Milton Friedman was known more for his economics, but his philosophy on freedom and responsibility also made him oppose the drug war from the very beginning, and he was stunningly prescient about what he predicted. Seventeen years after Nixon launched the modern War on Drugs, in 1989, Friedman pleaded with Drug Czar Bill Bennett to rethink the government's approach:
Had drugs been decriminalized 17 years ago, "crack" would never have been invented (it was invented because the high cost of illegal drugs made it profitable to provide a cheaper version) and there would today be far fewer addicts. The lives of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of innocent victims would have been saved, and not only in the U.S. The ghettos of our major cities would not be drug-and-crime-infested no-man's lands. Fewer people would be in jails, and fewer jails would have been built.
After nearly a decade of the Reagan-era escalation of Nixon's war, these words fell on deaf ears. By the mid-80s, the emergence of crack-cocaine was not seen as the result of an inherently faulty policy, but instead as a unique threat to the black community in America's inner cities. In 1986, the House Judiciary Committee came up with a typical law enforcement solution. Eric Sterling was the author of that bill:
One of our most infamous contemporary laws is the 100-1 difference in sentencing between crack cocaine and powder cocaine.
Under federal drug laws, prison sentences are usually tied to the quantity of drugs the defendant trafficked. For example, selling 5,000 grams of powder cocaine ( about a briefcase full ) gets a mandatory 10-year prison sentence, but so does selling only 50 grams of crack cocaine ( the weight of a candy bar ).
Working for the House Judiciary Committee in 1986, I wrote the House bill that was the basis for that law. We made some terrible mistakes.
Last week, the U.S. Sentencing Commission heard testimony on the effect of this law during a special Hearing on Cocaine and Sentencing Policy. Jesselyn McCurdy of the ACLU provided the grim statistics:
The 100 to 1 Disparity in Federal Cocaine Sentencing Has a Racially Discriminatory Impact and has had a Devastating Impact on Communities of Color
Data on the racial disparity in the application of mandatory minimum sentences for crack cocaine is particularly disturbing. African Americans comprise the vast majority of those convicted of crack cocaine offenses, while the majority of those convicted for powder cocaine offenses are white. This is true, despite the fact that whites and Hispanics form the majority of crack users. For example, in 2003, whites constituted 7.8% and African Americans constituted more than 80% of the defendants sentenced under the harsh federal crack cocaine laws, while more than 66% of crack cocaine users in the United States are white or Hispanic. Due in large part to the sentencing disparity based on the form of the drug, African Americans serve substantially more time in prison for drug offenses than do whites. The average sentence for a crack cocaine offense in 2003, which was 123 months, was 3.5 years longer than the average sentence of 81 months for an offense involving the powder form of the drug. Also due in large part to mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, from 1994 to 2003, the difference between the average time African American offenders served in prison increased by 77%, compared to an increase of 28% for white drug offenders. African Americans now serve virtually as much time in prison for a drug offense at 58.7 months, as whites do for a violent offense at 61.7 months. The fact that African American defendants received the mandatory sentences more often than white defendants who were eligible for a mandatory minimum sentence, further supports the racially discriminatory impact of mandatory minimum penalties.
Others testified against the law as well.
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton told the U.S. Sentencing Commission that federal laws requiring dramatically longer sentences for crack cocaine than for cocaine powder were "unconscionable" and contributed to the perception within minority communities that courts are unfair.
Sterling, who now blogs at the Stop the Drug War Speakeasy, dispels the myth that the law was created with the knowledge of what it would do to the black community, but instead from badly mistaken beliefs about using incarceration to tackle drug problems:
Drug sentences are on the national agenda again because civil rights supporters are justifiably outraged that almost all federal crack prosecutions involve people of color. And indeed, for years no whites were prosecuted for crack offenses in many federal courts, including those in Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Denver, Dallas or Boston.
Because of that, the myth developed that Congress intended to punish blacks believed to be the crack users with long sentences and let the white powder cocaine sniffers of Hollywood and Wall Street get away with light sentences. But that's not the case. Congress was trying to remedy a problem it believed afflicted the black community.
On October 3, 1995, I was inbetween classes in the Student Union building, where a large crowd of students had gathered around the television to watch justice being carried out. As the words 'Not Guilty' were spoken, the black students in the crowd celebrated loudly, while the non-black students mostly sat silent, somewhat stunned that a jury wasn't able to piece together an obvious case of a man killing his ex-wife and her new lover in a jealous rage.
The O.J. Simpson trial came at the halfway point of our failed 20-year attempt to "help" the black community by sending many of them to jail. The verdict divided America into two very different camps; those who saw the celebrations of black America as proof that African-Americans were incapable of making the same moral distinctions that people of other races were making, and those who saw the celebrations as an indication that African-Americans had the shared experience of an American justice system that was inherently unfair and celebrated the rare occasion when a black man (with a black lawyer) was able to beat it.
Those who still choose to believe the former are having to ignore a growing mountain of evidence. Considering other issues like racial profiling and a long history of racism in the ranks of major police forces, the crack-powder disparity is only one part of how black America became convinced that they live under a different justice system. It's a tragedy that much of it is based on a belief by many in government that the only way to fix drug problems is by giving the police more power to stop drug dealing. Just this week, we saw a 92-year-old Atlanta woman killed by police who believed that drug dealing was going on in her home. These cases happen all the time though, and as we hit the 20 year anniversary of our attempt to eradicate crack-cocaine from our inner cities, crack-cocaine is still there, but many of the people we were trying to protect are sitting in prison or dead. Maybe that Friedman guy knew what he was talking about.
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In the news for the past two weeks...
The Students for Sensible Drug Policy hosted a conference in Washington DC last weekend. Pete Guither has some notes taken from a session on moving past the current drug war and some comments from speakers Clarence Page and Bill Press.
Libby Spencer points to another disturbing chapter in the saga of Mel Sembler, child torturer, and close friend of Dick Cheney. Scooter Libby, and the Bush family.
Scott Henson writes about a website that divulges the identity of accusers in criminal cases which is causing controversy among judges who believe they need to keep those identities secret, in violation of the US Constitution.
Nolan Finley argues that the war on drugs should end along with our war in Iraq.
James Kilpatrick writes about the case of Florida v. Rabb, being heard by the Supreme Court, which has major implications on the 4th amendment.
Mexican based drug trafficking organizations have been able to use the American crackdown on pseudoephedrine to introduce meth to parts of America that had never seen much of it before, like the east coast.
Steny Hoyer's victory over John Murtha for House Majority Leader is a small victory for drug law reform as Hoyer's record in the issue is much better than Murtha's.
A Justice Department report claims that many former OxyContin abusers have moved on to heroin.
Silva J.A. Talvi writes about the history of the use of Tasers by law enforcement.
David Borden wonders whether the President should be pardoning more than just turkeys at this time of year.
Radley Balko gives an update on the ONDCP's attempt to use YouTube to get their message out.
The DKosopedia has a page set up to monitor the work being done by the House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources.
The LPGA is considering implementing a drug-testing policy in 2008.
Steve Kubby, medical marijuana user and activist, is launching a bid to be the 2008 Libertarian Party's presidential candidate.
Whig posted up Grass a movie on the history of marijuana.
Washington State's medical marijuana law has too many loopholes that are allowing legal growers and patients to be prosecuted. As a good example of this, the Washington Supreme Court ruled that Washington's medical marijuana law does not permit patients to get authorization to use it from out-of-state doctors.
Dan Savage criticizes the Seattle PI for hurling baseless accusations at a former drug user concerning a deadly crane accident in Bellevue, WA.
Fred Gardner continues to write about what doctors have learned in the 10 years since California passed its medical marijuana law.
A California judge ruled against the three counties (San Diego, San Bernardino, and Merced) who claimed that the state's medical marijuana law in unenforceable.
DEA Agent Gordon Taylor complains about how marijuana dealers in California are taking advantage of the medical marijuana laws, but still has to pile the bullshit up high to keep the public from figuring out that the solution is for the state to regulate the supply and sale of all marijuana and to make him find a different day job.
A California First District Court judge ruled that the state cannot forcibly medicate a defendant in order to make him or her mentally competent enough to stand trial.
The city of San Francisco, with the support of the city's police department, made adult marijuana use the lowest priority of its law enforcement.
Livermore, California is planning to ban medical marijuana dispensaries.
A former student in Fresno, whose suspension for having a very tiny amount of marijuana in his car was thrown out, is now suing the school district.
A federal jury in Fresno found medical marijuana activist Dustin Costa guilty of various marijuana and firearm offenses.
Los Angeles County will be receiving a $1.65 million grant from the state to fight meth.
The legendary loonies at the Colorado DEA are warning people about salvia divinorum by telling people that it's like acid and saying where they can get it.
The state of Texas has over 150,000 probationers for drug crimes alone.
Marijuana seizures are up in the El Paso border area, allegedly because of ideal weather for growing.
A Dallas police officer was arrested for allegedly helping his wife, who authorities believe has ties to Mexican drug dealers, obtain a fake passport.
Officials in Dallas are seeing children as young as 11 using a mix of heroin and cold medicine called "cheese".
A Houston judge with a history of doling out lengthy sentences for drug crimes is calling on Texas Governor Perry and the state legislature to help bring about a reduction in sentences. This is part of a trend of people speaking against the drug war who normally haven't.
Monroe Anderson writes in the Chicago Sun-Times that it's time to legalize marijuana in Illinois.
A man from suburban Chicago, who was arrested for fraudulently obtainly pain medication, was surprisingly satisfied with how police treated him.
The conviction of a Kentucky doctor was overturned because a raid of his office was carried out by detectives who did not have a warrant.
Authorities in Palm Beach County seized roughly $4.5 million worth of marijuana being grown in local houses.
A woman in Ocala, FL began smoking crack inside the stolen car she was driving after police caught her in a high-speed chase.
The case of a drug raid in Atlanta that left a 92-year-old woman dead after she opened fire on several police officers is getting a lot more attention than these cases normally get. Radley Balko has been all over this case, as he's tried for years to shine a bigger spotlight on what's been happening with these heavy-handed police tactics. The latest news from him is that the police are claiming that they found drugs in the residence, but are very uncharacteristically not revealing the type and quantity. Also, the police claim the drug buy that prompted the raid happened only hours before the actual raid. He has some more thoughts on the double standards that exist in these cases.
The North American South Asian Bar Association is trying to avoid a recurrence of Operation Meth Merchant in north Georgia, where dozens of mainly south Asian convenience store clerks were arrested for selling ingredients that could be used for making meth.
A suburban Atlanta couple was arrested after it was discovered that their children were living in hellish conditions and the two youngest tested positive for cocaine.
Appalachian State University's online student newspaper is writing about various drug war topics, including the Higher Education Act and its impact on students.
Columbia University history professor Manning Marable spoke to Fayetteville (NC) State University students and warned them that America's burgeoning prison system is a growing threat to America.
A district court judge in Virginia strongly criticized the practice of sentencing people based on crimes that the defendants were acquitted of as well as for the ones in which they were convicted.
A DC Circuit Court's decision that individuals have a due process right to obtain life-saving medicine even before FDA approval will be re-heard en banc.
In Baltimore, a police officer who shot and killed a woman in her home on a drug raid was awarded a medal shortly after a civil lawsuit was filed against him.
A recent incident in suburban Pittsburgh showed how easy it is for criminals to break into ones home simply by pretending to be the police on a drug raid.
There was another death in South Jersey suspected of being linked to heroin laced with fentanyl.
A Los Angeles Dodgers prospect was released from his team after being pulled over in New Jersey with a large amount of crack-cocaine hidden in his underwear.
A former New York State employee of the year claims that a search of his Rockland County home that turned up nine pounds of marijuana was illegal.
Police made a massive heroin bust in New Milford, CT that was probably a record for New England.
Bridgeport, Connecticut's mayor John Fabrizi is deeply involved in a cocaine trafficking scandal involving a Democratic Town Committee member.
In Easton, CT, the former fire chief was arrested for running a drug operation out of his home.
The success of voter initiatives in both rural and urban parts of Massachusetts are giving reformers hope that statewide changes are not far off.
Four men in Massachusetts are under arrest after a large drug raid.
Police in New Hampshire found 11 ounces of cocaine in a diaper bag during a traffic stop.
Prosecutors in Hilo, Hawaii are trying to seize $8,000 from a man suspected of trying to grow marijuana in his greenhouse.
Ecstasy smuggling into the United States is run by Asian gangs based in Canada.
Two Ontario professors who use medical marijuana will now be able to use their medicine at the universities they work at.
A panel of criminal justice experts in British Columbia say that the province should either fully legalize drugs or conduct an all-out war against them.
Vancouver's Downtown Eastside safe-injection facility for drug addicts is fighting for another extension of the exemption of Canadian drug laws that allows it to operate. The Harper government wants to shut it down despite overwhelming evidence that it's effective.
Christopher Foulds of Kamloops, BC argues that the anti-prohibitionists are right when they say that the illegality of pot is what causes drug-related crime.
A British Columbia police board member believes that we need to treat drug addiction as a medical problem, not a criminal one.
French authorities made a large cocaine bust in the waters off of Martinique.
A homemade submarine carrying 3 tons of cocaine was seized off the coast of Costa Rica.
A large coalition of harm reduction groups in Europe released a statement aiming to influence the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs meeting in Vienna in 2008.
An increase of the supply of heroin and cocaine in Europe is causing prices to plummet.
David Nutt, head of the British parliament's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), is calling for ecstasy and LSD to be downgraded from Class A to Class B drugs.
A British police officer spoke to the Association of Chief Police Officers and advocated giving prescription heroin to addicts as a way to combat drug addiction.
The UK anti-drug organization DrugScope claims that the recent drug raids across the country have caused the price of cannabis to nearly double.
Another report chimes in with the common refrain that cocaine use in the UK continues to rise.
A British police organization believes from their data that the occurrences of sexual assaults with the date-rape drug Rohypnol is overstated in the UK.
A Scottish man jailed in Spain after being caught with four tons of cannabis was found dead in his jail cell.
A 70-year-old in Scotland was arrested for growing a large amount of cannabis in his home.
Investigators in Edinburgh are waiting for tests to see if an unconscious 1-year-old had swallowed heroin.
An attempt in Holland to roll the world's largest joint was called off when organizers rightly believed that the quantity involved would be illegal, even in Amsterdam.
The Italian Parlaiment raised the amount of marijuana that a person is allowed to have for personal use.
A Ghanaian national was arrested and taken to a Barcelona hospital after throwing up cocaine balloons on a flight from Ghana to the Netherlands that then had to make an emergency landing.
A 31-year-old boatbuilder from the Isle of Wight is appealing to the King of Morocco to intervene after he was arrested on a discredited warrant involving a drug shipment on one of his boats.
A 20-year-old Slovakian woman was caught in Serbia transporting several kilos of heroin.
Yüksel Söylemez writes about how Turkey eliminated illegal opium trafficking in the 1970's by contributing to the legal world supply of prescription pain medications.
UN Office of Drugs and Crime head Antonio Maria Costa is urging Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran to share intelligence to combat drug trafficking. Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai is again calling upon his nation's governors to fight the drug trade.
The Chinese Ministry of Public Security plans to reward people who snitch on those involved with drug crimes.
The Liberal Party in Australia vows to implement mandatory minimums for drug crimes and tougher penalties for drug-driving if elected on Saturday.
A man in Sydney, whose attorney claims he is innocent of receiving imported cocaine hidden in bar stools sent from Hollywood, California, applied for a customs job a few days before he was arrested.