, the main consumer of the drug, has been virtually nil").
Ambush Leaves 2 Dead, 4 Hurt in Bolivia Coca Region (Reuters, 22 Oct. 2000) (detailing the latest human costs of the eradication policy).

Alaska's Top Crop (Anchorage Daily News, 15-16 Oct. 2000) (a two-part series on the relationship between Alaskans and marijuana).
Hemp Draws Dollars (Anchorage Daily News, 11 Oct. 2000) (noting the broad financial support of Prop. 6, including from out-of-state).
Alaska's Voters to Decide On Legalizing Marijuana (New York Times, 10 Oct. 2000).

What is the Matter With Mary Jane? (New York Times, 15 Oct. 2000).
U.S. Companies Tangled in Web Of Drug Dollars (New York Times, 10 Oct. 2000).
Reality Check Due In Drug Prevention (New York Times, 27 Sept. 2000).
Antidrug Program's End Stirs Up Salt Lake City (New York Times, 16 Sept. 2000).
Criminalization of Drug Use (Psychiatric Times, Sept. 2000). This article was written by Joseph McNamara, former police officer and noted critic of the drug war. Dr. McNamara has given two guest lectures at Columbia Law School, both sponsored by FEHDP.