{"id":30050,"date":"2011-06-17T08:11:53","date_gmt":"2011-06-17T14:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=30050"},"modified":"2011-06-17T12:54:36","modified_gmt":"2011-06-17T18:54:36","slug":"it%e2%80%99s-time-to-admit-the-war-on-drugs-is-a-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/06\/it%e2%80%99s-time-to-admit-the-war-on-drugs-is-a-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s time to admit the war on drugs is a failure"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_30052\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignright\" style=\"max-width: 270px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30052\" title=\"Legalize420\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Legalize420.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"270\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Karmalize\/flickr.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Some anniversaries provide an occasion for celebration or reflection, others a time for action. Today marks 40 years since President Richard Nixon, citing drug abuse as \u201cpublic enemy No. 1.\u201d officially declared a \u201cwar on drugs.\u201d A trillion dollars and millions of ruined lives later, the war on drugs remains a miserable failure.<\/p>\n<p>The Land of Enchantment\u00a0has not been spared. Local headlines tell us that the war on drugs continues to threaten New Mexicans\u2019\u00a0health and safety.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.santafenewmexican.com\/local%20news\/Police--Friend-leaves-toddler-after-mom-ODs\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cFriend Abandons Toddler After Mom Overdoses\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.borderlandbeat.com\/2010\/10\/new-mexico-family-loses-relative-to.html\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cNew Mexico\u00a0Family Loses Relative to Juarez Violence\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.krqe.com\/dpp\/news\/rise-in-heroin-deaths,-officials-worry\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cOverdose Deaths Among People Under 21 Increasing\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/alibi.com\/news\/37375\/The-Miracle-of-Treatment.html\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cMedicaid Axes Inpatient Program for Drug-addicted Mothers\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/newmexicoindependent.com\/62405\/susana-martinez-has-high-hopes-for-repeal-of-medical-marijuana\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cMartinez Has High Hopes for Repeal of Medical Marijuana\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_30051\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignright\" style=\"max-width: 120px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-30051\" title=\"Kaltenbach, Emilly\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Kaltenbach-Emilly.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"120\" height=\"160\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Emily Kaltenbach<\/p><\/div>\n<p>On this anniversary, it\u2019s time to reflect on why New Mexico\u2019s overdose death rate has increased 150 percent in the last four years; why the state is spending upwards of $22 million each year to incarcerate nonviolent drug possession offenders; and why we are incarcerating our mothers because of their addictions who then leave behind hundreds of babies and young children.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s time to admit that the war on drugs is a failure and agree to turn instead to dealing with drugs as a public health problem. Wouldn\u2019t it be better to spend the money on clinics that might treat illnesses instead of on locking up nonviolent people?<\/p>\n<p>We know a lot more than we did 40 years ago, and it\u2019s time to revise our strategies for combating drug misuse based on that knowledge. We know that four out of five drug arrests are for possession only, mostly for marijuana. We know that the average cost of putting someone behind bars is about $30,000 a year, whereas the average cost of treating them is about $3,000. And we know that most communities in\u00a0New Mexico\u00a0lack access to quality drug treatment.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>So let\u2019s celebrate this anniversary by crafting a new drug strategy for the 21st century. A strategy designed to get us to a place where politics no longer trumps science, compassion, commonsense, and fiscal prudence in dealing with illegal drugs. A place where marijuana legalization is no longer a question of whether, but when and how. A place where people are not more likely to be arrested, prosecuted and incarcerated for violating drug laws because of their ethnicity and culture. And a time where reducing over-incarceration is broadly embraced as a moral necessity.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s work with legislators who dare to raise these important questions. Let\u2019s organize public forums and online communities where New Mexicans can take action, enlist unprecedented numbers of powerful and distinguished individuals to voice their dissent publicly, and advocate for policies that focus less on obtaining convictions and more on preventing addictions.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s transform this anniversary into a year of action.<\/p>\n<p><em>Emily Kaltenbach is the\u00a0New Mexico state\u00a0director of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.drugpolicy.org\/new-mexico\" target=\"_blank\">Drug Policy Alliance<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s time to admit that the war on drugs is a failure and agree to turn instead to dealing with drugs as a public health problem. Wouldn\u2019t it be better to spend the money on clinics that might treat illnesses instead of on locking up nonviolent people?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2240,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,16],"tags":[142,195,107,116],"class_list":["post-30050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-guest-columns","tag-crime","tag-mexicos-drug-war","tag-roundhouse","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2240"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30050\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}