From: nattyreb@ix.netcom.com
Date: Sun, 16 May 1999 14:47:36
Subject: !*Belafonte/Citizens' Commission to Examine US War on Drugs
FORWARDED MESSAGE
===================
Date: Sat, 15 May 1999 09:01:12 -0400
From: "John V. Wilmerding"
A LETTER OF INVITATION FROM HARRY BELAFONTE, HONORARY CHAIRPERSON:
Dear Friends,
I'm writing because you, like me, are among the growing number of people in
this country appalled at the impact of the "war on drugs" both abroad and
at home. I would like to invite your support and participation in a
creative and important series of events aimed at building a citizens'
movement to change US drug policy.
Over the last three decades, the "war on drugs" has done little more than
incarcerate hundreds of thousands of non-violent prisoners, militarize
government agencies and police forces around the world, and generally
advance a policy of "harm maximization." Just note, for instance, that:
every 30 seconds someone in the US is arrested for drug violations
the US has more prisoners than any other country in the world
on average a new prison is built every week
in California, five African-Americans males are in prison for every one
in a state university
yet today more illegal drugs of higher quality and cheaper price are
entering the US than when the "drug war" began in the early 1970s
And, as journalists such as Gary Webb revealed and the CIA's and Justice
Department's own recently released internal reports admit the flow of
narcotics into the US has been facilitated, in part, by corrupt government
employees and by policies that permitted alliances with drug traffickers
for the sake of other foreign policy objectives.
The problem of drug abuse and addiction requires a public health and
economic development response instead of the current criminal "justice"
paradigm. To help turn the tide of this inhumane and hypocritical "drug
war," my friends at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), together with a
coalition of concerned Los Angeles citizens, are holding a public hearing
on May 22-23 at the University of Southern California. I invite you to
attend the important events detailed here. Although I will not be able to
attend, I would especially like to invite you to a fundraising reception to
be held at the USC's University Religious Center on Saturday, May 22, from
6 - 7:30 pm.
Let us work together solve those conditions that create these problems and
advance a humane, sustainable, and Constitutional alternative policy that
addresses the causes rather than punishes the symptoms. I urge you to
support the work of the IPS Drug Policy Project so that we will not lose
another generation to addiction and incarceration.
With Peace and Goodwill,
Harry Belafonte
- - - - - - -
From: Sanho Tree
Subject: Distinguished Citizens' Commission to Examine US War on
Drugs
Dear Friends,
Please forward this message to interested parties and invite them to the
hearings in Los Angeles.
- - - - - - - -
Press Advisory May 12, 1999
For more information or to arrange interviews contact:
Prof. Robert Benson (Loyola Law School) 213-736-1094 or
Sanho Tree (Institute for Policy Studies) 202-234-9382 ext. 266
DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS' COMMISSION TO EXAMINE US WAR ON DRUGS
On May 22-23, the Los Angeles Citizens' Fact Finding Commission on US Drug
Policy will hold public hearings at the University of Southern California.
Expert witnesses on drug policy will present testimony to a panel of
distinguished "citizen commissioners." Based on the testimony, the
Commission will issue a report analyzing the social impact of US drug
policy and recommending policy alternatives.
"Over the last three decades, the War on Drugs' has done little more than
incarcerate hundreds of thousands of non-violent prisoners, militarize
government agencies and police forces around the world, and generally
advance a policy of harm maximization.' The problem of drug abuse and
addiction requires a public health and economic development response
instead of the current criminal justice' paradigm," argues Harry
Belafonte, the Commission's honorary chairperson.
Conceived in the wake of the CIA-Contra-Cocaine controversy, the Commission
sponsored by the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and a coalition of
Los Angeles organizations will investigate issues beyond those brought up
in the 1996 news stories and examine the overall impact of the so-called
"War on Drugs," particularly on Los Angeles. "This Commission begins a
citizen inquiry and dialogue toward a sane drug policy," said James
Lafferty of the National Lawyers Guild, who is one of the Commission
organizers. The hearings will cover three main issue areas: How does the
drug industry operate? What has been the extent of government corruption
and complicity in the drug trade? What has been the societal impact of US
drug policy and what are some alternatives?
Although IPS is a progressive, multi-issue, Washington-based think tank, it
is working across ideological and regional lines to help foster a wholesale
reevaluation of US drug control policy. Several of the six jurists serving
as "Citizen Commissioners" are conservatives and among the expert witnesses
are analysts from the RAND Corporation and Hoover Institution.
The six "Citizen Commissioners" presiding over the hearings and issuing the
final report are:
Cruz Reynoso, former Justice of the California Supreme Court
Shirley Fingerhood, former Justice of the New York Supreme (trial) Court
James Gray, Superior Court Judge, Santa Ana, CA
Volney Brown, retired Chief United States Magistrate Judge
Carol Codrington, Judge Pro Tem for the Los Angeles Municipal Court
Alvin Bronstein, Esq., Director Emeritus of the National Prison Project
The hearings are free and open to the public and will be held in Room 201
of Taper Hall at USC's main campus on the weekend of May 22 (9am-6pm) and
May 23 (10am-1:30pm). A fundraising reception will be held at USC's
University Religious Center on Saturday, May 22 from 6:007:30 pm. It will
be followed at 8pm by a free screening of the film "Slam" (Sundance Film
Festival Winner) and a Q&A session with "Slam" producer Richard Stratton.
PROGRAM:
The Los Angeles Citizens' Fact Finding Commission on US Drug Policy
May 22-23, 1999 University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Saturday, May 22
I. HOW THE DRUG INDUSTRY OPERATES
9:00 am 11:45 pm, 201 Taper Hall
Who are the users? What are the myths? Michael A. Males, UC Irvine
sociologist
What's the chain from wholesale production to retail distribution? Paul
Lewin, Research Director, Common Sense for Drug Policy
How do the billions flow and who profits? "Legitimate" businesses and
the drug economy. Gordon A. Greenberg, LA attorney specializing in banking
and money laundering issues
11:45 1:15 pm Lunch Break
II. GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION AND COMPLICITY IN THE WAR ON DRUGS
1:15 6:00 pm, 201 Taper Hall
"Police Gangsterism" -- Local and federal corruption in the drug war.
Joseph McNamara, Hoover Institution Fellow and former San Jose police chief
Police misconduct and the erosion of civil liberties. Carol Watson, LA
civil rights attorney
The CIA-Contra-Cocaine controversy: What do internal CIA and Justice
Department reports reveal? Peter Dale Scott, Prof. Emeritus, UC Berkeley
and co-author of Cocaine Politics
Analysis of press coverage from mid-1980s to the present. What have
investigative journalists and researchers reliably documented about
government complicity? Robert Parry, Editor of IF Magazine and former AP
and Newsweek reporter
Historical uses of race, class, gender and immigration in US drug control
policy. Craig Reinarman, UC Santa Cruz sociologist
Sunday, May 23
III. THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF DRUGS AND THE WAR ON DRUGS
10:00 am 1:30 pm, 201 Taper Hall
Impact of the "Drug War" on communities. Karen Bass, Director, Community
Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention, and Carrie Broadus, Minority AIDS
Project
Inequality of prosecution and imprisonment. Franklin Ferguson, Jr.,
Loyola Law School and civil rights attorney
Political and financial costs of the drug war for the public. Dan
Macallair, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
Public health vs. criminalization policies: "Harm Reduction" or
"Zero-Tolerance." Ricky Bluthenthal, RAND Corporation
What are workable alternatives for drug control policy? Mike Gray,
author of "Drug Crazy"
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
# SATURDAY, MAY 23 RECEPTION AND FILM #
# 6-7:30 pm Fundraising Reception, University Religious Center #
# Featuring Gary Webb #
# Please RSVP to (202)234-9382 ext. 230 #
# #
# 8 pm "Slam" A feature film on the incarceration of a young #
# African-American poet and drug war prisoner (Winner of the #
# Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival, 1998). Introduction #
# by Producer/Co-Writer Richard Stratton, Room 201 Taper Hall #
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
Sponsored by: Institute for Policy Studies, Washington, DC
Co-sponsors: National Lawyers Guild (LA Chapter); Project HEED (Human,
Economic & Environmental Defense); Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR);
Office of the Americas, USC Political Science Department; Center for
Religion and Civic Culture at USC; United Ministry at USC; Criminal Justice
Policy Foundation; Seven Stories Press; Crack the CIA Coalition
---------------------------------------------
Martin Jelsma / Transnational Institute (TNI)
Paulus Potterstraat 20 / 1071 DA Amsterdam
tel: -3120 6626608 / fax -3120 6757176
http://www.worldcom.nl/tni/drugs
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