07January
Jail
A former Texas cop who was "perhaps the best narcotics officer ... in the country," according to his ex-boss, has produced a video that counsels people on how to avoid getting arrested for drug possession.
Barry Cooper, a former antidrug officer in Gladewater and Big Sandy, Texas, thinks marijuana should be legalized and that the War on Drugs is destroying families and filling prisons with nonviolent offenders. He claims that although his gut told him that raiding houses was wrong, "my need for power, fame and peer acceptance overshadowed my good conscience."
The video, "Never Get Busted Again," is predictably causing an uproar among Cooper's erstwhile colleagues. One calls it "a slap in the face to all that we do to uphold the laws and keep the public safe."
This reminds me of some comments made by the district attorney of New York's Albany County at the 17th International Conference on the Reduction of Drug-Related Harm in Vancouver last May.
DA David Soares claimed that the failed war on drugs continues “because it provides law enforcement officials with lucrative jobs.” He later apologized to and rank-and-file cops he might have offended, but didn't back down from his assertions, while admitting that he might have used a different adjective than "lucrative.'' "Expensive'' came to mind.
"This is not a lucrative business, I would say other than people like myself and other high-ranking executives that make substantial salaries,'' Soares said. "I am saying we have an incredibly expensive criminal justice system that continues to expand as a result of laws we pass.''
Someone whose opinion I value sent me a copy of an article last week by Michael J. Ard that would identify both of these men as pawns, if not leaders, in a conspiracy inspired by the strategy of Italian Communist theorist Antonio Gramsci to "change the attitudes within the culture of the dominant hegemony, not necessarily to overthrow the political order immediately."
After reading the piece, my reaction was, in short, "hogwash."
The Kingpins of Drug Legalization: Investigating Their Role in the Culture War is a bit long, but I encourage you to at least skim it.
Here's what I wrote my friend:
Ard's article is, as I'm sure you know, more than a dozen years old but many of the players are the same. I really hoped that the piece would provide some convincing, or even debatable, facts about why decriminalization of drug use is bad for drug abusers in particular and society as a whole, but I don't think that it did. Instead, the author seems to see some grand conspiracy for the hearts and souls of Americans, all based on the philosophy of an obscure Italian Communist who I, for one, have never heard of.
In the end, the article comes across as just another political jeremiad to me and not particularly helpful in trying to find a common ground that would result in effective treatment for drug users which, I would think, is one area where well-intentioned people on all sides of the issue should agree.
A statement like "[legalization], in a certain way ... has the same seductive appeal that communism had in a recent age. It will solve all the world's problems and bring about a utopia here on earth," seems to me to set up a red herring. I don't know any responsible advocate for decriminalization that feels that legalization is the answer to all the world's problems. To me, the phrase "harm reduction" doesn't seem to promise any kind of utopia; it does suggest a more humane or practical solution than "just say no" and/or jailing drug users without any rehab.
I'm not a fan of Ethan Nadelmann (because I think he's more interested in politics and policy than people), but again I think that harm reduction is given short shrift in points like the following:
"DEA special agent Roques enjoys the analogy that a single minded focus on 'harm reduction' is like 'trying to win a war by only treating the wounded.' Prevention programs, on the other hand, are trying to protect people from being wounded in the first place and are a necessary part of any offensive/defensive strategy.
Does Rouqes really expect to "win" the "War on Drugs"? That seems rather utopian to me. How? By incarcerating the wounded rather than by treating them?
It is, on the other hand, encouraging that prevention seems to be a common ground, although I'm sure there are differences in what sort of programs should be funded.
I'm not sure if the author entirely rejects the disease concept of addiction or not, but he sure seems to with this statement:
"Just like many of the legalization kingpins, the author defines drug addiction as being a 'disease' which suggests no free will on the part of the victims. With such a definition, naturally the amount of drugs that enter the market would have no consequences; those who suffer from the disease will use them, those who do not, will abstain."
That's just ignorant to me.
Regarding the glamorization of drugs in movies and music, I somewhat agree with the author. I think it would be helpful if, as a society, we could find a way to make drug and alcohol abuse as nonglamorous as smoking has become. It won't eliminate use, of course, but it could reduce it. They'll always be a "forbidden fruit" factor, particularly for young people.
Dave Ross, filling in for Charles Osgood on CBS radio [on 1/2/07], had an interesting commentary on the most recent figures regarding teen drinking and the dangerous behavior that accompanies it. He suggested — sarcastically — that teens aren't watching enough TV. If they were, they'd have seen the tens of thousands of beer and liquor ads that urge them to drink responsibly and wouldn't engage in such behavior.
In the end, I find Ard's piece riddled with ad hominem attacks and "moral" arguments. Indeed, the author encourages such arguments: "Those who wish to combat the kingpins ought to raise the level of debate to the moral issue." The attitude of the author is, to me, part of the problem we have in effectively treating addicts in the country. It's a political statement and offers little by way of solutions. But I do thank you again for sharing it.
I'm not necessarily for legalization, although I'd love to see some rational give-and-take on the subject. But I am 100% behind any effort that gets drug and alcohol abusers out of jail and into appropriate treatment for nonviolent offensives. I haven't seen Cooper's video, but I'd feel a whole lot better about it if it also told drug users where to get help once they realize what they're doing to themselves.
Sheila Gale's Show This Saturday
Two of my favorite advocates, Libba Phillips and Joanne Peterson, will be guests on Sheila Gale's "12 Step Talk Uncensored" radio show on KXRA AM 540 in Monterey, CA, this Saturday, Jan. 6. The show runs from 4-5 PM Pacific time. You can listen live on the Internet by clicking here.
Libba, the founder of Outpost for Hope, has just launched a revamped website with the new tagline, "Navigating the Lost Highway for Missing Kids off the Grid." Her mission is to bridge the gap between families, law enforcement, social services and missing loved ones, whether they are runaways, children missing from foster care, or teens and adults with substance addiction and/or mental illness who may be lost among the homeless or whose whereabouts are unknown.
Also check out Libba's new video on YouTube.
Joanne is the founder of the Learn to Cope parents group south of Boston who has done so much to bring attention to the new wave of opiate addiction among suburban youth. I ran a copy of Joanne's op-ed piece about the heroin epidemic in her area in my last blog entry.
A few other folks I respect have also been on Sheila's show in recent weeks.
Percy Menzies, a pharmacist and president of Assisted Recovery Centers of America in St. Louis, spoke about pharmacotherapy on last week's show. You'll be hearing more about — and from — Percy in the months to come.
I recommend you check out a cover story that ran on KSDK TV news last week about a woman who had her first alcohol-free New Year's Eve in 30 years. Both of her parents were alcoholics who died young. She credits her recovery to Vivitrol, a form of naltrexone that is administered by monthly injection at Percy's clinic. Percy has told me that he's also seeing success with motivated opiate addicts who combine Vivatrol with counseling, though that usage is off label.
Kristina Wandzilak, who wrote a gripping book about her addiction and recovery with her mother, Constance Curry, was a guest on "12 Step Talk Uncensored" the week before that. I had hoped to excerpt their book, The Lost Years, on Elephant on Main, but the publisher evidently felt that my selections gave away too much of the story. It's well worth the $11.32 discounted price at Amazon.
Kristina, who has conducted interventions for the past dozen years, has a fascinating, if occasional (I should talk) blog on MySpace.
Speaking of occasional blogs, among my New Year's resolutions is to begin writing this Elephant blog regularly again. In fact, in the coming months, we will be expanding Elephant into an umbrella site for blogs from a number of distinct and passionate voices — some of whom are mentioned above.
Another is Bill Borchert, who is wrapping up a revision of a screenplay of his book, The Lois Wilson Story, for a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation. Bill was on Sheila's show on Dec. 9.
My devotion to advocacy for addicts and their families has not waned one iota, but I've been preoccupied with other issues. I see some blue sky ahead. Thanks for sticking with us through some demanding months. I know they've been trying ones for some of you. But there's hope, as Libba would say, in numbers.