Import Temp

Traffic Web Campaign to President Bush: Appoint a Drug Czar Who Will 'Think Outside the Box'

Visitors to StopTheWar.com Fax President as He Prepares to Fill Cabinet Post

StopTheWar.com, a website sponsored by The Lindesmith Center - Drug Policy Foundation (Lindesmith-DPF), the nation's leading organization working to end the war on drugs, is urging President Bush to appoint a drug czar who will "think outside the box," as Michael Douglas' character pleads for in the movie Traffic.

The drug czar is the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, which oversees all federal anti-drug efforts.

In Traffic, the dr

Tony Newman at 510-208-7711

Governor Pataki's New Rockefeller Drug Law Plan Still Falls Short of Real Reform, Say Critics

Leading Reform Advocates Call Revision a Step Toward Negotiation, but Say Proposal Still Needs Major Improvement

The Campaign for Effective Criminal Justice (CECJ), an organization of over a dozen distinguished leaders in law enforcement, politics, business, and clergy intent on reforming New York's drug sentencing laws, criticized Governor George Pataki's revised plan for reform today, saying its modest improvements fell far short of providing meaningful relief for non-violent drug offenders and their families in New York.

Many of the criticisms CECJ has expressed in the past about Pataki's plan remain intact: it continues the relatively low

Sen. John Dunne at 518-787-7600 or Shayna Samuels at 212-547-6916

Local and National Organizations Say

ACLU, NAACP, and Civil Rights Leaders Join Friends of Justice to Mark Second Anniversary of Drug Raid, Support Local Victims of War on Drugs

TULIA, TEXAS - Today, the Friends of Justice - an organization in Tulia, Texas that offers support to local victims of the war on drugs - announced that the ACLU and the NAACP will be joining them in a Freedom Ride and Never Again Rally. The events are being held to mark the two-year anniversary of the drug raid that swept up half of the town's male African-American population.

Tracey Hayes at 512-493-7357 or Alan Bean at 806-995-3353

Downey Jr. to Receive Treatment, Not Prison For Non-Violent Drug Possession

Actor Diverted Under Prop. 36 - California's Historic New Treatment Instead of Incarceration Ballot Measure
Drug Policy Reformers Say Prop. 36 Is Already Working, Focus Should Now Turn to Finding Most Effective Treatments

Under the terms of California's landmark Proposition 36, Robert Downey Jr. will not be going to prison for his drug addiction, a court ruled today. The actor, who entered a plea of "no contest" to cocaine possession charges, was instead sentenced to one year of residential drug treatment.

Tony Newman at 510-208-7711 x 1383 or Shayna Samuels at 212-547-6916

Potential New DEA Head Applauded by Leading Drug Policy Reform Advocates

Hutchinson Also Urged to Allow Doctors and Medical Organizations

(Washington, DC) -- Despite his firm record in support of the war on drugs, U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson made several statements today at his confirmation hearing to head the Drug Enforcement Administration supporting a review of changes in drug policy.

Under questioning from Senator Patrick Leahy, the chair of the Judiciary Committee, Hutchinson stated that he "would support a review by Congress" of mandatory minimum prison sentences. In addition, he reiterated his long time support of ending racial profiling.

Tony Newman at 510-208-7711 or Shayna Samuels at 212-547-6916

Court to Hear Case Which Threatens Doctor - Patient Relationship

Major Medical Organizations Insist That Hospital Drug Tested Pregnant Women Without Informed Consent
U.S. Supreme Court Agreed that Tests Were Illegal Search and Asks Lower Court to Decide Consent Issue

On January 22, 2002, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia will hear oral arguments in the case Ferguson v. Charleston to decide whether pregnant women who were drug tested by a public hospital in collaboration with the police, consented to the testing. Major medical organizations argue that to interpret consents to medical tests as if they were consents to law enforcement searches undermines the health-care-patient relationship and threatens basic principles of privacy and medical decision making. This follows the U.S.

Tony Newman at 510-208-7711 x 1383 or Dani McClain at 212-548-0611

Governor Pataki's Rockefeller Drug Law Proposal Good First Step but not Real Reform, Critics Say

Proposal Needs to Restore Judicial Discretion, Broaden Retroactivity and Increase Treatment but Leading Drug Policy Reform Organization Sees it as a Platform for Change

The Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy Foundation (TLC-DPF), the leading drug policy reform organization in the United States, commends New York Governor George Pataki for joining the growing number of public officials who are willing to call into question the needlessly punitive drug sentencing policies of the past and promote legislation that recognizes the effectiveness of drug treatment over incarceration. Enacted in 1973, the Rockefeller Drug Laws and Second Felony Offender Laws mandate sentences for drug offenses that are among the most punitive in the nation.

Tony Newman at 510-208-7711 x 1383 or Shayna Samuels at 212-547-6916

Governor Pataki Unveils Proposal to Reform New York's Rockefeller Drug Laws

Leading Advocates for Reform Commend the Governor's Proposal but Call on Legislative Leaders to Provide More Money for Alternatives to Incarceration Including Drug Treatment

The Campaign for Effective Criminal Justice, an organization of over a dozen distinguished leaders in law enforcement, politics, business, and clergy intent on reforming New York's drug sentencing laws, commends Governor Pataki for proposing legislation to reform the state's Rockefeller Drug Laws.

Sen. John Dunne at 518-787-7600 or Shayna Samuels at 212-547-6916

Ashcroft Administration Worked With Feds to Circumvent Missouri Law

Former Governor Allowed State Police to Keep Money from Seized Assets that Should Have Gone to Schools; Tactics Were Later Said to 'Violate the Missouri Constitution' by Federal Appeals Court
Critics Charge Ashcroft is Way out of Step with Mainstream Americans on the Drug War, May Be Unwilling to Enforce Laws He Doesn

Under the leadership of then-Governor John Ashcroft, Missouri officials including the state highway patrol worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration to circumvent a provision of the Missouri Constitution requiring the proceeds of "asset forfeiture" to go to schools rather than to the police, syndicated columnist Arianna Huffington reported yesterday.

Asset forfeiture (the legal term for government seizure of private property belonging to citizens suspected of criminal activity) is used overwhelmingly in drug cases.

Tony Newman at 510-208-7711 x 1383 or Shayna Samuels at 212-547-6916

Nation's Leading Drug Policy Reform Organization Now Called Drug Policy Alliance

The Lindesmith Center - Drug Policy Foundation Becomes Drug Policy Alliance, Continues to Work Towards Rational, Humane Alternatives to War on Drugs

Drug Policy Alliance is the new name of The Lindesmith Center - Drug Policy Foundation, the nation's leading drug policy reform organization. The Alliance will continue the mission of Lindesmith-DPF, broadening the public debate on drug policy and promoting realistic alternatives to the war on drugs based on science, compassion, public health and human rights.

Tony Newman at 510-208-7711 or Shayna Samuels at 212-547-6961
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