December II, 2013
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Page 7
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Won
Just say no to
the Drug War
by E mily S chwartz G reco and
W illiam A. C ollins
Old habits die hard. Take the War
on Drugs. Please.
Yes, its momentum has sagged a
bit now, what with the Pew Research
Center finding that a majority of
Americans believe marijuana should
be legal. But don’t hold your breath
waiting for new national laws
There’s way too much money
and political posturing riding on our
outmoded crusade.
Some individual states are start­
ing to say no to the Drug War.
Twenty of them, including Oregon,
plus the District of Columbia, have
already legalized pot for medical
needs. Colorado’s and W ashing­
ton State’s voters have cast their
ballots in favor of legalizing it for
recreational use, too.
These are smart states that will
save a ton of money on police en­
forcement, court trials, and prisons.
And they can tap a new revenue
source, too. In Colorado, voters re­
cently approved a measure that will
let their state tax pot sales.
On the other hand, legalization is
bad news for defense lawyers, cor­
porate prisons, guard unions, and
drug cartels. As criminality is re­
duced by legal definition, the num­
ber of criminals decreases with it.
This in turn cuts the number of jobs
needed to catch, try, defend, and
incarcerate fewer people.
Like all boondoggles, the Drug
W ar won’t die quickly or quietly.
And not everyone is suffering the
brunt of its injustice equally.
Stop-and-frisk laws and racially
biased searches, arrests, prosecu­
tions, and incarcerations are tools
long-abused by authorities out to
keep people o f color “in their
place.”
Likew ise, plenty o f entrenched
federal prosecutors rem ain eager
to keep up strict federal drug en­
forcem ent even in states which
have softened their own laws.
A ttorney G eneral Eric H older has
told them publicly to lay off, but
changing the direction o f the bu­
reaucracy can be like changing
the direction o f a battleship.
Congress, o f course, isn ’t turn­
ing a corner ju st yet. Lots o f law ­
m akers have built careers on be­
ing “tough on drugs.” Before he
was busted for cocaine, pleaded
guilty, and was sentenced to a
predictably lenient one year’s pro­
bation, Rep. Trey Radel voted in
favor o f drug-testing food stamp
recipients. The Florida R epubli­
can is now on leave. He hasn’t
resigned yet, but plenty o f politi­
cians lacking his street cred are
openly coveting his House seat.
W ouldn’t it help end all this
m adness if Radel were to stay in
Congress? He “could be a leader
in backing legislative proposals
that w ould change not ju st poli­
cies but the broader debate about
how to end a failed ‘drug w ar,’”
John N ichols su g g ests in the
M adison, W ise., Capital Times.
Nearly 40 percent o f the elec­
torate has sm oked pot. T h at’s a
huge voting bloc, but it’s hard for
pols and cops to change their
spots. The moral ground support­
ing their diatribes is now shifting
beneath their feet and one o f their
own has fallen into the ditch they
dug for him.
Emily Schwartz Greco is the
managing editor o f OtherWords, a
non-profit national editorial ser­
vice run by the Institute fo r Policy
Studies. O therW ords colum nist
William A. Collins is a form er state
representative and a form er mayor
o f Norwalk, Conn.
Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Nelson Mandela
Remember,
honor and
celebrate
1980s here in the United States. sequent generations of freedom equality and economic despair and
awakened a nation - and ultimately
While attending Georgetown activists and advocates around the seeks to disrupt an institutionalized
a world - to the boundless possibili­
University Law Center in 1981, world - even in the world’s greatest system of oppression and discrimi­
ties of following one’s purpose.
I co-led an effort to boycott the democracy - helping to continue nation. It is the kind that motivates
Today, we stand with the people
cafeteria operator because of the work he started.
all of us in the Urban League Move­ of South Africa and with the interna­
its investments in South Africa.
After the election of President ment to continue to fight for oppor­ tional community in mourning the
by M arc H. M orial
During this same period, I Mandela, as mayor of New Orleans tunity parity and economic equality
loss of Nelson Mandela. We remem­
There are few men or
was a member of the leadership I signed an economic and friend­ every day in hundreds o f communi­
ber, honor, and celebrate his extraor­
women who leave such an indelible team of the National Black Law Stu­ ship agreement in 1994 between ties across America.
dinary life and legacy. The world
imprint and impact on the world that dents Association that pushed for Johannesburg and New Orleans,
Nelson Mandela gave a voice to could use a few more “Rolihlahlas.”
they are remembered, honored and divestment of South African invest­ one of the first U.S. cities to do so. those who had been silenced. He
Marc H. Morial is president and
celebrated by nations near and far ments by U.S. companies. Early in It was an indescribable honor.
brought hope to those who had chief executive officer o f the Na­
for centuries after they depart. There my career, I was arrested at the South
Nelson M andela’s efforts to cre­ been stripped of their dreams. He tional Urban League.
are few people for whom even all the African Embassy as part of a mass, ate a new, multi-racial democracy
words in every language fail to con­ peaceful organized protest led by weren ’ t j ust an example of unwaver­
vey the magnitude and meaning of W alter Fauntroy, M ary Frances ing leadership, humanity and corn-
their lives. Without a doubt in mind
or h eart, I know that N elson
Mandela is one among a very select
few.
His dedication, perseverance,
forgiveness, and purpose - his life
- sparked an inextinguishable fire in
the souls of freedom fighters not
only in South Africa, but every­
1549 SE Ladd
where. The light that he shared will
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Nelson Mandela gave new mean­ Berry and Randall Robinson in sup­ passion for me, but also for the
Email:
Sweeney @ PDXLawyer.com
ing to the word “inspiration.” After port of U.S. economic sanctions countless millions who will follow
spending 27 years of a life sentence against South Africa.
and study him as one of the world’s
as an apartheid regime political pris­
As co-leader of the New Orleans great leaders for centuries to come. ■
oner, he emerged, not with bitter­ Anti-Apartheid Coalition, I helped
I often wonder if his parents knew
Attn: Subscriptions, The
ness - but instead with a steadfast to successfully advocate for the when they named him Rolihlahla "
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resolve to complete his life’s work. New Orleans Public Employee Pen­ (com m on translation: “trouble- I
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3137, Portland OR 97208.
His remarkable journey serves as an sion Board’s divestment in U.S. maker”) how prophetic that was or I
indisputable example of forgiveness companies who had holdings in how ironic it would be that he would |
N ame : _______________
in the face of persecution and tri­ South Africa. When the U.S. Con­ grow up to be an international sym- |
umph through tribulation.
gress ultimately passed sanctions bol o f p eacem ak in g . But the | T elephone : __________
I consider myself at once fortu­ against South Africa, I could only “ tro u b le m a k in g ” th at N elso n ■
A ddress : ____________
nate, humbled and proud to have hope that Nelson Mandela knew Mandela undertook was of a differ-
been a part of the great work of that his army now extended beyond ent kind. It was the kind that sees
e
________ _________________ __
Nelson Mandela’s life during the the borders of South Africa to sub- legislated injustice, race-based in-
o r e m a H subscriptions@portlandobserver.com
Nelson Mandela gave new meaning
to the word “inspiration. ” After
spending 27 years o f a life sentence as
an apartheid regime political prisoner,
he emerged, not with bitterness - but
instead with a steadfast resolve to
complete his life's work.
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