cannabisnews.com: Rocky Slams War on Drugs During Shadow Convention





Rocky Slams War on Drugs During Shadow Convention
Posted by FoM on August 15, 2000 at 13:20:26 PT
By Lee Davidson and Bob Bernick Jr.
Source: Deseret News
Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson charged Tuesday that the "war on drugs" was manufactured for political gain — and both parties care more about appearing tough on crime than they do about truly reducing use of drugs."The Republican and Democratic parties will not honestly address the absolute insanity of our approach to preventing and fighting drug abuse and addiction," Anderson said in prepared text for a speech to the "Shadow Convention."
The shadow convention is a forum created by conservative commentator Arianna Huffington to address issues she and others felt the Democratic and Republican conventions are avoiding. Sessions are conducted near conventions of the major parties.As part of the Tuesday theme that the war on drugs has failed, Anderson said it is "a war that was manufactured for political gain; a war that has backfired on the American people, viciously and relentlessly; a war that history will forever condemn as poorly conceived and pathetically, yet brutally executed."Anderson called for less emphasis on tough prison sentences for even minor, non-violent drug offenses, and more focus on prevention programs proven to work."Drugs are more plentiful and less expensive, yet our nation's leaders have spent billons of taxpayer dollars on a strategy focused on the supply side rather than the demand side simple because Republicans and Democrats alike are terrified of appearing soft on crime," Anderson said."It is unfortunate they are not as terrified of appearing to be completely ineffective, wasteful and inhumane," he added.He noted that the Clinton administration spent more on the war on drugs than it did on the Commerce, Interior and State departments combined — and prior Republican administrations spent even more.He said the number of Americans in prison has increased tenfold since 1980, and the annual cost of jailing them is $9 billion. Meanwhile, he said drug use has increased, and drugs have become cheaper and easier to obtain according to studies."We must stop this insanity. We must stop this inhumanity," he said.He called for elected officials to "evaluate the effectiveness of all government drug-related programs and strategies, and discontinue those that are shown to be effective" to concentrate efforts on those that work.Anderson said that's what he tried when he pushed to cancel the popular DARE program in Salt Lake City schools. He said it is wiser to take money from it to establish after-school and summer youth programs to give youth alternatives to drugs."A huge part of substance abuse prevention relies on giving young people healthy, fun, interesting alternatives to destructive behavior. It is not enough to constantly tell our children what they cannot do," he said.Anderson added, "Positive change lies in focusing on people, not on drugs — on the demand side, not the supply side."Published: Tuesday, August 15, 2000Source: Deseret News (UT)Copyright: 2000 Deseret News Publishing Corp.Contact: letters desnews.comWebsite: http://www.desnews.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:The Shadow Conventionshttp://www.shadowconventions.com/Shadow Convention 2000 News Boardhttp://homepages.go.com/~marthag1/Shadcon.htm MapInc. Articles On The Shadow Conventions:http://mapinc.org/shadow.htm CannabisNews Articles On The Shadow Conventions:http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=shadow 
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Comment #3 posted by Shawn V Plant on May 10, 2001 at 14:21:46 PT:
Drug deals, Gang Members, And other illeagal stuff
Dear. Mayor Rocky Anderson My name is Shawn V Plant I live by the Jordan river.There is an open parking lot by my house where alot ofilleagal activites happen 24-7. This area is on 900 west north of 1300 south on the west side of the street.Behind Pioneer Tire I was wondering if it is in your powerto have this area put on 24 hour watch. Or to have the area completly block off and closed to all traffic.The kind of things that go on back there are drug deals,alcholhol drinkers, drug users, Gang members,spray painting on walls,cars being broken in to, people camping out, fires being started, people using the area as a rest room, people having sex back there late at night, people shooting fire arms at the rivers wild life, there are so many more things that go on back there that it is unbealeavable.If you have any questions please feel free to email me backat svp665Dart yahoo.com 
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Comment #2 posted by observer on August 15, 2000 at 17:53:21 PT
Pretexts for Power
Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson charged Tuesday that the "war on drugs" was manufactured for political gain -- and both parties care more about appearing tough on crime than they do about truly reducing use of drugs.drug warriors have established and maintained a national consensus that America must become free of drug use. By accepting an impossible goal and by accepting the idea that it must be achieved through police power, citizens relinquish more and more rights and revenue to police upon demand by Drug War leaders. Continued acquiescence to these escalating demands should create a police state.I believe authoritarians are manufacturing and manipulating public fears about drug use in order to create a police state where a much broader agenda of social control can be implemented, using government power to determine what movies we may watch, determine who we may love and how we may love them, determine whether we may or must pray to a deity. I believe the war on drug users masks a war on democracy.After all, what is the vision of a Drug-Free America? Millions in prison or slave labor, and only enthusiastic supporters of government policy allowed to hold jobs, attend school, have children, drive cars, own property. This is the combined vision of utopia held forth by Nancy Reagan, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, William Bennett, Daryl Gates and thousands of other drug warriors. News media and "public interest" advertising tell us this is the America for which al good citizens yearn. Richard L Miller, Drug Warriors and their Prey, 1996, pg.191http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0275950425/Cannabisnews/ Szasz writes,I maintain that drug abuse and the War on Drugs are both transitory modes -- pretexts for scapegoating deviants and strengthening the state. Our official understanding of the drug problem rests on a fallacious scapegoat-type imagery and a correspondingly erroneous approach to remedying it. For example, we conceptualize self-medication -- say, with marijuana -- as self-poisoning rather than as self-pleasuring, and then rely on this image of the drug as poison to justify using state power to punish people who possess marijuana. Thomas Szasz, Our Right To Drugs, 1992, p.62http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0815603339/Cannabisnews/ 
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Comment #1 posted by rainbow on August 15, 2000 at 16:01:28 PT
A spanking
I think that the Mormons will probably give this guy a spanking when he gets home :-)I wonder what good ole Hatch the anti-constitution pol is thinking about his mayor.YESRainbow
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