AMNESTY ALL IN PRISON FOR NON-VIOLENT DRUG CHARGES

FROM AEIDEAS

Let’s end the drug war by declaring amnesty on all drug war prisoners currently incarcerated for non-violent drug charges

Mark J. Perry | September 22, 2013, 10:34 pm

Writing in the Huffington Post, the UK’s former drug czar Mike Trace and Ernest Drucker (professor at Columbia University’s School of Public Health), make the case for ending America’s failed, expensive and cruel War on 
Drugs Peaceful Americans Who Use Intoxicants Not Currently Approved of by the Government by declaring amnesty for all drug war prisoners currently locked up in cages or on parole for non-violent drug offenses.

As of Jan 1, 2012 there were over 1.8 million drug law offenders under the control of the U.S. criminal justice system; 320,000 behind bars (in State and Federal prisons) and an additional 1.5 million under community supervision on parole and probation programs — where administrative violations, missed appointments, and failed drug tests send hundreds of thousands of drug offenders back to prison. The total annual cost of keeping these millions in our criminal justice system is now over $12 billion per year.

Now that the White House has acknowledged the fundamental wrong-headedness of its own mass incarceration of drug users, what should be done about the failed war’s victims who are still in prison?

One proposal immediately leaps to mind: declare a blanket amnesty or pardon for all drug war prisoners currently serving time in prison or on parole for non-violent drug offenses.

While amnesty would be a huge step in the right direction, we will need to do more — most crucially, to re-invest the savings from reduced incarceration into effective re-entry processes that are not part of current parole processes, which now put so many back in prison. These funds should be directed into local support for re-entry and new community-based support programs that help drug offenders make amends and become welcome in their home communities again. Such restorative justice strategies have been proven to be effective and cost far less than the high rates of relapse and recidivism of drug users that we have now.

We also must systematically remove the many legal restrictions that make it so difficult for former drug felons to establish a home, get an education or a decent job, and to become productive citizens again. For example, we could offer to expunge their drug offense records when they succeed at these positive steps, thus meeting the true intent of the U.S. “second chance” act.

Legislators, officials and advocates are now, quite rightly, looking at drug law sentencing reforms that consign the war on drugs to history. We call on these same groups to also take action to bring some delayed justice and a chance for those caught up in that war over the last 30 years to have their lives back.

HT: Robert Kuehl